Dear Mrs. Will,

We are moved to write to you regarding the wonderful care our parents, Beatrice and LeRoy, received while residing at Belmont Village. Living only about five minutes away from the Belmont, my wife and I were there often and have come to know both residents and staff.

Sadly, both of our parents passed away in September, three days apart, and we no longer have any family at Belmont. Recently, we attended a touching memorial service, run by Lori W., the Activities Program Coordinator, and it again reinforced our belief that our parents were blessed to spend the end of their lives at the best place possible for them. We will miss our parents very much, and we will also miss the residents and staff at Belmont, though we plan to volunteer there when needed.

It is difficult to single people out for praise because, inevitably, someone is missed; we don’t see the overnight staff, or other staff members such as the café servers, who contributed so much to their care and comfort. But we would be remiss not to communicate our praise for those staff members we saw virtually every day.

Debra L., Community Relations, helped us place our parents at the Belmont. From the beginning, she was determined to help develop an arrangement that would best serve both of their very different needs and yet keep them as together as they could be. This would be the first time they did not live together in almost 60 years. Debra is upbeat and manages to achieve a great balance between serving both Belmont and the resident’s needs.

At the front desk and with activities, Peggy is wonderful, lively, and reliable. She goes on most of the outings, both driving and helping the residents. She is always kind and positive and just fun to be around. Beverly also helps with activities and at the front desk. She became one of Bea’s favorites because, due to Bea’s hearing and sight loss, Bev was always willing to repeat the Bingo numbers and play cards with Bea as a partner. Bev truly feels like the residents are part of her family. Virginia, who works with the Neighborhood residents (we met her at Shabbat services), is so very good-natured, upbeat and patient. Ola is always pleasant and helpful.

The AL nurses are great as well. We have found them to be proactive, responsive and available. They also have a very challenging, demanding job and we have seen them act with consistent and considerable kindness under difficult circumstances. Their efforts keep the residents well cared for and as healthy as possible.

The activity managers and PALs on the third floor are wonderful. They all provided such excellent care for our father, LeRoy, who suffered from many limitations, including dementia. Their care was extraordinary under difficult circumstances, yet they were always patient, pleasant, and caring. While our father was in hospice care, Renee would stop by before or after her shift to talk to LeRoy and give him gentle caresses. As he was dying, Celsa and Jessica came to say good-bye, with tears in their eyes.

The APC, Lori W., is an unbelievably extraordinary person whose personality, energy and “joie de vivre” are infectious to all. She is a wonderful person who never loses patience, who never seems to have a bad day and whose only goal is to provide a great day for the residents. She makes everyone feel as if they are family and loved, and we do believe that Lori truly loves all of the residents. On one of Lori’s days off, some of the residents were missing her and saying how Lori makes the place so much fun, and she really does. She is enthusiastic and never fails to compliment or encourage everyone, and she is so sincere.

Please know that your staff Belmont Village Buffalo Grove is outstanding, extraordinary and deserves the many accolades they no doubt receive. Placing loved ones into the care of others is an incredibly stressful experience, but these wonderful, caring, giving people at Belmont Village truly reinforce that this decision is the right one.

Sincerely,

The family of LeRoy and Beatrice C.