Helen Claunch
Jul 2026
My 93 year old mom has lived at Buckingham Heights for over three years now. I moved her from another memory care where she was miserable and poorly cared for. I was determined to find a place she’d be safe, genuinely well-cared for and as happy as possible. I found that in Buckingham Heights. In my search I did something I highly recommend: I “staked out” facility parking lots to speak to people as they came and went. Do they have a loved one there? Do they work there? What do they honestly think? People were happy to speak with me and their input was invaluable. I also showed up unannounced and asked for materials I could take to review. I wanted to see if it felt open and welcoming or not. To talk to marketing I had a list of questions that started with my top concern: staffing ratio and staff turnover. Without enough staff good care simply isn’t possible. This was an unsolvable problem with my mom’s first community. A community has to be able to attract the right people, who genuinely want to work with people with dementia, and then provide the training and support to retain them. Training should be ongoing, staff should work as a team and feel supported by management. And, yes, they need decent pay, though no one in this field is paid what they deserve---that’s just the world we live in. There’s a terrible shortage of direct care staff at all levels of healthcare. The ability to get and keep good people is the true measure of what a community can actually deliver. Buckingham Heights has 5, 10, 15 and 20 year lists reflecting staff longevity---with direct care staff on all of them. That’s quite unusual and very telling. They are ONLY memory care, unlike my mom’s last community. The building is all one level, residents have freedom of movement which includes access to interior courtyards and various spaces to visit or just relax. My mom no longer feels trapped on a segregated upper floor and no longer spends most of her time “hiding out” in her room. It’s not a “resort style” environment, but that’s not the point. It’s comfortable, the scale is home-like and most important, my mom feels the entire space is hers to go where she wants when she wants---something she needs to be happy. One more notable factor: not all assisted living is licensed to provide “age in place” care. Without this they can’t do two person assists, use a Hoyer lift, support oxygen use, provide “mechanical” diets, etc.. Buckingham Heights has this license but for communities that don’t you’ll have to move your loved one to one that does or a nursing home if their medical needs intensify. Something to think about. I’m so grateful for the good people at Buckingham Heights! My mom is happy, well cared for and genuinely loved there.
