Waltonwood Senior Living: A Comprehensive Review

• Introduction

• Care Services Offered
  • Assisted Living Services
  • Memory Care Program
• Facility Amenities
  • Living Accommodations
  • Community Spaces
  • Dining Options
• Daily Activities and Programs
• Resident and Family Experiences
  • Positive Testimonials
  • Critical Feedback
• Pricing Information
• Management and Staff
• Location and Community Integration
• Unique Features and Differentiators
• Awards and Recognition
• Conclusion

Introduction

Waltonwood Senior Living at 3280 Walton Boulevard in Rochester Hills, Michigan, is a family-owned assisted living community. This review covers Waltonwood at University II, including information about the Waltonwood brand and its approach to senior care.

Care services offered

Waltonwood provides a range of services that allow seniors to age in place:

Assisted living services

• 12-16 hour nursing support
• 24-hour call system and supervision
• Medication management
• Help with bathing, dressing, and transfers
• Non-ambulatory care
• Wheelchair accessible units
• Personalized care plans

Memory care program

Waltonwood offers a dedicated memory care program for residents with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia, though detailed programming information is not widely available.

Facility amenities

Waltonwood offers various amenities to support residents' daily life:

Living accommodations

• Studio apartments (about 400 sq ft)
• One-bedroom apartments
• Private rooms
• All rooms have emergency call systems, private bathrooms, and kitchenettes
• Some units include washers and dryers

Community spaces

• Arts and activity rooms
• Game room
• Library
• Movie theater
• Walking paths
• Garden spaces
• Fitness and wellness areas
• Fitness and wellness areas

Dining options

• Restaurant-style dining prepared by an on-site chef
• Special dietary accommodations
• Communal dining room
• Residents report improvements to dining services in recent years
• Recent improvements to dining services noted by residents

Daily activities and programs

The community offers regular activities and programs throughout the week:

• "Forever Fit" exercise classes covering strength, endurance, balance, coordination, and flexibility
• Movie nights
• Music programs
• Resident-led activities
• Outdoor programs
• Field trips and outings

• Bingo and card games
• Live concerts and entertainment
• Animal presentations
• Community outings to museums, movies, and the zoo

Residents report there is something to do throughout the day.

Resident and family experiences

Waltonwood has received mixed reviews from residents and families. It has an 8.2 out of 10 rating on A Place for Mom (20 reviews) and 4.0 out of 5 on Caring.com.

Positive testimonials

• "I truly feel that my parents are safe and well cared for at Waltonwood Main. The staff care for them with genuine love and concern daily. My parents LOVE the food and activities. We are also very happy with the new renovations, everything is bright and welcoming."
• "My mother has been in assisted living at Waltonwood for the past 18 months. I have not seen her so engaged and active for years. She enjoys the various in-house activities provided for the residents (Bingo, live concerts, live animal presentations), the planned day trips in the greater community (movies, lunches, museums, the zoo, etc.)"
• "The staff is always willing to help them with whatever they need. The food has changed recently as well as the wait staff. They have both improved quite a bit!"

Critical feedback

• "We're not happy with it, the rooms were really small but we have to move them somewhere. But the care we're seeing when we were there, and our tour was good, so that was the main feature why we went to this place."
• "It's older and outdated, but they're slowly updating the rooms available, so they're making improvements as they go. The rooms are smaller than what we like, but the care is what matters."
• Some reviewers noted that the facility feels dated, though renovations are underway.

Pricing information

Waltonwood at University II is competitively priced for the Rochester Hills area:

• Assisted living studio: approximately $5,310 per month
• Private room: approximately $5,560 per month
• One-bedroom apartment: approximately $6,180 per month

These rates are below the area average of $5,949 per month for assisted living.

Memory care pricing is not publicly available but would likely be higher than assisted living rates.

Management and staff

Waltonwood has a staff providing 12-16 hours of daily nursing support and 24-hour supervision, with assistance available for daily activities.

• Residents praise the staff: "The staff was very professional, very friendly and outgoing towards all the people there." Another resident noted, "The staff care for them with genuine love and concern daily."
• The facility houses about 40 residents, allowing staff to provide more personalized attention and respond quickly to needs.
• Staff assistance with daily activities

According to reviews, the staff receives high marks for professionalism and care:

• “The staff was very professional, very friendly and outgoing towards all the people there.”
• “The staff care for them with genuine love and concern daily.”

The facility is described as a smaller community with approximately 40 residents, allowing for more personalized attention. This intimate setting appears to be a significant advantage in terms of staff responsiveness and personalized care.

Location and community integration

Waltonwood is located in Rochester Hills with convenient access to:

• Downtown Rochester (less than 3 miles)
• Great Lakes Crossing and Somerset Mall shopping
• Village of Rochester shops and restaurants
• Crittenton Hospital
• Local churches and places of worship
• Major expressways
• The community offers transportation to local destinations.

Nearby amenities include a doctor's office (3.7 miles), CVS Pharmacy (less than a mile), Shake Shack (walking distance), a donut shop, and Church of the Holy Redeemer (3.4 miles).

• Dr. Mahjoub (3.7 miles away)
• CVS Pharmacy (less than a mile away)
• Shake Shack (within walking distance)
• Avon Donuts (a short drive away)
• Church Of The Holy Redeemer (3.4 miles from the community)

Unique features and differentiators

Several things set Waltonwood apart:

1. Family-owned operation: This structure allows focus on personalized care and individual resident needs.
2. Aging in place: The community aims to provide ongoing care so residents can stay in one place rather than move multiple times as their needs change.
3. "Forever Fit" program: A dedicated exercise program for strength, endurance, balance, coordination, and flexibility.
4. Renovated spaces: Recent updates have made common areas brighter and more inviting, according to residents.
5. Small size: With roughly 40 residents, the community feels more intimate than larger facilities.

Awards and recognition

The Waltonwood brand has won "Best of Senior Living" awards, recognition for meals and dining, and "Most Friendly in Senior Living" awards at various properties. Specific awards for the University II location are not publicly listed.

• Best of Senior Living awards for various properties
• Best Meals and Dining recognition
• Most Friendly in Senior Living awards

Conclusion

Waltonwood at University II offers assisted living and memory care in a smaller community setting with pricing below the Rochester Hills average. The facility has good bones: attentive staff, regular activities, and ongoing updates. Room sizes are tight, and the building shows its age, but current renovations are addressing that.

The family-owned structure seems to matter. Residents mention genuine care from staff, not just compliance. The activity calendar is full. The location works for people who want to stay connected to the town and close to shopping and medical care.

A visit is the best way to see if the place fits. You'll want to check the room size against your expectations, see the renovations in progress, and talk to a few residents about how they actually spend their days.