The Blake at Township

Cynthia

I toured The Blake at Township. It's a beautiful place. I loved it. Of all the places that I have checked, that would be my choice because they offer a lot and it's nice. I think my mother would love it. It's a great place. The people are nice, friendly, and helpful. I really like the place. They showed me an individual, small bedroom with the living area, and bathroom. She said those are where they put their temporary stays-in. The whole place is very clean, very nice. They had a very nice courtyard, and they had a lake on the property that was beautiful. They had a lot of activities for the residents. The amenities were nice. When I visited, they had live entertainment. People were in the common area, and they were listening to loud music. She showed me some pictures where they had activities like bingo, word search, and different kinds of activities like parties. They had a beach party inside. The staff were very friendly. They were very accommodating, and they offered me something to drink. They were very nice.

JD

My mother is at The Blake at Township. My sister who lives in the area knew some family members who had been there and recommended it. We like the facilities and the layout of the residents' rooms. All of their bathrooms are equipped with grab bars and safety equipment for people with handicap or mobility issues. The dining area is very nice. The whole thing is set up to make the residents somewhat feel like they're in a resort. There's a menu, tablecloths and cloth napkins. They have a pretty busy activities program and a lot of it depends on what they're interested in. My mother is going to get in a Bridge club there, there's a wheelchair class, and they have a nice activities room. They'll sometimes go on excursions or trips to the drugstore or coffee shop.

David

My mother moved into the Blake at Township. I love it, and it’s very good. They have a good many activities, and they have an activities director. They take them out, take them shopping, and they do other things also. Her room is a nice size, there's plenty of space for her, and it's well laid out. Everybody has been really helpful, and they worked with us during the move out and move in. They have an activity room, a theater room, card games, puzzles for everybody, cooking demonstrations, and workshops. The facility itself is excellent, well-maintained, clean, and there’s no smell to it.

Hannah

My parents are in an assisted living facility called The Blake. My mom lives in the memory care unit, and my dad lives on the other side in assisted living. I also have an aunt who has lived in assisted living there for about five years. We have been happy with the care for all three. They get excellent care. The place is a very nice community. They not only keep it clean, but they keep it well decorated. On the assisted living side, they have all kinds of activities. They have a big art room, a theater, and a physical therapy room with two occupational therapists and two physical therapists that work there full-time. They have regularly scheduled activities and special outings. They have a bus and they take people shopping and occasionally to museums or to restaurants. We have been very happy with their care there, and we're hoping to be able to keep them all there. They have had a lot of turnover in the last couple of years, but they have hired an awful lot of extra people. They have more staff now than they ever had before. For my parents and for my aunt, they are able to afford it on their current income.

D Bullock

When it came time for my mother to move into an assisted living facility, she wanted to visit each one around the metro Jackson area before making her final decision. Immediately as we walked through the front doors of The Blake at Township mom began smiling. You felt more like you were walking into an upscale resort hotel. It has floor to ceiling glass windows overlooking a beautiful courtyard and large lake, white marble floors, beautiful sitting areas, a large fireplace and high ceilings and plenty of openness about it. Someone was entertaining the residents by playing music on the baby grand piano sitting in the lobby. We were graciously greeted by the concierge Ashley and the Marketing Director, Kerri Adams. Prior to our visit Kerri and I had spoken on the phone and I mentioned that mom loved her home because she was located on the big water at the reservoir and could gaze out the windows all day long watching the boaters, people fishing and all the wildlife found on the water. So when we arrived at The Blake, Kerri could not wait to show us a beautiful suite overlooking the entire lake. Mom loved it. Everyone, the staff and the residents all seemed to be happy and busy with activities. They have a movie theater, a large activity room for parties, games, speakers and entertainers, a nail and hair salon, therapy facility, beautiful dining rooms where you are seated and order from a menu and two doctors that come every Tuesday and Thursday and stay all day in case any of the residents would like to see them. As we were leaving, mom said, this is the one. When I asked her what made it different from the others she said it was the way Kerri, Gayle and the entire staff made her feel. She said she felt like it was more of a retirement community and not an assisted living facility. Mom loved the suite she was shown but felt it was a little too far for her to walk in order to get to activities and to meals but she hated giving up the water view. I called Kerri and she was able and more than willing to have mom come back and showed her another suite still overlooking the water and now, even the courtyard and it was right in the middle of both elevators, the theater and the activity room. It was perfect. We were even shown a couple of the other residents suites (with their permission) as to how they had decorated so mom and I could get an idea of what we would do with her suite. Mom has been at The Blake of Township for a little over a month now and we can see a huge improvement with her health and overall demeanor. She is taking her medication appropriately, eating good healthy meals, exercising, enjoying all the activities that Gayle has planned and she is socializing with the other residents. She is waited on hand and foot and could not be happier. It has also given our family a piece of mind knowing our loving mom is safe, and well taken care her and it thrills us to see her smiling again.

