Brookdale Skyline

My husband and I are new apartment dwellers; transferring from a private home with independent status. Beth Portillo met with us to orient to Brookdale apt regulations and opportunities. Such a positive and pleasant experience; she was knowledgeable and thorough in addressing all our questions and concerns. Our anxiety was relieved by her demeanor knowledge……such a valuable employee. Even now, when we meet she calls us by name and has that positive vibe that is reassuring to seniors in their 80’s. Thank you Beth for getting us off to a good start.

My brother Charlie moved into assisted living after 40 years in a big house in Woodland Park. He was extremely happy with his new apartment and especially pleased with the quality of care he received. He went to great lengths to tell me how pleased he was with the staff, the food, and the accomadations. It gave me great comfort knowing he was there...happy..and so well cared for!

The 3 stars is for the staff. This facility has some bad things and some good things. The bad thing is the Social Worker she is discriminative, she doesn't respect that residents has a MDPOA, she was not always being honest, it's the things she would say and how she would talk to you. Not a good experience at all. The good things there was one and only one staff member that spoke to me in I walked in name Constant she was very nice, the staff/dietary staff/therapist was very nice to my father and the nurse that passed the meds. The one that I had communicated with most was the Social Worker which was the worst of it all. I'm around Social Workers and I haven't ever since a Social Worker conduct there self the way she did.

Our Brookdale Experience It is time to reflect after our first year as Brookdale-Skyline residents: did we make the right decision moving out of our house after over forty years into a community of older people? Have our “care” expectations been met? Would we do it again? What would we tell people about our experience? Leaving a “long-time-lived-in” home is always a difficult transition. You are leaving everything you are familiar with - your home, your neighbors, your friends, the wildlife that visited your backyard every day, the postman’s friendly wave as your mail is delivered - the things that make you feel good about living there and moving into a facility that offers far less living space and a much older population of people to get to know. It is a very different life-style - different but not unpleasant! On a practical level moving into a retirement community like Brookdale-Skyline is one of the best things that an older person, or a couple, can do. Brookdale is designed and staffed to provide a quality-of-life for older people who are unable, or unwilling to do the daily living skills needed to ensure a safe, healthy environment in the latter part of their lives. As we age, as much as we are reluctant to admit it, what we were able to do when we were younger, is now more difficult, and sometimes impossible to do - and that’s where Brookdale steps in. We moved into a comfortable apartment with two-bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchenette, living room, a den, and lots of storage space - one of Brookdale’s larger units . Other apartment configurations are available. The apartment we selected had been freshly painted and re-carpeted. Everything worked. Various meal plans are available with most residents eating breakfast and dinner while others eat three meals a day. Is the food “as good as mother used to make?” Perhaps not but mother got tired of cooking three meals a day! We suspect, if people were honest when asked, “Are you eating better now than you did it home?” many would answer “Much better.” Brookdale offers a variety of levels-of-care to include Independent Living, Assisted Living, Memory Care, Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing care to its residents. The scope of care offered allows for an easy transition from low levels of care to higher levels as a person ages or when more serious medical attention is appropriate. It is not a hospital but a facility that can provide its residents the medical care they need or, when necessary, facilitate their move to even higher levels of medical care in the community. Yes - we would do it again. Isn’t it better to make the move before you have to than be forced to move when an accident or ill-health make a move necessary? We thought it was - and still do. Brookdale - Skyline frees an older person of the daily living chores that become difficult to do as they grow older. It provides a safe, healthy, caring facility where the staff demonstrate daily, their ability and willingness to ensure that an older person’s life is in fact “golden.” Peter & Mary Kummerfeldt