Alto Grayslake

Julie

My mom stayed at Alto Grayslake. What I liked least was that for a year, I tried to get them to crush my mom's pills because she had a polyp in her throat that she couldn't swallow pills whole, and they never did it. They were extremely short-staffed all the time. It was very difficult to find people to work there. The last director was the best that they had, so that was good. She tried, but, overall, the care was horrible. They were supposed to shower my mom twice a week, but that never happened. They were supposed to give her easy-to-eat food so that she could swallow, and that never happened. The cleaning was terrible. But the food tasted good. They had bingo, different musical things, and arts and crafts. The atmosphere was sad. It didn't have a lot of positive energy. It was just not good. My mom had a single room. They also had a full kitchen, which I don't see in many other places. The actual room itself was nice, size-wise, and for what they offered. The bathroom was very nice. It wasn't always maintained very well. They had electrical problems. I had to keep buying new lamps because the lamps kept shorting out. So I don't think that maintenance was done very well. I met other people, and other families were extremely dissatisfied.

Doug

I have chosen Alto Grayslake for my mother. They have a motion sensor monitoring system that monitors the patients during the night constantly. So if they try to get out of bed, they are alerted so they can respond. They have a well-organized community. The nurses are pretty much in the center of the memory care units, so they're ready to access. And they have just hired a new activities director. It's a very welcoming community. It's very clean and everything works. I know they have remodeling plans. They're going to look at replacing carpets and tables and some furniture and stuff in the activities area, but even now, it's clean and well-organized. My mother's room is going to be right between the food area and the activity area, and they're nice. What's interesting about memory care is that there's a community room where they can gather. There's a place where they can just go hang out other than the activity room and the cafeteria. The staff seemed open, helpful, and outgoing. They seemed to be very good.

Suzanne

I am a resident of Anthology of Grayslake. What I liked best is pretty much everything. I love my room. I think the staff here, for the most part, are very efficient, very friendly, and very cooperative. There are a number of activities for people to do, and I find that most of the people are out and about during the day, they don't sit in their rooms. For the most part, it's been a very positive experience. It has a beautiful outdoor area, it's on a main road, but you can't hear it. The food here has been wonderful. They have a game day, bingo, and they have musical groups that come in. They have outings twice a month, generally a tour of some area. We go out to lunch once a month. They're having a special luncheon today in the activity room where they do a cookout and bring the food into the people. They have a movie theater where you can go and watch movies, and they have little libraries at the end of each corridor so you can go down and get a book and read. They have groups here that sometimes play cards in their rooms. That's separate from what they organize here. So, if you wish to get together with some group of friends, you can do that as well. For the most part, there's something every day to do. Even today, they're doing a cookout, and they're having a musical group coming in at 2:00 in the afternoon, so even on holidays there is something for people to do. They have access, parents, friends, and relatives can come in any day of the week. It's very nice here. The courtyard is gorgeous here, there's a walking path, and they have vegetables growing. I walk out there every day.

Mary

Anthology of Grayslake used the same therapy company that my sister's using today, so I found that to be a real plus. Their workout therapy room was very, very nice. The rooms were nice and the layout was great. All the activities were in the middle, which was very convenient because you want to be out of your room as much as possible. There were lots of activities in the middle of the building. They've got movies and bingo and a beautiful outdoor patio section. We looked at assisted living only. The staff was down-to-earth, had a great sense of humor, was a great salesperson, and questioned and listened to what the needs were for my sister. The food smelled good. We were there during lunchtime.

GP

Mother has been in here for three weeks now. It is a very nice place and very caring staff. She is enjoying her time there. There are lots of activities for her to do. She likes the food. It is a 3-story building. Assisted living is on the first and second floor, and memory care is on the third floor. My mother has a 1-bedroom apartment that has a kitchenette. They have PT and OT for the residents. They have exercise classes every day. They have a movie theater and twice a day they have different movies. They have special events, they have outside entertainment come in, and they have interactive games for them. However, from her room to the dining room is a very long way. That might be the only drawback.

Richard

We looked there, and my wife really like it. What stood out to me is that they seemed interested to have my wife in there. We thought that the rooms were very nice. They had different activities for people to do. The place looked very attractive, and in the summer there was gardening. They also have day trips and shopping trips they can go on. It seemed like they were caring. The food was very good, and they explained that there are choices. The staff members who talked to us were very cordial, and those working with the people seemed to be doing what they're supposed to.