Independence Village of Ames

Happy Chappy

I looked at 8 different facilities in an attempt to find the best match for both my parents. Independence Village was a winner. They met all of my criteria and then some. Here are a dozen reasons we selected the Village: 1. mom and dad could reside together (after 71 years of marriage separating them in different care areas was not an option) , as care for one changes fees are adjusted but they can stay together 2. The facility was clean and ‘smelled’ good. 3. The staff go out of their way to make you feel welcome and go above and beyond to help even small needs 4. There was nice music playing when you arrived and other musical entertainment throughout the month, plus happy hour 5. There was a bay window in their rooms and lots of other windows to make the apartments light and cheery 6. Of all the other locations, the apartment was roomy with lots of storage rather than a cramp little space. Nice courtyard and lovey front porch style sitting area outside 7. There are several other couples at the Village and a good proportion of men. 8. The other residents are fun to talk to with and plenty of opportunities for social activities 9. The nursing staff pay attention to my folks needs and keep me informed of concerns 10. My folks are able to get PT on site and well as hair and nail care. 11. The kitchen staff try hard to make a variety of meals and are awesome when preparing for special occasions like mothers or Father’s Day 12. There is no lack of activities one can participate in. All in all, I couldn’t have found a better place for care and housing for mom and dad. It feels like a home not an institution. Jen, Kerri, Betsy, Stephanie, activity, cleaning, maintenance, dining, driving staff thank you so much for all that you do. I am sure it is more than any of us can see but we certainly appreciate your care.

KatWhite

It has been a great facility for my parents! It is always clean and staff is nice. The rooms are beautiful and they put personalized touches on the outside doors for the residents.

Spouse of memory care resident

Independence Village staff has exceeded my expectations caring for my wife in the memory care facility. They are always engaged with the residents, excellent meals, offer organized group activities, and the staff gets involved in activities such as group discussions to organized gatherings to watch programs in the commons area. It’s a relief to know she is safe and well cared for.

Rhonda Nederhoff

My Mother has been in this facility for over 8 yrs. She is now 101 years old! Due to her dementia, we moved her from assisted living to the memory care unit. She is doing so much better now. The staff is wonderful with her. She is checked on every 2 hours and is helped with everyday living, knowing everyday is different for a dementia patient. Myself & my brother talk to the staff every time we are there. She loves bingo and is still able to play in the activity/dinner area. They offer activities for their skill set. The staff is wonderful. They listen to any concerns we have and have always worked with us. We moved my Mother from a two bedroom apartment into a one bedroom when she moved into memory care unit. She loves it! Taking care of dementia residents can be very challenging & the staff is wonderful! They treat my Mom like family. We are very grateful for the care my Mom is receiving.

Wayne

I went to Independence Village of Ames. I like a lot of everything there. It was a nice community. The rooms seemed bigger than the other place we visited, and there was just more interaction, I thought. The general appearance was nice. We looked at the kitchen, it looked nice for a restaurant, and their menus and stuff they had looked good. So, we were impressed quite a bit. They had their community room, and they had the up and down stairs where you had open areas, where a person could sit out, with windows and fireplace to enjoy, if you like, and things like that. It was just very friendly and very nice, and they took their time and explained everything to us.

Darla

I was very impressed with the Independence Village of Ames. It seemed like a very caring place and they had excellent staff. They were very friendly and you can tell that they care about their residents. The food was very good. Plus, several residents that I know there and their children had all said that the food was very good, and that they were happy with that. I liked a lot of the common areas, so people could gather. I liked the courtyard as well. It was very nice. They had a large covered front porch where residents can sit and enjoy the outdoors.

Cindy and Tom

We have been very pleased with Independence Village in Ames. They are providing a friendly, warm and welcoming home for our loved one. It is such a comfort to know she feels safe and cared for. She enjoys the good food, activities and having others around to visit with. We are grateful to the staff for their patience and excellent memory care program.

Jody

We liked the common areas at the Independence Village of Ames. There was a little chapel, an activity room, a beauty salon, and places that people could sit upstairs and downstairs around the fireplace. They have done a nice job on the upkeep. The woman who did the tour for us was amazing. She has been in constant contact with me throughout the process. There is a garden path or a walking area that is enclosed. Once they're out there, they can't get lost or anything. There is also a beauty shop and some field trips that they had been on. For example, they just took the residents a few days ago to an Iowa Cubs game.

DrJH

We were very happy to find a place for my father after he had a health scare. The apartment he lives in is roomy and has plenty of space for everything my dad needs. The staff is excellent. Alan, the weekend activities director, is great. He checks on my dad regularly and does not give up, no matter how many times my refuses to join the activities. Alan has actually convinced Dad to participate in a few activities! My dad loves being able to walk the halls for exercise, and they also have a walking path in their courtyard. Everyone at Independence Village is friendly and welcoming. I am very happy my dad has a safe and friendly place to live where his medical needs are being met.

Jan

Independence Village of Ames is very nice and they were very friendly. It was a beautiful place, the rooms are a nice size and they seem to care about the people. The prices are awful, but they seem to be more consistent or a little better than some of the other places. The place was lovely and the staff was just knowledgeable, caring, and interested in helping. The facilities were excellent, they were clean, and they were nice sized.

