The Waterford at Creekside

My Aunt loves living there. She has been at 2 other facilities in Alabama that just weren't meeting her needs. Florida seems to have better laws for elder care. She is happy and well taken care of. I highly recommend considering this facility for your family.

With memory care, visits are always unpredictable with residents. It can be very emotional and difficult to manage. Visiting at Creekside can be especially difficult because of the overall setup and logistics. The logistics for getting in and out of the cottages is very inconvenient. The cottages are small, and there's little to do during a visit. Other than sitting and watching television in the open concept living room, there's no other activities for residents or families to do while in the "cottage." I've attempted to take and leave things to help occupy her/our time, but there's nowhere to leave those items in the resident's room where she and other residents can't get to it, and putting her names on items, from clothes, shoes, to other things, doesn't seem to matter. Items often aren't there when I return. Conversations are difficult with memory care residents, so simply sitting and talking doesn't suffice. Residents are confused and often restless. Cottages remain locked, so a family member can't freely take a resident outside and back in to walk in the gated courtyard. When we toured, it was cold, and we were told cottages were only locked that day because of weather; however, we found that detail given to us not to be true. They've remained locked, no matter the weather or circumstance. Visits often stir confusion and emotions about the past, and it's much easier on all when the visit can be preoccupied by movement or activity. The "activity" I typically do is clean and organize her room, which is always needed, as I talk to her and get her to "help." It's the only thing that makes the visit feel productive. Even if I feel that my visit has left her more emotional, at least I feel that I'm leaving her with a cleaner, more organized space. 😔 Goodbyes at Creekside are always difficult, with no easy way to leave. It takes cunning, "sly" moves on the part of the visitor to coordinate with an employee to let you out without the loved one seeing. I equate it to a child not wanting to be left, wanting to leave with you. The parting can be heartbreaking, leaving a visitor feeling worse than not visiting at all. I'd like to visit more often; however, Creekside's overall set up is very inconvenient, and it not only discourages family members from visiting, but any other visitors. There's got to be better solutions for a private pay memory care that costs thousands per month. All deserve better.

Staff were very nice and helpful! Had a great time with residents watching the Alabama football game. Everyone enjoyed it

The front Desk person was wonderful helping me out Nurse Monica was super and explaining what was going on with my family member that caregivers inside the building where my family member is were very receptive and helped me visit without any problems