I recently moved my parents from their Assisted Living facility in Santa Fe, NM to Seattle because we wanted them to be closer to us. Prior to picking Laurelhurst, my sister and I had experience with the previous facility they were living in, as well as the six or seven other places we toured repeatedly in different states before choosing this Aegis facility.
I have to give credit to Karen B and Hermann, who were extremely patient as we toured the facility at least five times before finally deciding on it. One of the reasons we went back so many times is that I had found that many places can schedule an appointment and put on a good show for a short time period, but that is exactly what they were doing, being on their best behavior for a tour. So we went back repeatedly, often with little notice, to see if the cracks would start to show but they were always on point.
The facility is truly amazing, which it should be, because it is not inexpensive to live there. However the staff is what sets this place apart, and makes the cost worth it. They not only do their jobs, but they excel at them. My sister and I are there on a regular basis visiting our parents, so we see first hand the care and dedication which the staff has. They do what they are paid for, which was one of my biggest concerns. It doesn't matter if you are paying for services if they aren't being provided because staffing is insufficient. I have seen first hand that whether it is handing out meds, doing routine checks on residents, or taking care of maintenance issues that need to be addressed that they are correctly staffed to handle these needs and are on top of it.
They have a regular assisted living apartments. And when we wanted two of them joined together they were able to put in a door to accommodate. They also have memory care, which my father will be utilizing sooner rather than later unfortunately. In addition to these levels of care, which are pretty standard, they are working on a new wing for transitional residents who have moved past the ability to live in the Assisted Living portion of the facility but are just not quite ready for full Memory Care. They have been open for about a year, so they are not quite yet full. I think they are currently at about 70% capacity. Unfortunately because it's such a new facility the buy in reflects this and is significantly higher than other facilities in the area, but my parents who are your typical Santa Fe types feel right at home here. It's all very spiffy. There are more to the aesthetics than I care to list here, so I took lots of pictures for you. The truth is I care more about the engine and how it runs, which is why I haven't really gone into all the prettiness of the place here, of which there is a lot to brag about.
Admittedly I walked in a skeptic due to the previous experiences my family had with their facility in Santa Fe. Even without the previous concerns prodding me however I tend to be super skeptical, but Hermann the VP of Operations didn't get frustrated or irritated by my constant questions or requests to try the food, re-visit various parts of the facility and so on.
My parents don't really have another move left in them so we are super thrilled that they love it here. The quality of care and condition of the facility sets our minds at ease, and we are relieved to finally have them living in the same state as us. read more