After the recent passing of my father, I felt compelled to post a review of Roseville Commons here on Yelp. I was immediately struck by two things once I had logged on. One is that there were only two reviews for the facility and number two, one of them was almost completely negative. Frankly, I couldn't believe what I was reading on the negative review. My experience and that of my father’s couldn't have been more opposite, but I digress.
After the passing of my mother seven years prior, my father continued to live in their home for the next 6 ½ years. During that time, he cooked less and less for himself and did less and less cleaning. Both of which are understandable, considering my father was in his mid-80s at the time. Although my wife and I, and other family members, continually encouraged him to come and live with one of us, or have someone come in to cook and clean, or move to a senior community, he would not have anything to do with any of it. Over time, he lost more and more weight and became more and more frail.
One day, as I was driving by Roseville Commons, I decided to pull in and just see what it was about. As I approached the front entrance, I noticed that there were a half dozen or so residents sitting out on the outdoor patio area, just outside of the front door, enjoying the sunshine. I introduced myself and asked if they would mind if I sat down to chat with them a bit about the facility. They were all very friendly and invited me to do so. I proceeded to ask how each one of them enjoyed living there and any other information I could glean. Let's face it, not many of us would choose to leave our homes in favor of living in a senior facility. However, many of us will have to make that choice at some point in our lives. This was the general consensus of the residents I talked to. That being said, without exception, they all thought it was a pretty good place to live. They all commented on the many activities, the entertainment, the field trips, the special occasions and holidays, and how friendly and welcoming everyone is. The only complaint that I heard, was that they couldn't cook a decent pork chop.
After hearing this, I decided to proceed inside. I was greeted by a very nice woman named Marlene. She asked me if I would like a tour of the place and I accepted. I was completely impressed by how bright and clean and well-kept everything was. As we walked through the hallways everyone, without fail, greeted me, and Marlene greeted each one of them by name. I was really struck by how nice it was. After the tour, Marlene gave me some brochures and told me that if my father would like to come and try it out, he could stay there two nights free in their guest room.
So, after leaving, I stopped by my dad's house and told him of my experience and presented him with the brochures. He wasn't interested. Over the few months on my visits, I would bring it up casually and ask if he had thought about it anymore. After about six months, I had pretty much given up, when one day, while I was visiting, he brought it up and said he’d like to go look at the place. Before he could change his mind, I loaded him in the car and we were off. Upon arrival, we were again greeted by Marlene and she proceeded to give my father the tour. Again, as we walked through the hallways, every resident gave us a friendly greeting.
After the tour, a couple of days had past, and this time when I visited my dad, he said "I think I'm going to give it a try for a couple of days", which he did. After his stay, he was so impressed with not only how friendly and welcoming everyone was, but also with the facility, apartments, activities, etc. He was sold! Over the next couple of weeks, while waiting for an apartment to open up, my wife and I began visiting thrift stores and picking up various decorator items to give his new, upcoming apartment an updated feel, while still planning to use certain pieces of his own furniture and items to maintain the familiar feeling of being at home; i.e. his favorite recliner etc.
After being there for several weeks, he began telling his friends and family that living at Roseville Commons was like being on a cruise ship. Being a veteran of 30+ cruises, this was high praise! He would say "You got your state room, you've got your meals, you got your entertainment, you've got your maid service, you got your room service, you have your shore excursions (meaning the field trips, trips to the store, shopping trips, etc.), you got your happy hours and always someone to talk to". He loved it! Was the food great? He said it could be better. He also gained 14 pounds in three months.
Although I never had dinner there on one of my visits, I had several breakfasts and found them equivalent to something you would get at a diner. There was always a daily special, but you could always order whatever you wanted off of the menu. They also have a bar with cereals, fresh fruits, muffins, sweet rolls and fresh juices. The entrées were always served tableside.
Overall, he was happy there, participated in everything, knew everybody and had a whole new crowd to tell all of his stories to. It was great! The only regret I have, and the only regret I'm sure he had, is that he only was able to enjoy it for five months before he passed.
In closing, let me just say this in reference to the negative review; my dad moved into a freshly painted apartment with new carpet. It had a kitchenette with a refrigerator, sink, microwave, ample counter and cabinet space, cable TV and Internet. It had a sliding glass door and outdoor patio. Once it was dolled up, it looked like a little model home and he felt the same way. For the first few days there was a problem with the air conditioner being a little noisy, due to a fan issue and a problem with the shower valve. We reported these immediately and they were both taken care of right away.The place is surrounded by fences in the back, all doors are kept locked, and the front door requires a key code to get in after 5:30pm. Neither one of us ever felt security was an issue at all.
The bottom line is, if you have a parent or parents that are in need of a place like Roseville Commons, you need to go and meet Marlene, the Director, Juanita, the residents, and the rest of the staff for that matter and decide for yourself. I'm sure you will agree with me. I fully intended to leave a shorter review and I'm sure this is probably one of the longest on Yelp! But, after reading that negative review and after my experience and my compulsion to write a review in the first place, I couldn't help myself. I hope this review helps you.