Barrington of Oakley

My father has been living alone at Barrington of Oakley for almost 4 years now. We both love the place. I think 4 things make it a unique and really special retirement home in Cincinnati: 1. It's month to month rent. No deposit. No big commitment. Leave whenever you want to (or need to). The price is middle of the road compared to other assisted living facilities in Cincinnati. 2. It's "age in place" "a la carte" care. You stay in your apartment, and they bring whatever services or equipment you need to you. They have, I believe, 6 levels of assisted living care, and you can change each month. Everyone in the building is a least level 1, which means you get an emergency call button "dog tags" to hang around your neck, staff check on you daily, and staff are available for emergencies. If you need a hospital bed, they set it up in your living room. You need nursing care, they send a nurse (or 2 or 3) to your apartment for as many hours as you set up. They have in house physical therapy and in house cardiac rehab. All ability levels are mixed together on the residential hallways (other than memory care), so there is a nice heterogeneous community in terms of needs and abilities. And if you need more care, you don't have to go anywhere (like to a separate assisted living building or floor). You just stay in your apartment, and they send what you need to you (and bill you extra for it monthly, according to a prearranged level of care table). 3. They have 3 set meal times in the dining room per day and a specialist whose job it is to create eating groups with 1 to 5 other residents you enjoy eating with -- a different group of people at your table for each meal. You can request a change if you want, until everyone is happy. Once everyone at your table is happy, you will have 3 eating groups: one for breakfast, a different one for lunch, and a third group for dinner. And you will eat with these same 3 groups everyday until someone requests or requires a change. This is a big plus because it means each resident gets to know at least 5 to 15 other residents they enjoy spending time with every day. To me, this is super important. How many 90 year old men do you know who have the social skills or energy to call up strangers they don't know and arrange a lunch date. Hint: it's none. They just end up getting discouraged and having food delivered to their room and eating alone. Depressing. 4. They have a top-notch, locked and secure memory care floor that uses the same elevator as the other 3 floors. If one member of a couple is in memory care, the spouse can live/sleep in their own apartment on one of the standard residential floors, and easily visit their loved one as often as they would like just by getting in the elevator. The Barrington memory care is not down the street or in another building like it often is. 5. It's a good size. Around 200 residents of varying abilities. Everyone gets to know everyone: the other residents and the terrific staff. The staff is knowledgeable, fun, energetic, kind, and caring. The only thing the Barrington does not offer is true skilled nursing home, hospital style, care. If god forbid that is ever needed, you may have to move elsewhere (but at least you don't lose some huge deposit). If you are looking for a loving place to safely, gracefully, and respectfully age in place, and if having friends and spending time with people is important to you, check out the Barrington of Oakley.

They could use more staff in the dining room but otherwise, this facility is lovely. There are activities for residents every single day and special events, the food is good most of the time, the facility is clean and well maintained, and the staff is very kind and helpful. All the residents here seem to be in a good mood!

Our mother resided in the memory care unit for more than 2 years. We had explored a number of facilities around greater Cincinnati. Choosing Barrington of Oakley wound up as a decision we were glad we made. Mom was generally comfortable in her surroundings which is no small fete when dealing with a person afflicted with advanced dementia. She had the good fortune of being cared for by some extraordinary caregivers. There were regular activities for the residents and the caregivers were generally attentive to our Mother’s individual needs. She enjoyed the food and was grateful for the care she received as were we.

My sister lived at The Barrington of Oakley the past four years. The first two in independent living and the last two in Memory Care. Everyone on the staff were wonderful. I always felt that she was safe and well taken care of. She loved the food and always said they made all the stuff she liked. It was a hard decision to move her to their Memory Care floor but it was the right decision. The extra care and help she received was excellent. When she passed away the staff was so caring.