Independence Village of Ames

E.W.

My husband has been a resident for a couple of weeks now. It's a nice place, and he's doing well there. The food is decent, the people are nice, and the staff know what they're doing. He has a one-bedroom apartment with very nice space that's easy to get around in. The building is also easy to get around in. There are studios, one-bedrooms, and two-bedrooms. He enjoys the activities. They play cards, have an activity room, a library, exercise sessions almost every day, and a walking group. They have a lot going on, like movie nights. If I have questions, the staff answer our questions to our satisfaction. They were always very helpful as my father was learning his way around.

Sharon

My sister is here. Their service has been fine. She has a small apartment and her own bedroom. She gets her room cleaned once a week. She can get her laundry done if she needs to, which she does right now because of an arm injury. She thinks the food is good. For her, everything is fine. A friend said the food is better there than other places. She doesn't participate in a lot of activities, but she visits with other people. They do most things very well. They have good, well-balanced meals. Each resident has a call button that they wear and if they push that, they respond very quickly to see what it is the resident needs. The people in the area where she lives can basically get around on their own. Some are on oxygen, but most of them aren't. The facility has an elevator which makes it easy for people to get around, so they don't have to go down the steps to get down to the dining room. They offer fun little activities and field trips. They monitor medications for people. They do a good job. The staff is very good. The facility is good. They should provide more activities where people can get to know each other better.

T.L.

My in-laws moved here. I don't know if it's because they're there during COVID, but we're not happy with the communication that we received. As far as the facilities go, they seem to be fine, but we can't go in. The staff members have been friendly, but when we've asked them to do things like just getting my in-laws some newspapers since they're stuck in the room for quarantine, they don't do it. Just simple things that you would think they'd do, like when my mother-in-law had to go to the assisted living for a month, as easy as handing the phone to my father-in-law so he could call her, we had to constantly ask them. They have a two-bedroom apartment there, there's also a courtyard, and the building looks taken care of.