Church Hill Village's Online Review Report Card

Such a great place to work

Fantastic experience across the board with each and every member of the CHV staff. Everyone is completely caring and competent.

We started looking at Church Hill in August 2019.....it was immediately our top choice for our mom with alzheimers and it wasn't even completed yet! The individuals who walked us through the long process of getting mom on-board with the move were so patient and loving. Fast-forward to Spring 2020 when we were finally able to commit and set a move-in date of April 3....then Covid hit. So, move-in had to be delayed. On top of maintaining 100% health of their current residents and staff, they continued to reach out to our mom and us weekly (delivering sweet treats, meals, care packages etc). Once CT and CDC standards allowed them to re-open to new residents, they walked through the process with us on a daily basis. Amidst continual changes and all of our emotions, we felt confident in every member of their staff and completely certain we had made the right decision. Move in day was extremely emotional and we felt so cared-for by each and every member of the staff. I won't lie, the first few days were extremely difficult due to her disease, but the entire staff handled it and cared for her so well that we were overwhelmed with appreciation knowing she was safe and secure. Mom has come to love her apartment and new friends and her anxiety level has dropped significantly. She feels at home. We can't thank Tim, Christy, Andrea, Jillian, Tom, Laura, Tally, Amanda, Kelly, Lisa, BonnieJean, Erica, Ellen (and everyone else we're forgetting) enough for everything they've done for our family!

I can’t say enough positive things about Church Hill Village or the peace of mind I feel knowing my mother is there, right now, as I write this. If you’re thinking about a new home for yourself or a loved one, I’ve described below what was relevant to me as I went through this process and what I learned since. I hope what I’ve written is helpful to you. The facility is beautiful and unlike any assisted living facility I’ve seen. The amount of thought they put into the architecture and interior design is remarkable. The family farm motif, with rough sawn beams, the “barn,” and airy, sunlit, visually layers spaces, was inspired by the small farm that once occupied the site. The interior is thoughtfully filled with local arts and crafts, historical photos, and mementos. The facility is arranged in four similarly laid out “neighborhoods” with distinctive features, not long, institutional hallways. The experience is one of nested or layered spaces, where you go from your comfortable apartment, to a cozy nook, to a shared community space, to the core of the building with all the facilities you’d expect in an assisted living facility (a lovely dining area, an activity room, an arts and crafts room, a gym, a salon, etc.). As you move past the core of the building into other neighborhoods, the experience is reversed, so each area of the building is both familiar and distinctively new. It is truly a one of a kind facility that feels perfectly grounded in its setting. The staff blows me away! After selecting CHV, my original plan was to move my mother in over a few weeks. As the threat posed by the coronavirus became clearer, I learned she may not be able to move into CHV if the virus had been detected in the community where she previously lived. Not wanting to take any chances, I resolved to make the move in two days. This required extensive coordination with CHV and a lot of creative problem solving across all areas of the organization. We made the move properly and safely. Just days later, senior living centers across the country, including CHV, started taking aggressive measures to protect their residents that probably would have prevented the move. Phew! My appreciation of the staff doesn’t begin or end with the move. Ensuring that my mother receives the care she needs was a potential deal breaker. I requested an interview with the Director of Nursing to better understand their staffing, capabilities, resources and philosophy. She addressed all my concerns and even surprised me. The biggest surprise was the unique integrated care team they’ve arranged for CHV residents. The integrated care team is a close collaboration between the CHV nursing staff and health care professionals spanning a wide range of disciplines who come into the building on a regular basis to care for the residents. I’ve had many interactions with the CHV nursing staff and members of the integrated care team and I couldn’t be more impressed by their friendly nature and the care, motivation, and professionalism they’ve each demonstrated. While working with the integrated care team is not required, I feel my mother is safe in their hands. I wasn’t looking for just a place my mother could live, but a place she could feel at home. This is another area where the staff makes all the difference. To a person, they are incredibly friendly and caring. They creatively, actively plan things for residents to do, opportunities for enrichment, and positive experiences. They consistently demonstrate an ethos of “pay it forward” and “random acts of kindness.” I feel they lift my mother up with each interaction. This is especially important now, as the coronavirus is forcing tradeoffs between resident activities and keeping them safe. I get an email every day describing their plans and how things are going. I often get emails with notable details about my mother. For example, today I learned of an unprompted letter she wrote to the culinary staff thanking them for their excellent food. I’ve tasted the food, and I’ve got to say, she’s right! Finally, when I read reviews, I look for details and balance, the good and the bad. I’ve tried to add details, but I’m having difficulty with “the bad.” Perhaps my mother hasn’t lived there long enough, but as Jeff Probst of Survivor says, “I got nothing for you.”

Church Hill Village is beautiful. But most importantly, they are friendly and very very caring. They treat my mom and all the other residents with kindness and dignity! This is absolutely the right place.