Bickford of Gurnee
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Real Residents, Real Reviews
Knowing who to trust in this journey is hard — especially when your loved one’s health and happiness are at stake.
A letter from Andy Eby Andy Eby Caregiver/Sales & Marketing
The decision to consider senior living is never an easy one. You’re looking for caregivers to help with situations that may have you feeling exposed and powerless. We understand that this is a vulnerable time for your family.
Here at Bickford, we believe that vulnerability is not a weakness, but a strength.
We honor the courage it takes for seniors and families to navigate the aging journey and we believe we owe you our vulnerability in return.
That’s why we display real reviews from our residents, both positive and negative. We’re not interested in cherry-picking feel-good comments from casual visits.
We aim to earn your trust by showing the full spectrum of feedback from internal monthly surveys of our residents and families. This is an uncommon practice in our industry.
Many of the reviews you’ll see are positive, serving as a testament to our “whatever it takes” commitment to helping residents live their best lives.
We interpret negative reviews through two lenses: First, some contain hard truths. It hurts to hear, but sometimes we deserve it. This feedback sharpens us, allows us to see where we fall short, and demands that we get better.
Second, some reviews arise from the unbearable emotional pain families feel as they watch a loved one decline. In these situations, our caregivers may bear the brunt of unrealistic expectations. As the saying goes, “Hurt people hurt people.”
We trust your discernment to distinguish between the two. Feel free to ask us about any review that raises questions or concerns. We believe that trust isn’t built on a facade of perfection but on honesty about our successes and challenges.
Thank you for considering placing your trust in us.
Andy Eby
Reviews for Bickford of Gurnee
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Reviews with Comments
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For starters reply to an email shouldn't take more than 3 days to do so. Especially when multiple people can respond. I was told laundry service is part of my dads plan( although I did say I would assist as well) left dirty clothes and towels for 8 days , no one did them so I took them home . If people are supposed to help then they need to. After almost 2 years I am really losing hope as to the kind of care that will be provided once my dad needs more help. Not sure if I can trust staff to get it done without excuses
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I like that they are always friendly and always cleaning. But the staff turnover is not so great and there could definitely be something done about serving meals in the dining area (add more servers).
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Kitchen/meal service has improved. Thank you!
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Nursing care is excellent. You have raised her bill $1600 a month in two years that's unacceptable. You're lucky to get a one rating.
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(name removed) is still a little disappointed in the meal quality. States meal service has improved
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I am waiting for the amount of her billing to be corrected and the $1600 owed back to her put back in her account
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It's been over 2 months with no activity person. Please hire this position as the days are long for the residents.
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(name removed) states Bickford team is very good. Still disappointed in the culinary service. Can't seem to have reliable staff to cook and serve food.
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My family is grateful for Bickford. It is a comfortable and caring home for our loved one.
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Still very disappointed in the meal service/ lack of reliable cook
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The main phone needs to transfer to a staff member. One of my biggest frustrations is not being able to get through when I call. When I am calling it's because my dad needs assistance - he calls me instead of alerting staff or I can see he needs help when I check in on him on his camera. Many times I have not been able to get through and VM is full - which tells me it is not being listened to anyway. This is a huge safety issue. Please rectify this asap. It should be simple to forward calls. Please create a shared nurse email for communicating pertinent information to staff. This would help with the flow of communication. ADA doors at entrance to building are needed. If not an actual button, then an auto assist would be helpful getting in and out with a wheel chair. My dad's wheelchair is still missing.
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Need handicap accessible front doors. This is huge. Very hard for me to get in and out with my dad when he's in his wheelchair and it has almost caused multiple safety issues. You need to implement a work order system for families to put in request for things that need to be fixed in the room. It does not make sense to have to go through a grapevine and find an employee when you could easily enter online. Often times does not get passed along. You also need to implement a portal to send messages to nurses, whether it is a shared email or another way to message from website. It's very hard to coordinate care through word-of-mouth with different shifts. And again, sometimes things do not get passed along. If the care is not being delivered,ad per, then there is a breach of contract and the cost I'm paying is not reasonable at all.
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Satisfied overall with the Bickford . Meals and meal service is still struggling. New director is working on hiring more reliable kitchen staff
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Loved the family day event . The luau was great entertainment for everyone. It would be great if you could host a family day event once a month . Thank you.
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5 since my mom passed 2 weeks ago and I never have to go there again!! What a dump! | Take me off your list
Did you know
Most senior living communities don’t share internal reviews
Know the Real Residents, Real Reviews Difference
Our Reviews
Real Residents, Real Reviews
- From verified residents & families
- Unfiltered
- Solicited monthly
- Current, ongoing & up-to-date
Other Reviews
Google, A Place for Mom, etc.
- Can be written by anyone
- Often come from people who don’t actually live there (i.e. just came for a tour)
- Reflect a static, one-time experience
- Partial picture
Why other senior living communities don’t share internal reviews
- Most communities don’t solicit reviews on a monthly basis. Most surveys are annual and used for internal purposes only.
- They’re caring for a frail, vulnerable population 24/7/365. Healthcare, by its very nature, can be messy, especially when you’re on around the clock. Service failures are almost inevitable in this context.
- They know that some of the comments aren’t necessarily accurate
- They don’t have the courage to be vulnerable. They want to control how prospective families see them.
- They’re afraid it would hurt their sales and marketing efforts
- They don’t trust the consumer to be able to handle the truth
Did you know
Bickford Senior Living’s happiness score is 2x the national average
Reviews FAQ
Bickford residents and families have frequent opportunities to participate in providing feedback throughout the year. Bickford sends out a comprehensive annual survey evaluating all aspects of a residents experience. Following this survey, Bickford sends out a monthly survey to see if we are making progress on improving their happiness levels. The responses to both surveys are posted on the website and remain there for a year.
Bickford is committed to transparency. That means posting all feedback – both positive and negative. Every review is included in our overall score (star-rating). However, we do not post comments that are libelous, profane or risk violating the privacy of our residents.
A Bickford Verified Resident Review is a review provided by a resident or family member/significant other that has been verified by Bickford as an authorized individual. Individual names are protected for privacy reasons.
Bickford has developed a program to improve resident happiness based specifically on the scores and comments of the surveys. Each Branch sets goals to improve targeted areas identified from the surveys. The actions that need to be taken are discussed as a part of each shifts daily stand-up meeting.
Due to the unique and personalized nature of our business, responses to reviews, if requested, happen individually.
Dining service needs more help. Everything else is good