Jerry Boucher
(June 18, 2017, 3:13 pm)
My disabled adult sister needed a place to live after her parents became too sick to take care of her, and we found a place for her at Westview. Concerned because she had never lived anywhere but home all of her 45 years, it was so difficult to do, but she just loves it there.
She tells us all the time how much she loves it, how happy she is, and now she has not one but two families to take care of her! Even though she is legally blind, lame and mentally challenged, she has a job in a laundry that she is proud of and that she gets paid to do, and she loves to brag on that as well.
First and foremost about the place is the administration and the staff. I first called on the phone and spoke with Julie, who was welcoming and very informative. She arranged for us to visit, our sister decided to give it a try and since then, everyone we met has been very friendly, caring and most accommodating to our requests over time, from the administrator to housekeeping, everyone has been great.
They keep us involved and informed about our sister and she obviously likes them a lot.
She tells us that she helps the administrator, Antoine, with his trash, which is her idea of a fun time, she loves to dump the trash!
She introduces us to the other residents, "This is my brother, Scott, he brings me coffee" and "This is my friend Amber."
She talks a lot about the meals and the great cook there, Barbara, who is so nice to her.
When she is home for a visit, she talks on and on about how they all miss her and how they are going to greet her when she gets back. She anticipates with pleasure returning back to her other home after a visit.
The facilities are probably typical for that type of place, a little institutional looking. There is a living room and a kitchen and a men's hall and a woman's, and the folks just live there. Everyone gets to decorate their room the way they want, and everyone is in charge of keeping their own room tidy.
We could not have asked for a better place for our sister. She has changed and become so confident and so happy in the 10 months she's been there. Since the beginning, before she moved in, we told her she did not have to stay there and that she could come home if she wanted to, but she has never said one word about moving back. Quite the contrary, she talks about her "new home" a lot when she is away, she misses the place and the people and can't wait to get back after a weekend with us.
There have been a couple of small problems since she moved in, but the staff is always so accommodating and helpful to resolve any issues. You can tell they care and are not burned out and just going through the motions. I highly recommend these people and this place.