Capt. Mondo's World o' Mondo-ness

Visited The Willows Nursing Home
The Willows was another nursing home that had been recommended to me. Glad it was, as it is certainly the best of what I've seen in that area so far.

It's located in Aurora, or more properly, in the scant remaining farmland area south of Aurora and north of Oak Ridges. It is nested well back of the highway and consists of a long-ish two story building situated between rows of trees.

I was late so I had to catch up with the previous tour. It turned out for the best since I had the chance to talk to the administrator afterwards for longer. The place was bright and airy, largely lit by natural light. There are planned activities every day, (small) pets are allowed, and the rooms are nice. One of the best aspects of the place is that the basic room is a much better option here than at the last place I saw: instead of four people in one large ward, there are two people to a basic room, who share a washroom with another two people in an adjacent room. A much nicer arrangement. It also appears as though more sizable furniture is allowed, so I can surround Mom with more things she is familiar with. There are plans for setting up a sizable outdoor garden, and there are apple trees dotted all around the place. On the whole, easily the most pleasant of the nursing homes I've visited north of Toronto.

When I got back home I left a message with the social worker handling Mom's placement, asking her to switch preferences in order to put this one at the top of the list.