Countryside Living is a great facility to be a part of. We are one big family that support each other in all different ways. Families are able to bring their loved ones to a place that feels like home and know that their family member is cared for with love and compassion. I just recently had a family member come to me and state that she has placed her mother in multiple facilities and has been stressed out that she would never find a place that she would be happy with. Then her mother moved in to Countryside living, where our staff are trained specifically on how to deal with memory care patients, and stated that a huge weight has been lifted off her shoulders because she knows her mother is truly happy! It’s not only the residents that the staff care for, but also the family. We understand that it is difficult to deal with your loved one that is suffering from this disease, and we make it clear to families that we are always here for them as well. We also offer a day respite program at Thelma’s place that is beneficial for those at home caregivers, who just need a day break to run errands or just relax. Our support group is for anyone in the community that is dealing with a loved one with Dementia/Alzheimer’s disease. It allows you to open up and vent, teaches you ways on how to approach someone with Dementia and lets you know that you are not alone in this! Memory loss is being diagnosed more frequently in patients of all ages. The population of Dementia/Alzheimer’s patients has increased greatly and too many people keep their loved ones at home, because they do not know what else to do. Countryside living encourages families to come in and see their loved ones as much as possible, join the residents in activities and sing a longs, or even just hold their hand.

Mom’s dementia was a mystery to us. She walked her dogs daily, loved to read, kept a diary and basically did what you are supposed to do to avoid such a fate. But during her last couple of years, Dad was the one to really surprise everyone. Being a hard working farmer all his life, he turned his attention to caring for Mom, which was not easy as the disease progressed. She would sneak out of the house and get up in the middle of the night to get dressed. It was beginning to take a terrible toll on Dad.

We were so fortunate to find Thelma’s Place last July. What an amazing staff! We saw a small improvement in Mom and having her like it there was such a relief for our whole family, but especially for Dad. He could truly take a few well-deserved hours off. In many ways, his health improved as well. Our one regret is that we didn’t find Thelma’s Place sooner!”

I would like to give a special thank you to Country Side Living and all its staff! Having my sister placed in a care facility was a difficult decision. There were many places to choose from, when we found Country Side Living in Canby we knew it was where we wanted her.

It is a comfort to our family that she is cared for with compassion and love.

The staff continually offers stimulating activities and events for her to be involved with, which has added so much to her quality of life.

Keep up the great work!

God Bless.

On December 4th, my mom, Jackie Ceglia, will have been here at Country Side Living for a year. The tender loving care that she receives from all of the staff touches my heart greatly. Staff love to share with me stories of the things that she says and does, keeping me always connected with her. It is so obvious how much the staff love and care for all of the residents.

Please congratulate your staff on their friendly competent handling of my request for information on possibilities for my 100 year old mother. They not only showed and explained the great facility and services at Countryside, but also explained the process to deal with insurance and government requirements.

There are not enough words to express my great appreciation to all of you for the love you have shown my mother, Florence. Our time there, although short, enriched not only her life but mine as well. I am truly grateful for getting to know so many wonderful caregivers. I will miss everyone’s bright smiles and cheerful greetings. You will always be remembered with fondness and love.

During the last decade of her long life, my mother Wilhelmina was affected by advancing dementia. When it became clear that she could no longer live independently, my sister and I were forced to seek other arrangements. Over the ensuing three years, we moved Mom from one care facility to another. We tried assisted living, we tried memory care, and we tried foster care until Wilhelmina had been in and out of five different institutions. Each failed to provide our mother with the level of care that she deserved. Some failed for lack of security because even in her nineties our mother could climb out a window and make tracks. Others failed for lack of mental stimulation and (regrettably) others failed for a simple lack of hygienic care.

All those worries stopped when we finally chose Canby Country Side Living as a place for our mother to live, because live is just what the dedicated staff at CSL enabled Wilhelmina to do. During her remaining four years, CSL staff provided Mom with the security, care, and mental stimulation that she needed, but beyond that each showed our mother (and other residents) genuine love and respect. Wilhelmina thrived at CSL. We were able to sleep nights knowing that we did not have to worry about her wellbeing.

I hope this letter finds you and your staff well. I’m writing to ask you please distribute these letters of gratitude on behalf of Earlene and myself. It has taken all of this time for me to start to realize the extent of her absence in our lives due in part to the amount of work I’ve done to plan and carry out her official celebration of life ceremony, but also to the continued process of closing her trust. We are adjusting to the big change of Earlene not being here with us- we have and continue to share so many memories of her that we keep her present in our hearts. Each of these letters is an attempt to convey my gratitude and heartfelt thank you for the extraordinary caring and participation of yourself and your amazing staff in our lives over these past years.

Your staff is not only very diverse, but the level of skill, instinct, creativity, care and authenticity each staff member brought to our relationships with them is unparalleled. The list of people who were so important to Earlene health and well-being is a long one. However, the people whom I have brought to you attention herein with these letters are care providers and that their exemplary work needed to be recognized further.

