Spring Arbor of Wilmington

There is nothing to dislike about Spring Arbor. The staff are amazingly attentive, responsive to needs, friendly and qualified. They are really overall wonderful. There are some personal complications and difficulties with my loved one, but to no fault of the community or the staff. They know my face and I have their cell phone numbers, so I can easily contact them to verify information or check on things. There are certain things I've noticed that could be improved for the price you pay, like cleanliness, worn paint & rugs, door jams, etc. - but I am aware that they've brought in a new maintenance director & personnel, so there's hope that those things will be resolved soon. Overall I feel genuinely positive about the community.

We are very happy with our experience. My loved one wanted to be in a smaller community and it has a homey feel to here. It isn't a hotel like. It has been really good as my loved one is enjoying their time here. The food has been good and reliable and this is a plus. The staff are friendly and easy to ask questions to. There have been times that I have had to track answers down; however, once I have been able to do this they were able to provide complete answers which I am happy with.

I'm not very happy with the place. We had to place our loved one at the beginning of Covid, so we didn't get to tour or check it out very thoroughly. We also had to make a quick decision and didn't have a lot of options. When I go and visit, the cushions are dirty where people drop stuff. Our loved one's clothes are dirty, and it looks like she hasn't showered. She doesn't even have a shower in her bathroom. They take each resident on certain days to the shower. She has clothes, makeup, and other things that have come up missing. The furniture and décor is old and outdated, and they don't let your loved one bring their own things in memory care. It's just really depressing in there. I know the girls work hard, and they're nice people. But they're not really doing anything to help the residents. I don't know if they have too much on their plates. There seems to be a minimum amount of staff, and I know they've gone through a lot of turnover of managers and nurses. I don't really see many activities going on. Maybe 1 out of 20 times I go there they'll be coloring or painting. I see activities all the time in assisted living, but not in the memory care cottages. I've read so much on this disease, and I know it's important to keep their minds busy. And that's just not happening here, even now that things have opened up after Covid restrictions. They're charging quite a bit of money for memory care, and I just don't think it's worth it because they don't keep the residents' minds busy. And my loved one is really declining since she's moved here. She says the food is the same thing all the time, and she's lost weight. We're torn about whether or not to try to move her. Most days she says she's comfortable here, and we don't want a change to completely disrupt her. But if I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't have put her here.

This could be in part due to Covid, but the transition from start to finish was very confusing because we couldn't go in and see the room before we moved our loved ones in. So we had no idea what to anticipate. And then once we moved them in, it took a while to rearrange furniture and things like that. Because we weren't able to go in and meet the staff, we weren't able to discuss our concerns or our desires for our relatives from the get-go, or talk about the nuts and bolts of things. For instance, no one told us we would be responsible for providing soap, toothpaste, toilet paper, etc. There were a lot of those little things to iron out. That being said, the staff has been extremely responsive to all of our questions and concerns. It just took a good 2-3 months to really get settled in. And there are still little things to double check, but overall it's been a good experience. The one concern I have is the room itself is not all that neat and clean. There was dust in their room when they first moved in, and it's still there. The facility in general looks very neat and clean. It's just the rooms that haven't been up to my cleaning standards. But the woman at the front desk knows me by name. She's quick to help out when I ask or get me to the correct person. One of the personal aides has given me her cell phone number and said call anytime. Same with one of the laundry staff. The doctor on staff is very friendly and responsive. We're still trig to figure out the accounting online, but that's likely our issue. Overall, it has all worked out well. If we ask them to do anything, they do it, which has been nice. I really feel confident that our loved ones are well cared for. And my loved ones say they're showered with attention there. They've been content there right from the start. I've also appreciated that there is a base rate for the room, and then another rate for the level of care. So if you have two loved ones with different levels of care, they can stay together.

I would tell others it is in a nice location. The people are friendly and seem to be caring. They are quick to meet my requests. They are on top of the care of my loved one. My loved one has adapted to the community. The communication is good and they are fairly prompt in their responses.

There was not a lot of physical therapy going on because of the quarantine, and we were not able to eat in the dining room. It did not really meet my needs and every time you left the building you had to quarantine.

Spring Arbor was the only community that was able to accommodate both of my parents' varied health care needs. The food is good. They do not offer a large discount for the second person in a couple like others in the area. They have a nice porch and a walkway but they do not have much usable outdoor space. Communication among the staff is not good. We have to make multiple requests when we have an issue. I feel they are understaffed now with the Covid -19 due to the need to serve all the residents meals to them in their rooms which takes time.I do understand they are doing their best. It is nice that they do offer both Assisted Living and Memory Care. My dad is in the process of moving to memory care and it will be nice for my mom to be able to see him daily. Staff is very friendly.

My siblings and I were not impressed with this facility. The receptionists gave us a tour and lunch was being served and it smelled good and looked even better. We just didn't get that home feeling when we visited the Memory Care Unit.

Community is for residents requiring an assisted living environment. The facility small, seemed older and somewhat outdated. Rooms are furnished and furniture appear very used. This community was not quite what we require.

Spring Arbor seems to be better than other places my family looked into - more people on staff, which is a big deal. But anyone looking for help for alzheimers need to face the reality that just because you lock them into the memory cottage and administer their medicines doesn't mean you're an expert on alzheimers. I've experienced CNAs treating my mother as if she had a proper working memory and problem solving skills due to their own lack of understanding or care. If you plan to put your mom here, have a very detailed careful conversation with the managers and check on her regularly. [Removed] happens in many subtle ways that add up over time.

My mother has been living at Spring Arbor for about a month now, and we are really happy with it. The people who work there are so caring, helpful, and accommodating. They are very good at following up with us and keeping us updated on my mother’s care. The place is very clean. I’ve talked about how clean it is there when we’ve visited. I also like that the community is so active. Once, when I was there, a group of women were in the activity doing chair exercises with 40s music playing. Every one of them was so engaged and happy. They also have outings, and other activities. There’s a beauty salon, girls who visit to do everyone’s nails, and students from the university come to work with the residents as well. Spring Arbor is great, and I would definitely recommend it to others.

[Removed] was very helpful in providing me information. SA was quiet and appeared well-kept up.

This is a nice community and is getting very attentive. The menu is good and appealing with a nice variety. I like knowing that she is getting involved. This is a small community and they make it very safe. A nice home atmosphere and other families would be happy with the care and value and environment for a loved one.

We really liked the layout of the memory care unit and the personnel. Very friendly and personable.