Regency Park

I moved my artist friend, Eunice Parsons, to Regency Park Assisted Living in 2022 at the age of 105. She hated the idea of assisted living, having lived in her own home until she was 103. I was extremely pleased when told her room was her apartment and I could decorate it as I liked. I hung her artwork and brought in her furniture. The third day there she told me she liked the food! (I was shocked, she always cooked and was very particular.) She came to love the care staff. They loved her and enjoyed her stories. Eunice, who had grown up poor and had supported herself while living below the poverty line most of her life, told me she felt like she was living at the Ritz. She became fully bedridden the last year of her life and the folks at RP and Brighton Hospice took excellent care of her: no bedsores, always clean, and several of the care givers became her friends. I was incredibly pleased with their care and would highly recommend them.

I have sat on this review so that I did not come off unreasonable or emotional; however, finding a place for your loved one is already emotionally painful, and this care facility was honestly the worst. The memory care staff was very insensitive to our concerns, we were often placated when we voiced our valid concerns of neglect, and then, in turn, dismissed. Our dear sweet mother has severe dementia and her disability was taken advantage of in this facility. If your family member needs extra care and compassion, this is not the place for you. The new care facility we found has far exceeded our expectations (which were low after Regency). Take the time to really research your options. Get to know the staff by watching their interactions, ask lots of questions about bathing details, whether they ensure an eating routine. Our mother never seemed to be washed on a regular basis and often left food untouched. The staff should have encouraged these tasks until completed; we were told that they couldn't "force her to shower or eat" and left it at that. Meet with the activity director to determine the right activities. I walked into a trivia game one day and residents of the memory care facility were being asked questions like "what year was the liberty bell built"... come on! Not one answer was filled out on any of their papers! This is not the definition of memory "care" as most could not remember their own birthdays. With that said, we now know the right questions to ask and have found a place that helps our lovely mother to thrive, not just survive.

It's been somewhat of journey, to say the least. My only recommendation to anyone looking at facilities is to do your research and be very thorough (don't discard privately owned facilities either) but also take into consideration that Assisted Living/Memory Care is big business. Anything and everything can be pitched in sooooooo many ways, but all and all it really comes down to the $$$$$$. If you truly care about your loved one, don't bother going with Regency.