As for myself, I am still sometimes overcome with emotion when I am thinking back over the many times I have been so distraught, tired and disillusioned but to my deep relief the burden of all of that became lessened when I problem solved with one of the members of your staff. Experience has shown me that we cannot go through this life all alone, and having the support of the accumulated wealth of knowledge and experience that is demonstrated every day at Country Side Living has been extraordinary and actually life changing for me. I think that there will never be a bar set higher on what the quality of life could and should be since our experience with all of you! I can think of so many examples of the levels of one’s life that are acknowledged and given attention by your incredibly comprehensive management. It seems similar to that comparison of the peeled onion. Every level reveals a different aspect of a person’s life to be examined and given appropriate energy. It was clear that Earlene would require a support team that would cover all areas of expertise from your staff with the diseases she was battling. Earlene and I both felt that those various levels of her life were acknowledged while living there, and she was able to carry out her hobbies, socialize, engage in family activities and live a meaningful life. Earlene really loved living at Country Side Living! For the years that my mom resided at Country Side, I wanted to say thank you for playing along that she was the owner. She was a proud women and that feeling of ownership gave her a sense of belonging. Victor and I would welcome any future dialog with you or other members of your management staff regarding our experiences during the years Earlene resided at Country Side Living. Thank you for delivering these letters and for the excellent work that you do.

As a volunteer at Countryside Living in Canby, I have had the pleasure and opportunity of being around special residents and wonderful staff while I am there. It is great to see happiness on the resident’s faces as I walk through some of the gathering rooms. Every December for 2 years now, I have brought fir boughs, large bows, Christmas balls, and holly into the facility to help the residents in making Christmas Swags for their own doors where they live. It is very rewarding to watch them pick out their favorite color of bow and ball to place on their swag. Their eyes light up when they see their finished product. The staff are very caring as they praise the resident of their choices and immediately take them to their rooms to hang on the door. The residents are very excited and appreciative. The staff at Countryside Living are so gentle and reassuring with the residents.

I am impressed with the decor of the facility. It is decorated throughout like a home and not like a hospital. You can feel and see how the residents are at home. I enjoy my few hours there every December and look forward to the next year.

My heartfelt thanks to the entire staff of Country Side Living, past and present, for the loving care that my parents received during the final years of their lives. You can never know what a comfort it was to me to know that when I could not be with them, they were surrounded by people who loved them and cared for them as people, not just “clients. I know that I cannot list (or even remember) every act of kindness, but I want to make sure to give thanks:

To Tracie, for being my first contact, my port in the storm, and helping me take the weight off my shoulders that first day.

To Lora, for watching over my folks and keeping me informed, and helping all of us make transitions between the various stages of their lives at Country Side Living.

To Lisa, for always giving my mom the cheery greeting that brightened her day and made her feel special. To Erik, The Chef, for wonderful meals, for providing my dad with supplies to keep his breakfasts “independent” and for handling the champagne on their anniversary, and to his staff for their attention to Mom and Dad’s food needs and wants, and their smiling faces and friendly greetings each day at meals.

To Amber, for her warm attention for both Dad (who loved to flirt with her!) and Mom.

To Carol, for being such a lively presence with a sense of style that always gave my mom so much joy to see.

To Erika and Jody, for watching over Mom and helping her to maximize the quality of her life and remain the woman she was.

To receptionist Tammy, who greeted me with warmth, always seemed to know who I was and we so friendly and helpful handling Dad’s calls and requests when he was still there.

To Leah and the nursing and medication staff, for their gentle care for mom, and for stepping in when needed to make sure both Mom and Dad’s medical needs were attended to. To the many, many PCs that care for (and about) both my parent but especially for Mom, allowing her to still feel like (and be) the beautiful woman that she always was, and for giving SO much love to both her and Dad. Forgive me for not listing names, but please know that you are all so very special.

To Matt and his crew, who chatted with Dad about repairs, helped us with recommendations for equipment and helped me move things when I needed an extra hand. To the laundry and housekeeping staff, for keeping their clothes and surroundings bright and attractive.

I also wanted to thank Kristen Berkey, for buying that special “love seat” for my parents to sit together and hold hands. Even though my Mom could not speak, she knew my Dad was always there for her. AND thanks to you all for the support you’ve given me during tough times- I will never forget it, or you.

You all do your jobs with such care and love, and as you obviously know, even the briefest interaction with residents can have such a huge impact on their happiness. I have been so moved, and learned so much about how to treat others from observing you in your work with the residents of Country Side Living. I can only hope that if I reach a point where I need care, that I can be somewhere where I am treated with the kind of love and respect that Country Side Living gave my parents. Please never lose sight of how well you do this for all your residents! With love and deepest gratitude.

To all the great staff members at Thelma’s Place. Thank You so much for everything you have done for Philomena. Have a wonderful Christmas!

“My mom moved to CSL in April 2014. After 5 years with dementia she had a quick decline and was no longer safe at home. Her care exceeded what my dad and I could provide for her. She had attended Thelma’s Place day program for nearly 2 years before the move to CSL. We knew the staff, were able to see the care & compassion the residents receive, so although it was a hard decision to move her out of her home we knew it would be the best thing for all of us eventually. Her husband of 53 years lost his wife, and my siblings and I have lost our mother to this disease, but we know she is well taken care of. We live close enough that we are able to visit several times a week. If we have a hard visit, say for example, she doesn’t know who we are that day, the staff always try to share an experience they have had with her. It’s nice to know that all the staff really does care and they do a good job trying to engage Mom in activities or work with her one on one.

At first we were filled with guilt, but that has faded a small amount. Knowing she is safe and cared for gives us peace. Dementia is an incredibly awful disease. You just have to “roll” with it and hope at the end of the day SHE had a good day, and we see that.

Thank you to all the CSL staff for what you do. We do so greatly appreciate it, and I am sure she does too!