Balfour Retirement Community

Victoria

My husband moved to Balfour Retirement Community. The facility was very nice. I'm impressed with the way they care for him. He has CNAs that are always there. He has a call button whenever he asks for a care assistant. The dining was very good. My husband likes the food. He was comfortable there. His room was big. It was a single and a private room. They do supply the hospital beds, but we move in our own furniture. They do a good job of keeping the place very clean and tidy. They have a whole daily program for people to participate, including the people in the skilled nursing facility and assisted living. They have good live music programs. The food was freshly prepared and well done. They have chair exercises. They have other activities that are more mentally stimulating, like doing crossword puzzles or playing bingo.

Peter

Balfour Retirement Community was very nice. The grounds were very nice. The room had a pleasant view. The staff was very nice. They invited me to a meal, but I didn't partake. They had quite a few activities going on. Transportation was available. They had a gym. I like the location better than the other place.

Margaret

My husband is in Balfour Retirement Community. He first went there for nursing care and then he transitioned over to assisted living. He's got some form of Parkinson's, still undiagnosed, and he's got depression. Several of the places turned him down because of his depression, which shocked me. Balfour was the best match for him. A lot of it was due to his diet. He is gluten- free, dairy-free, and low-sodium because of his kidney disease. A lot of these places didn't have a menu that would work for him. That was one of the deciding factors besides the fact that they said yes, but they said they would only accept him if he went first into nursing care because they felt like he had so many needs and they wanted to be able to help him there. It turned out that actually, my husband had been getting stronger in rehab. He was in rehab for a month and within less than a week after he got to Balfour, we had a care conference, and it was unanimous that he should go to assisted living. He's in a studio, which is one of the smaller units, but that was fine. It's also what we could afford. They have a lot of activities except for right now, they have a breakout of COVID, so there are no activities now. There was entertainment in the form of singing and music almost every single day, probably six out of seven days. If you're somebody who likes cards, puzzles, bingo, and games like that, they're offered daily. They have things like flower arranging and gardening-type stuff, and they have walks outside. They are very heavy into activities and it makes sense because their community fee is $7500, which blew me away. The nice thing for me is if I go to Balfour in the future, that same fee will cover me. We would not have to pay again for me to come there. I'm happy he's there. There's a lot of nursing, but he's at a point right now where he needs almost no services. I think they bathe him and that's about the only service that they give him. He's on a very limited menu, so for him, it's rough. He has four entrees and very quickly that gets boring, but they try. One time, the head dietitian got the chef to make a special apple crisp that was gluten and dairy free and it was like hallelujah. They have one big problem and that is they have a single elevator in the assisted living area and that elevator broke for two days. My husband had these treatments daily that he had to get to. I called the nurses and I said, "You have to help me, but we got to get him down the stairs" and they did and they got him back up and the next day it was still broken, so they got him back down. By the time we got back from the treatment, the elevator was working. To me, anybody who has a single elevator and no backup system, that's not good. It's very expensive compared to other places. The units are tiny, which is fine for my husband, but there were some places I saw that were like double the size literally for less money.

Donna

My father moved into the Wellshire at Balfour, and overall, it was very good. The staff is very good, and they help him with just about everything he needs. They have things going on all day long, and he participates in bingo, crafts, physical therapy, and exercises. They have a physical therapy room, and a crafts room. I would recommend it. They have a garden and a pond, it's very nice, and it's worth the money.

Caring105297050

Balfour is probably too much money for the average person. If I got a couple of million dollars in my pocket, then I'll be alright. We ate there, and the food was five stars. The one-bedroom as well as the two-bedroom that I have seen are more than adequate. The two-bedroom of course is really spacious. They actually have doctors right there too. The problem with it is it is all private pay. For the average person, that isn't going to work forever. Once you blow through what you had, then you are going to be dependent on the government because they are private pay. If you get into assisted living or skilled nursing care, you are looking at several thousand dollars a month, and most people can't afford that.

Caring69542450

My mom is at Balfour Assisted Living and we like it. The problem we had with this facility is that mom is Jewish and they have few Jewish residents. In terms of the building itself, it's beautiful. The staff is fantastic. Her care is wonderful. The staff fall all over each other to be helpful. I would absolutely recommend this facility. They have a full activity schedule. They have happy hours, music, and they take people on trips.