Help with the hard parts of the day, and the rest of the day left to you.
Assisted living at Willowmere is for adults who want their own private suite and their own routine, with a hand available for the tasks that have become difficult: bathing, dressing, grooming, medications, getting to meals or simply getting up from a favourite chair. Residents keep their furniture, their schedules and their independence; caregivers fill in where help is needed and stay out of the way where it is not.
The assisted living wing has thirty-eight suites on two floors, a dining room of its own on the ground floor and the Hearth dining room down the hall. Caregivers and a nurse are on site through every hour of the day and night, and each suite carries a call pendant answered by staff in the building, never routed to an outside line.
Daily living support is planned around activities of daily living, the everyday tasks such as bathing, dressing, eating and moving about. A nurse assesses those needs before move-in and writes them into a care plan that the resident and family read and approve.
Couples are welcome on the wing, whether one spouse needs daily support and the other does not, or both do. Each person has a separate care plan, and the suite, meals and activities are shared. Many residents also keep their own doctors, pharmacies and hairdressers; our front desk books the rides and our nurse makes sure instructions from every appointment end up in the care plan.
The first month gets extra attention. A caregiver checks in several times a day during the first week, the nurse reviews the care plan with the family after thirty days, and residents are introduced to neighbours who share their interests, whether that is bridge, gardening or the Wednesday lecture. Most new residents tell us the second week is very different from the first.
Families stay involved for as long as they like. They can join the care plan reviews, eat with their parent in the Hearth, come along on outings and call the wing whenever they want an update. We would rather hear a question early than have a worry go unspoken.
If you are comparing communities, ask every one of them the same questions: who writes the care plan, how often it is reviewed, who is awake at night and how rates change. We are glad to answer each of them in writing.
How a move-in works
Most families move within four to eight weeks of a first tour. These are the steps in between, and we keep you posted on where things stand.
Visit the wing, see two or three suites and eat in the Hearth. Bring questions; bring your parent if you can.
A nurse meets the resident at home or here, reviews medications and daily routines, and talks with the family.
You receive the care plan, the suite options and the monthly rate in writing, and can take as long as you need.
Our crew helps hang pictures and set up furniture. A caregiver checks in every few hours on the first day.
What the monthly rate includes
Assisted living is priced as a monthly rate for the suite plus a care level matched to the care plan. These services are part of every assisted living rate.
- Private suite with a roll-in shower
- Three meals a day and snacks
- Medication support and reminders
- Help with bathing and dressing
- Weekly housekeeping and linens
- Personal laundry service
- Scheduled transportation
- The full activity calendar
A day on the wing
No two residents keep the same schedule. This is one resident's ordinary Tuesday.
Morning
A caregiver helps with a shower at 7:30, as the care plan says, then walks with her to breakfast in the wing dining room.
Midday
Watercolour class in the studio, lunch in the Hearth with her usual table and a short rest with the radio.
Afternoon
Garden club on the terrace, a visit from her son and medication support at four o'clock, right on time.
Evening
Dinner, the Tuesday film in the library and a caregiver's check-in before lights out at ten.
Assisted living questions
What families most often ask on tours. Related pages: the memory care neighborhood and respite suites.
