Morningstar at North Ridge

Modification after one year: My mother is no longer living here. It's a nice place with caring staff and good food but they have new management apparently who are awful. They raised their rates and you had to sign a new contract almost immediately or get out that day! They are always very short staffed and they hire a lot of small women, some pregnant, who can't do the job. Be prepared to be there alot and do alot of their jobs, even for other patients! Old review: My mother is living here. it's our 3rd try and we think it's the best in the city. She's happy and well taken care of. She loves the staff and they're all really friendly. The facility is beautiful and the food is excellent. They take her on many field trip adventures. We've had a family birthday party for her there and it was perfect. The residents have become friends of my family, too. There is a beauty parlor where she gets her hair done and her nails get painted weekly. She's much more pampered than she's ever been!

North Ridge was my fathers (Eloy) home for almost 3 years. We were truly blessed to find this wonderful place. The staff is amazing and was very kind to my father. The nurses are extremely knowledgeable and have the biggest heart. Everyone took very good care of my father. He felt very comfortable at North Ridge. I can’t thank Emma, Patience, and Jen enough for the wonderful care they provided, especially during his final days. If you have to make the hard decision to place a loved one I would highly recommend North Ridge💞

My Mom was a resident at North Ridge for 1 year and 9 months. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, vascular dementia, diabetes and other medical issues. The staff at North Ridge was invaluable. At the time we moved her there I was under a tremendous amount of stress, trying to cope with managing her care. She had come from another assisted living facility that she walked out of three times. What I found at North Ridge gave me the peace of mind I so desperately needed. I was told to let them care for my Mom, to just focus on being her daughter and enjoying my time with her. I was able to do just that. The staff at North Ridge is patient, loving, kind and professional. They show compassion to the families of their residents and welcome any questions about their care. My Mom enjoyed the delicious meals and snacks that were prepared. She was always first in line and ready to go on the weekly outings in the van. To her that was traveling, which she loved to do. At first she was somewhat reluctant to participate in the activities (there are many scheduled each day), but soon was involved in and enjoyed them. I was always welcome to join them and it gave me great joy to see how engaging the staff was with the residents. Staff at North Ridge believes each resident is special - birthdays are celebrated, Mother's/Father's Day and holidays.are celebrated. Until CoVid, residents and families were able to join together to celebrate holidays with delicious meals. It was always a very festive event. One of the reasons I chose North Ridge for my Mom's care was because of their staff to resident ratio. When you are there you will see that it is a very active place and you will immediately notice the interaction between the caring staff and residents. They also have a nurse on staff 24 hrs a day. That was important to me as my Mom's medical care needed to be managed carefully. I was notified immediately of any incident involving my Mom or issues/concerns with her medical condition. I would also add that there is a primary care doctor that visited her there and managed her care. Through North Ridge I was also able to make arrangements for a podiatrist to see her. When you put it all together it really relieved so much of the stress of managing her care. My Mom passed away one month ago. I am, and will be, eternally grateful for the care she received at North Ridge. Becky

My mother, Tina was a resident at North Ridge for 4 months. Due to COVID restrictions, North Ridge Staff was our family’s “eyes and ears.” The frequent communication with Staff regarding our mother’s health issues or needs was professional and comprehensive. When we had concerns about our phone conversations with Mom, Staff was knowledgeable of her condition and reassured us that it was part of her illness. Numerous times we were met with patience and understanding about our concerns and were given thoughtful explanations of the efforts being made to care and attend to Mom’s needs. They recognized with kindness and empathy the difficulty that the family goes through in caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s. We felt encouraged and supported by the entire North Ridge Team. Although Mom could be a handful, they also told us things she said and did that returned the warmth and love she was given by the North Ridge Staff caring for her. When Mom was placed on Hospice, we were allowed compassionate care visits. The relief of having in-person visits with her was indescribable. My sisters and I interacted with the Staff who cared for our mother. We witnessed the professionalism, competence, expertise, patience, kindness and empathy by Staff. We saw how the Staff interacted with Mom, how caring and kind they were, how they cued the care they were going to administer and provided her care with minimal discomfort. The teamwork and communication between the Staff was impressive. We were kept informed of her current condition, care plan and routinely updated of changes or new concerns. It became clear to our family that we could not have asked for better medical and supportive care than what our Mom received at North Ridge. When we took Mom home in her last days of Hospice care to be with her family, we were told by the Staff how much she was loved and how much she would be missed. The Caregivers of North Ridge are so much more than Staff. Each one has a calling to do what they do for the residents who need their care. They are truly Earth Angels. Our Mom and family were blessed and gifted by their amazing care in the last stages of our Mom’s life.

Our family was very pleased with North Ridge. It's a very hardworking team of compassionate, caring professionals who work daily in a very challenging (and bizarre) environment -trying to make things a little easier for the patients as they lose their mental and physical functions, and for the families who feel the pain of watching a beloved family member wither away and lose touch with reality. In our case, they took very good care of our father during his final months - doing all they could to ease his pain and help him feel safe and comfortable. (Many of their residents really freak out at times. It's not an easy situation for anyone.) They also took incredible care of us during our long final hours at the facility (as our father was making his transition) - arranging meals, snacks, and a bed in the final weeks. We wanted for nothing. And, when he passed, they made all the calls to wrap things up and gave us warm hugs to say farewell. Memory loss for a family member presents some massive challenges for families. North Ridge took on the lion's share of those burdens for us so that we could still tend to our own lives. Also, although our father did not much partake in the social activities, the lovely facility and staff do create spaces for social interactions, exercise, and entertainment. There are two nice TV entertainment rooms and lots of plush, comfortable lounge chairs all around for those who prefer to be where all the action is. One bonus aspect of North Ridge's location is that you are near healthy, delicious restaurants like Flying Star and Thai Spice - making it easy to run out and grab a nice meal 'to go' that you can eat during your many visits to the facility.