The Courtyard at Fitchburg

Beautiful assisted living community! From what I saw, the rooms and common areas were very well kept up. You can tell this place really cares about the residents. The staff was very helpful and took their time to answer the questions I had. The Courtyard has a memory care unit, too, that seemed thoughtfully laid-out and secure. If you're looking for a loved one in this area, you'll want to add them to your tour list for sure.

My grandma moved in last year. We were really hesitant about placing her in a facility but she is very happy. She has made friends and is never alone. The staff is so sweet to her. When she lived in her own home we worried about her constantly. We dont worry any more.

The Courtyard at Fitchburg has been an amazing home for our mother. She has lived there for more than one year and she truly enjoys her new home; feeling safe and loved by all that surround her. There have been some major staffing changes over the past several months and though we miss some previous staff members, they are doing a great job correcting things and replacing staff with additional loving and caring staff members and caretakers. The surroundings are beautiful, and they take great pride in providing many truly unique and fun-filled activities daily for the residents. We are thrilled with the choice that our family made in selecting The Courtyard as mom's home.

Courtyard is a nice facility that offers a large number of amenities/events/engagement opportunities, has a WONDERFUL in-building 3rd party rehab group, in a beautiful location. They suffer from staff turnover, but appear to be headed in the right direction. There are a few correctable issues that would greatly improve the lives of residents, but it's been hard to instantiate these changes given the turnover. Things that are going well: There are a number of staff here who are wonderful. They have a Life Enrichment Director (Christine) who manages a truly spectacular team (Trey is a standout). There are frequent, thoughtful events that occur both in-facility (including an excellent weekly flower arranging) as well as frequent outings to legitimately interesting locations (e.g. Dr. Evermor's Sculpture Park, Lola's Hi/Lo, frequent thrifting etc). Staff from other roles (such as Nansi, whose official title is Business Office Manager) frequently engage, participate, and support the residents through informal activities. I call this out as there are a few staff who frequently exceed the expectations of their position and do what's right to build relationships and ensure a positive experience. There are a few longer-tenured caregivers who are thoughtful, empathetic, engaged and talented. Frankie, India, and Tryson have specifically stood out to me. The facility itself is quite nice. It is well-appointed, has multiple common areas, is kept clean, and offers several opportunities to get outdoors and explore the wonderful location. Rooms themselves are fairly simple and while they lack some storage, they are otherwise reasonably configured. Staff go out of their way to keep public spaces interesting. Frequent holiday decorations, reconfiguration for social events like BBQs, and other personal touches help it feel more homey and less clinical/sterile. Their on-premise rehab program, Powerback Rehab, is sensational. Jen leads an exceptional team. ALL of the therapists on staff are excellent - they put together personal plans, deeply know the residents, and get good outcomes. Things that still need to improve: Like many facilities, Courtyard has struggled with staff turnover. Frontline staff is a fairly constant churn. That said, recent turnover strikes me as appropriate. The overall staff quality appears to be slowly improving, they appear to be retaining strong staff, and weaker staff don't seem to last as long. That said, even strong new staff face a learning curve which comes at the expense of the overall quality of care. There's also been significant turnover at key leadership positions such as their on-site nurse and executive director. Again, these moves appear to be directionally correct but we have lost progress made due to this turnover. It is difficult to hold leaders accountable when those leaders change. Related to the above, communication is inconsistent. There's no patient portal/online hub, so communication is VERY low tech. With staff turnover, emailing can be hit or miss, but phone numbers generally stay consistent within a given role. It can be hard to get a hold of someone in-facility and staff use of the med tech phones has been challenging. Front desk has similarly experienced turnover and a consistent "quarterback" would go a long way (e.g. call the front desk and know they'll just FIND the person who can help address your concern). Finally, food quality can be hit or miss. This appears to primarily be a result of a corporate contract with a food vendor (Martin Brothers), which leaves little room for customization at the hands of David, who's their Dining Director. David has put out some exceptional meals (specifically holiday meals), so I think the talent is there, but I would encourage Courtyard to continue to work with corporate leadership to explore alternative vendors or work with them to improve. Supplementing this fixed menus with simple, on-site prepared substitutes (which has been done to limited degree) would also help.