Brookdale Sparks

Ronald

My mom liked Brookdale Sparks because there are a lot of shopping centers and restaurants close by. I thought it was a great facility, and I'd like to see my mom go there. It met every one of my mom's needs or wants. It was a very nice facility. They had a great library, a great pool table, and game tables. They had plenty of things to do. Seating all around the area was good. No matter where they're walking, if they get tired, there's a chair there. They had a great courtyard, and they had computers set up around. They had a shuttle service there. You could sign up and go where you wanted to go. Lily, the director, was very forthcoming with our questions and gave us a lot of information. We talked to some of the residents there and everybody spoke highly of the place.

Genevieve

Brookdale Sparks is a very nice area. It's convenient. It's fabulous. I wouldn't mind living there, but it's too costly, and it would continue going up. I just don't see it happening for me, but for people that can afford it, it's fine. It's not like I don't have money because I do, but I don't want to waste my money on one- or two-room housing. Otherwise, all the facilities and everything that they offer are fabulous because I'm a game player and I love to do everything, so I would fit right in. But the cost is just out of my reach. The apartments were fine. They're just normal-sized apartments for a studio or one-bedroom. The staff who did the tour did everything fine. She was very enjoyable, explained everything, and was very pleasant. As far as the surroundings are concerned, outside and inside, they were well-kept, clean, and smelled very nice. Their dining area was very nice. I never had a chance to try the food, but I saw the menu, and it sounded really good. They were doing chair exercises at the time, and they had puzzle areas and people were sitting and talking. It seemed very, very nice. When I went there, it was not busy with people because of the time of day. It was a very calm time of the day when there weren't that many people out and about.

Jennifer

The staff of Brookdale Sparks was friendly. We got a really nice tour of the property and the amenities that they offer. The facility was clean, and they have scheduled activities (like exercise classes and social events). They serve three meals a day too. Everything is included, as well as the utilities on the independent living side. Residents are each issued a help button. If there's an emergency and they're not in their room, they can push the button anywhere on the property; the staff will be able to find them and get them help. There's also somebody on site 24/7. Pets are allowed and there's transportation available. If you have your own vehicle, they can get you a parking spot. There's a small gym, a library, and you can bring in third party care providers for physical therapy. You can also brin in additional assistance if you need help with bathing, and you don't want to go to assisted living. Basically, that means you don't have to move anywhere else. You can just do all that on site. Amber was super professional. She took her time with my mom, explained things to her, and answered all my questions. She was very nice. She provided some additional information on the paperwork that she provided, so we had everything we needed to make a decision. I liked that I could go have dinner with my mom at the facility and just pay for my own meal. Also, they can accommodate any dietary restrictions she has. It's a little bit of an older building, but they keep it clean. It's only a two-story (which is nice), compared to some of the other ones that are three or four floors. Another thing that they offer is they will do a deep clean of the resident's bathroom and some vacuuming once a week. Then they will wash the linen (like bed sheets and towels), but residents can do their own laundry themselves.

Beth

My mother liked Brookdale Sparks. Their facility was very nice and more modern looking than the other one we toured. The staff said they were planning on doing a renovation before Covid hit, so that's been put on hold, but still, for being a 30-year-old building, it's more modern and appealing, like a warmer, more homey feeling. As far as the amenities, they offered the same thing except they have an all-day dining option. They serve the three meals a day but if you want to eat it at a different time, you can pick something from the menu. It's more limited though what you had to pick. We saw a studio and a one-bedroom. They only had two to look at, so we saw the smallest studio they offer. It is pretty small, but it's very nice. the bathroom was upgraded with granite countertops and tile floors. The apartments were nice. We had some fresh baked cookies, some fruits and some water and that was delicious as well.

Karen

Brookdale Sparks is affordable, but again, you get what you pay for. It's a conversion from assisted living, it looks like it. The rooms are kind of weird. But it's old and you don't get anything attractive. It's just everything, every room is different because of the way they've remodeled the building. It would be a last resort. It's near a busy intersection, which is like a quarter of a mile from the hospital, so if you're sick, that's fine. I think if you went to assisted living in their facility, it'd probably be a very good place to be, but for an independent person, it's tucked between a commercially oriented neighborhood and a residential neighborhood. There isn't any good place to walk, even the parking lot is really small. So I just would not choose Brookdale Sparks.

Cindy

My parents are in Brookdale Sparks. It's very, very nice. There's a lot of plants and fountains. It's just very homey. It has a really nice energy because of the plants, and it's very clean. It's an older facility, but it's very well-kept. All the staff are very nice. It's been just a really good experience so far. They have just hired a new kitchen director, so they were without one. The executive director was providing help with the kitchen. So there were some issues with that. They say one thing on the menu, and then they don't get that for the night time. I'm hoping that that's going to clear up now once they hired this new chef. As far as the dinners, they have set times now to eat because of the COVID. My dad said that the only thing he is not pleased with (and it's because of the COVID) is that he doesn't have a lot of time to eat because they have a set time to be in the dining room. They do three phases of dinner, and three phases of lunch and breakfast. He eats very slowly, so that was his only complaint. They do bingo, movies, happy hour, puzzles, and they have chair yoga upstairs. They have transportation to go to the grocery store and to the pharmacy. My parents have a 2-bedroom unit. We have to bring in additional help, because they chose not to go to assisted living. They have a beauty shop upstairs.