Avalon Memory Care Royal Circle

My father-in-law spent his final 9 months at Avalon's Royal Circle residence, and from the very first phone call we found them quite knowledgeable and experienced with Parkinson's disease in addition to the more traditional forms of dementia. They helped us understand the progression of late-stage Parkinson's and the Lewy Body Dementia that often accompanies it. The residence manager, Misha, has apparently been in charge there for over 18 years now and has seen most everything and knows how to manage residents, medical situations and families in addition to Covid protocols. She is strong and highly capable, communicative and caring. She and the rest of the staff were very willing to cooperate with the nurses and therapists that visited Dad frequently and to carry on any therapies that they prescribed. You only have to encourage the therapists to teach the staff whatever it is they would like them to do. Avalon has a good relationship with a PA working under authority of Dr Cohen, MD to meet medical needs that arise at the home if you choose to use those services. While the communication with the PA must be done through the Avalon staff, several times they responded to same-day visit needs and were able to arrange in-home x-rays, labs and other services as needed as well as to fulfill prescription medication needs. Avalon prefers to use Glenview Professional Pharmacy, which is the best local pharmacy in the long-term care business, I learned from experiences with my own parents. Go with them. Toward the end, we decided to use Total Hospice which has a good relationship with Avalon. They, too, said that from all the places they go to provide hospice services, Avalon's Royal Circle was one of the very best and most communicative. Having had my own parents in Assisted Living (AL) for a number of years, I was quite impressed with the value that Avalon provided. My father-in-law received a very high level of care for a single all-inclusive monthly cost that was identical to my mother's AL with minimal added services in a Northern suburb. To get that level of service in an AL facility would have cost thousands more, if it was even available. Skilled nursing would have cost almost double, and full-time home care even more than that. My mother-in-law would have preferred to be her husband's caregiver but that was simply impossible with his high level of need. She had experienced having Aides at the house and how it felt invasive and she still exhausted herself giving care. Ultimately he would have been confined to bed at home, whereas at Avalon he could get help from two people to get dressed and up to enjoy meals at the dining table, TV in the recliners as well as conversation with the staff. They were skilled in redirecting and calming him when hallucinations or delusions would agitate him. I think the highest praise is the fact that my mother-in-law feels she made the right decision and has peace about it now that he is gone.

This is my fifth group care home for various relatives so I speak with experience. By far, the greatest advantage Avalon has is the longevity of its employees. When you have caregivers with 20+ years of experience, you get information about your loved one's needs that is crucial, but when every caregiver has that many years of experience with this same company, that is magical! Gorgeous house, wonderful staff, attentive care!

The care given to my dad while he was at Avalon was beyond anything I expected. The staff was attentive to his needs as well as mine and were so very caring. Any questions or issues I had were immediately addressed by the staff. Misha was just absolutely fantastic! Her care & compassion was just beyond anything I had expected or had really even imagined it could be. The office staff was great to work with also when I had any kind of billing question or issue. I highly, highly recommend Avalon! Thank you Avalon for all of the time, care & attention you gave to my dad and to me.