NancyHanks

When I needed assisted living near Jackson in the spring of 2014, I heard The Blake at Township was very highly rated. Certainly it is a beautiful setting and well kept up, even though there is a high turnover among the serving staff. The majority of the staff are willing and helpful even though the aged can sometimes test their patience. The Activity Director is very hardworking and always looking for ways to improve exercise sessions and other experiences.Theire is a new Wellness Director who seems to be trying to improve nursing tech problems, but she lacks direct experience with assisted living/geriatric issues. The most severe problem is with management who have a background in retail food management, but attempt to make decisions about issues such as therapy and treatment. He hired an executive chef, who rarely actually prepares meals, which are spotty at best and and inedible at worst. White sandwich bread instead of rolls, high sodium content of food, uneven portion size and running out of food are common problems. Many of the residents fill up on processed desserts and ice cream/ Food service has high turnover and is often slow and amateurish.The Resident's formed a Council but it was unable to effect any lasting improvements. Three days after an evening when residents were told there was no food for supper except the chili many could not eat, the Spokesperson's vehicle was damaged in the parking lot, doors dented and keyed. People who rely on wheelchairs are often housed on the second floor which is a violation of state regs, and complaints and concerns are usually dismissed in a cavalier or off-hand way.

SHYGIRL8185

All of the employees at this facility were helpful and pleasant. They seemed to make a genuine effort to make sure that he was comfortable and well taken care of. The rooms were very bland in decor, but had the necessary accoutrements. I don't think that he enjoyed the food, but I am pretty sure they had him on a restrictive diet. The facility seemed secure, so much so that it was sometimes difficult for me to open the door. My children did have one experience where an elderly resident (most likely in some stage of dementia or Alzheimer's) accosted them, and gave them a good scare. I believe that to be pretty standard, although I would think that physical therapy/surgical recovery patients would be housed in a different wing.

magnolia39

On March 14, 2012 my husband & I went to The Blake to see about getting his father moved into their memory care unit. We met with their marketing director, C. Best, and were shown 2 units that were available, one that was a private unit, the other that would include a roommate. We told her that we would like to try the unit that included a roommate. We went back to her office and signed papers to have my father-in-law admitted and wrote a $1500 check for a community fee to The Blake. At no time was anything said about a possibility that The Blake might not accept him as a resident. The only question that was asked was when we wanted to try to move him in. We set March 22 as a move in date. A day or two later a message was left with my husband that The Blake would be doing an evaluation of my father-in-law on 3-19. Still nothing said about the possibility that they might not accept him. At 4:47 that Monday evening, 3-19, I called and left a voicemail for Ms. Best saying that we were going to start moving some things in and would that be a problem. Later that evening we went and bought a twin sized mattress and box springs and a twin comforter set the the room, since he was going to have a roommate. We took those things to The Blake. The next evening 3-20, we paid movers to help us move the remaining furniture into the room. Around 9:30am on 3-21 I called Ms. Best to see if we could go ahead and bring my father-in-law that day instead of the next only to be told that there was a problem with him being accepted as a resident there. We were told that we would be sent a refund of the community fee. I asked that they also consider re-imbursing us for the cost of the bed that we bought and the cost of moving him into the facility. We were told that they would get back with us. No one has gotten back with us & they will not return our phone calls. We finally called on 4-2 to ask when we could expect a check. Received the refund on 4-4 and The Blake had withheld $100 in an administrative fee. There was no consideration about our time or the fact that we had spent money to move him in only to have to pay again to move him out. The twin sized mattress and box springs are not necessary in the facitily where my father in law eventually ended up, but since we had removed the covering (We unwrapped them on Tuesday evening after we moved all of the furniture.) we could not return them. A simple phone call would have saved us over $500. If The Blake can't communicate any better than this I would worry about what kind of communication I would receive about a loved one that was a resident there. I have also been told by a local attorney that she has heard numerous complaints about them allowing someone to pay the fee and move in, but if there is even a hint of a problem, The Blake kicks them out. We have found a much more suitable place for my father-in-law. When the time comes to move my parents into assisted living, we will avoid The Blake at all costs.

Knotcrazy

The Blake at Township is a very modern-feeling from hat I have seen visiting my grandparents. it is clean, well-lit and the staff all seem very friendly. My grandparents living there have been very happy with how much privacy they still have even though it is an assisted living community. My grandfather had recently broken his hip and they have been wonderful helping with his rehabilitation and movement as they have their own facilities so he doesn't have to travel far. Though, my grandparents are not a fan of the food and wish it was a bit fresher. they tend to bring their own food into their kitchenette or ask for us to bring supplies when we visit, so that is something to take into account. They do really enjoy the community and activities The Blake has set up throughout the week and find the experience living there more positive than negative.

tiffnich

The Blake is a new, modern facility. The building is lovely and the food is good. Everyone I have met is kind and helpful.