Gracie712

Rooms are updated with stainless steel appliances. Staff is AMAZING! They treat my mom like family. Any concern or question I have, they answer right away, and it’s always, “What works best for your mom and you.” The staff made it as smooth as possible when we transitioned my mom from her house to assisted living. They really do go above and beyond to make my mom comfortable and happy. The chef is fantastic and, although my mom is not a picky eater, she has enjoyed EVERY meal. There are so many activities for the residents to participate in. They encourage the residents to be involved in choosing the activities offered. My mom is a retired teacher and they encouraged her to teach a class. They have a small gym and have daily fitness classes. There is a bus that can take them to appointments 2 days a week. My sister and I are confident that we made the best choice for our mom when we chose Independence Village of Ames.

Matt W

My mom has early to moderate ALZ. She can function on her own for the most part but needs some oversight. Not having to cook was a huge plus for our family. She likes most of the people she interacts with and loves having the ability to have bird feeders outside her window.

monicahm

The apartments are nice. My family member is in a one bedroom which meets their needs. The ranking I gave below for the staff is based on great interactions with administrative staff but is tempered with problems that have occurred with other staff in regards to their responsibilities. Since my family member's residency in late June, their have been two interim directors of the facility. We are on the third director who I believe is the permanent one. This person is an internal hire and in their previous role I found them to be great to work with and I continue to find that to be the case. The problems were with the support staff and aids. There were some who were lacking in their knowledge base with simple things like the appropriate way to make a bed. Some linens went missing during the laundry process. Thankfully the administration replaced them but the ordeal prompted me to label those items to ensure that they were returned. There are some small issues that I have to revisit but in the grand scheme of things, they are minor. I am optimistic that there has been better training of those staff or that they have been relieved of their position at IV. In all of my interactions with employees, it has been pleasant. They are trying very hard to make IV a pleasant environment for the residents and they have always been receptive to my concerns. I understand it is not an easy job/career but it has been a relief for me to have someone to fill in to care for my family member.

Provider Response

Lindsey C

The process of moving my mom in and getting her transitioned to assisted living after being on her own for so long was outstanding. She received the perfect amount of attention and service, yet autonomy to grow herself in her new home. She loves the staff and her new resident friends. The engagement of my mom with the activities and social aspects has been a perfect balance for her... and she is enjoying her days. While my family was looking for safety for her, we found that... and happiness, which was the ultimate goal!

Janine Wiggins-Tellinghuisen

Our first impression while visiting was the front entrance. The property is well manicured, well kept. Inside the front entrance, we were greeted with a cozy fireplace and nicely decorated area and the residents were out mingling. We saw the 1 bedroom apartment furnished. It was the perfect size for mom. Not too big and not too cramped. The staff have been incredibly helpful as my brother and I are not always able to check on our mother. Each staff member has been attentive, caring and respectful to both our mother and us. We often times show up unannounced. The food is better than we thought. We've sampled it a number of times. We have seen first hand the activities provided for the residents. They are engaging and fun and optional. During the times I can't visit mom, I know she's in good hands at IV. The onsite medical services have been tremendously helpful as we can't always take mom to her appointments and transportation can be a hassle with my work schedule. Nobody enjoys re-homing their parents but we have felt good about IV since day 1. We highly recommend it to anyone looking for memory care for their parents as they offer progressive care as its needed and you're not paying for services not yet needed.

Family member daughter

The staff are very friendly and seem like they are happy to work there. They have fun together and enjoy the residents. I love that they have so many games, outings and activities to choose from. The food I'm told is delicious and they are always having treats and special times for a snack. The rooms are very nice and updated. They have nice sized rooms and are pleasant. I feel the staff are easy to talk with and helpful with any concerns i have.

CodyA

We were looking for a place for my grandma for when she can't handle her home anymore. We loved the atmosphere of Independence Village and what it had to offer. My grandma liked the variety of activities on the calendar and loved that they do weekly outings. They even go to the casino every now and then! The one bedroom they showed us was staged nicely and showed my grandma exactly what she needed to see and eased her mind on what she could actually bring. We didn't get to try to food, but the residents we asked while we were there said it was very good!

Reviewer05112020

We moved in. We get help with some of my wife's daily activities, we get our meals here, and we're not allowed to leave because of the lockdown. The rooms are adequate. We have a two-bedroom with one small bedroom and another room that's even smaller; it's too small for a bed in there. We have a very good-sized living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. They make sure that we eat and watch my wife since she wanders at times. The food is OK, although there are no activities right now. Normally we have an activities director who plans our activities and games of some sort. We have movies once in a while and we have a beauty shop or a barber shop, but they're closed down right now. Somebody comes in and takes care of people's hearing aides, but nobody can come in or out right now.

Sally O

Our overall experience with having my mother here is very good. Their staff members are all very friendly and we've been very pleased. Her room is very nice, she has a 1-bedroom apartment and she seems very pleased with it. The place is very clean, homey and welcoming, and I just think it's wonderful. She has been happy with the food, I have eaten there a few times and it's good food. I also like how they change the seating arrangements once in a while so she could meet new people.

Meslinger

Hands down the best place. I have never met employees who have cared so much about their job, residents and each other. Logan works very hard to put on amazing events for the residents, community & staff. We truly enjoy all the events and attend all of them.

Jim208282

The community was very good, and they were very friendly. It was a clean and nice community. The dining area was very nice, and the menu was good. I wouldn't mind living there myself. They have a book club, and people come in and do entertainment, so it was very good socially.

SarahEPBPH

I thought it's very nice, but it's assisted living and I'm looking for continuing care. The rooms were very nice. They had a lot of activities and machines for exercise and an activity director, which I was very impressed with. They had meals, laundry, and assistance with meds. The staff was very nice. The residents were very active and pleasant to be around.