Merrill Gardens at Sherwood

My mom was at the Ackerly in assisted living. We thought it would be great as it would be an easy move when the time came. Memory care was good for awhile, my mom had more needs as some of the others which caused us great grief! We were spending $10k/month and my sister cared more for my mom than some of the staff at Merrill gardens. I would like to say that some of the staff does try, but it’s hard when you’re very understaffed. (There’s approximately 9-10 residents/staff member). My sister was told they weren’t able to help my mom get ready in the morning (even though it was apart of her care plan). I watched as the staff took plenty of time with other residents, but not my mom. The turnover was crazy! In less than a year they lost so many good people. The new memory care head person/nurse lacks empathy. She’ll say one thing, but her actions say otherwise. I was thankful to find my mom a place that will take care of all her needs, she gets more personalized care and they treat her like family. If your loved one needs ANY kind of additional care, do NOT take them here. There were multiple times prior to the change when I emailed the general manager/nurse with no response. I even called headquarters with barely response.

My fiercely independent and wonderful parents, at our insistence, reluctantly joined the Ackerly Sherwood Community (now Merrill Gardens) a little over two years ago. We have witnessed such a positive evolution in their well being and happiness thanks to the comfort, care and kindness that was always present during a very difficult transition. The building is beautiful inside and out. But it is the Ackerly then and now the Merrill Gardens team (many of the same wonderful team members) have been nothing short of remarkable in every way in partnering with my my husband and I in providing not only the assistance my parents and I need to create a sense of welcoming and belonging. The staff work together with each other, with the residents and their families as a caring and compassionate team in every element of community life. Everyone is addressed by name and their strengths and dignity are honored, even when resistance to care presents itself. My parents regularly share what a beautiful place Merrill Gardens is and how kind the staff and other residents are to and for each other’s well being. We are grateful to the entire MG team with special recognition to Stefanie, Michael, David, Heidi, Jolene, Christi, Vanessa, John, Nancy, Quinn, Robert, Willow, Gayle, Rebecca, Kristen, Judy, Linda, Gwen, Madison, Veronica, Kathy, Scott, Omar, Maria, Lizbet, and so many more… These housekeeping, maintenance, receptionists, med-techs, aides, bartenders, servers, event planners, calendar designers, CNA’s, nursing and coordination of care and guest service professionals along with their general manager are the heroes that weave the fabric of a truly welcoming, safe and caring community where independence and dignity are at the core of the culture. Thank you all for the commitment, partnership and kindness you bring to each of your areas of expertise as one united team! We, my parents and other joyful members of this community are so very grateful!

Do not take your memory care needs family member to this place. They are horribly understaffed and I believe that they are currently trying to push out anyone who might require "extra care". Management in the memory care unit recently had a total turnover and the new memory care manager and head nurse are both horrible. I have reason to believe that in their process of trying to eliminate what they consider to be "high maintenance" patients that they are using tactics such as messing with my mother's wheelchair, to the point that we spent Dec. 23rd in the ER, to messing with the Amazon Alexa that I was always able to utilize to talk to my mama every night. As soon as the new "head nurse " showed up all of a sudden that became a problem and all of a sudden her wheelchair started "falling apart" yet I never got phone calls it just got brought up when I was there. Clearly they knew about it before I got there and should have called. The last straw was when I had the new Alexa working. I had never spied on them before but things had been so weird that I decided on Thursday night to turn off the video and speaker and just watch. Two Hispanic workers putting my mom to bed spent the entire time speaking nothing but Spanish around my 84 year old mother with dementia who is already confused. The only time they spoke in English was to reprimand her for "not helping them". I videotaped this evening and had some Hispanic friends translate for me. They were actually talking about wanting to "yank her hair because she's not helping us". They were quite nervous when I announced myself and they realized they'd been watched. Next morning, the Alexa was turned to the wall so I could neither see or talk to my mom. We booked tickets that morning and moved mom the hell out that next day. Email and phone messages to both the general manager and corporate went unreplied. Clearly the change in management from The Ackerly to Merrill Gardens has changed the corporate outlook to profits and not people. They are horribly understaffed with more than 20 residents and only two caregivers and management doesn't care. At least the State of Oregon Ombudsmans office has taken an interest and seems to want to investigate. I suspect this is not the first issue as apparently the State spent the entire week prior in the facility. To say the least I am grateful for a better place for my mom and would never recommend this place to anyone who truly wants the best for their loved one.

Dining room staff are kind and helpful to my mother, as well as me while I am visiting. Also, there are many choices on the menu, including delicious cheeseburgers.