3 Assisted Living Communities in Knox County, Illinois

Chris Judd

North Shore Heights (NSH) is a prime example of “smoke and mirrors.” The property looks very nice and the staff is polished and polite upfront, promising you the world. Later on in your experience, especially on the evenings and weekends, you will discover that your loved one will be neglected to say the least. We found this out the hard way. We even spent a lot of extra money supplementing with outside caregivers, and also our Family members were there DAILY, helping with and checking on my mom. On the Memory Care wing, it is even worse. NSH usually puts their newest, least qualified people on that end, with a few (loving and diligent) exceptions, because the residents there cannot fend for themselves mentally, nor do they have the memory capacity to complain. The Memory Care staff on the evenings and weekends typically parks the residents in the recliners and ignores them, doing the bare minimum at best. They have relatively few activities, also, despite what they advertise. The corporate office (Hamister Group, Buffalo, NY) does not care either. They will squeeze you for your last dime, even though they know there are problems here in the facility locally, and promises not being kept. Do yourself a favor, shop around, and read the RECENT reviews on places. It’s a tough industry, and good places are far and few between. As someone else mentions here, you may be better served and for less money, keeping your loved one home and hiring the help that you can from home care agencies.

James

The pictures on the Website are nothing like the Place. Run down and if you look in the back some balconies look like they are ready to fall down. They don\'t have a full staff. the staff there are rude and self-serving. When I visited the Janitor was serving lunch, how hygienic is that? No activities! Showed me a schedule, but none of those activities were being done. The couches in the main area were dirty, old and in dire need of replacement. I was shown a menu and it was filled with comfort food and starches. No way would you consider it health. The apartments are small and very expensive for a place that offers no service. Walking down the hallways smoke from tobacco had a strong smell. I asked the lady who showed me around and she said it was a non-smoking community, but she smelled of cigarettes. Speaking with a few residents most were not happy and had a long laundry list of complaints.

Diane

We visited Echo Ridge for my mom, and we really liked that one. That was independent and everybody had their own little apartment. There were a lot of people up and about and they were very active. The staff was really good. Everything was well kept up, nice, and clean. They have a dining room, a barbershop or beauty salon, outdoor gardening, a walking path, and a lot of different things to do.

Shari

My mom has moved into Atria Weston Place last Monday. I'm impressed with the cleanliness so far. Everyone is very friendly. The layout of the place can be confusing because there's a bunch of hallways, but everything is very central. It should be easy for any resident to get to the main area. Mom says everybody has been very friendly. They're very quick to come when she calls for them. Her room is really nice. There is a lot of sunlight, big windows, plenty of room, and a nice big bathroom. It has a microwave and a mini fridge. They call it a studio, but they have a variety of rooms there. There's a beauty salon and an activity room, but they're not doing a whole lot right now because of the restrictions. I would like to say that the administration has been very available. The staff is always available and able to take my call and is very helpful. My mom says the food is good.

Duane

I'm now living at Echo Ridge. I moved here two weeks ago. I'm fine. I'm in a 1-bedroom apartment, which is nice. They offer 2-bedrooms, too. I've seen activities, but I haven't participated in any of them. Meals are good. The staff members are very nice. They have a walk that goes around the building. The pricing is competitive.

Shari

She went into a nursing home, the NHC HealthCare, Fort Sanders. So far it is OK, just very expensive. As for the staff, well, it is hard as I have only spoken to some. I cannot go inside. Some of them are great and some of them are questionable. The doctor has called me. They called me when they made any changes and that kind of thing, so I guess that is about as good as we are going to get. Mom seems to like it OK now that she is getting real food, so I think it is OK. It is not really an apartment, just a semi-private room, and it's just a plain old room, not much. I have not seen it though. I think they are super busy, and they are doing the best they can. Everybody that I have spoken to has been pretty much polite and helpful.

Diana

I didn't care for Echo Ridge. It's an older facility and I didn't care for the environment or the people. I saw one room, but I didn't care for it. It was old and it didn't fit my needs because it didn't have a kitchen. I walked past the craft room and there were people doing crafts. I think they had some games and things going on.

Michael

My mother was in here before she passed away. It was very clean, the people were awesome, and they treated my mother and us very well. It was pretty much all scale care. They have studios, more like a 1-bedroom apartment, but you can get up to a 2-bedroom. They had games for them every day, they always had entertainment, they take them out to the Tennessee theater, and they took them shopping. The staff is awesome, they're really good.

Gail

My husband is here The layout is atrocious and very convoluted. There's a lot of walking involved, which I don't like. Other than that, it's great. They have a beautiful courtyard that's fully enclosed and nobody can get out. Their food seems very good. It's a very calming place and homey. I like the whole place. They do crafts and they have better one-on-one contact with the employees who strike me as interested and caring. It has the better feel than a lot of places do. He eats better there than he did at the other places. It's two stories and had an elevator.