SKY RIDGE

Sky Ridge is an assisted living and memory care community on East Willis Road in Gilbert, Arizona, operated by MBK Senior Living. The Arizona Department of Health Services licenses it as an assisted living center (license AL12099C) with capacity for 121 residents, and the building is a single-story design, which means no elevators or stairs between apartments, dining, and common areas. Assisted living residents choose from studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom apartments.

Memory care residents live in private or shared suites within a secured neighborhood, where team members stay close at hand to respond to needs as they come up during the day and night. Care plans are written for each resident and updated as needs change, and housekeeping, laundry, and maintenance are handled by the community. Meals are prepared daily and served in a restaurant-style dining room. The calendar mixes health and wellness activities with social time, and group outings go to shopping and museums, along with walks to nearby parks and trails.

On site there is a beauty salon, a living room with a fireplace, a large patio with seating, a sunny courtyard, and landscaped grounds with walking paths. The community describes itself as pet friendly and also offers short-term stays, which can work for respite while a family caregiver is away or as a trial before a longer move. Offering assisted living and memory care in the same community means a resident whose memory changes over time may be able to move to the secured neighborhood without changing communities.

That continuity can matter for people with early memory concerns, so it helps to ask how the transition is decided and who is involved. In Arizona, assisted living communities are licensed by the Arizona Department of Health Services. A licensed assisted living center serves eleven or more residents and may be approved to provide supervisory care, personal care, or directed care services, with directed care being the level for residents who can no longer direct their own care, as is common with dementia.

Families can look up a community's license and inspection history on the state's AZ Care Check website before a visit, and reading recent inspection reports can show how a community has responded to any past findings. Around the neighborhood, Dignity Health Mercy Gilbert Medical Center is under a mile away, and East Valley ER & Hospital is about 4.5 miles away. Zanjero Park is under a mile away, Safeway is under a mile away for groceries, and Perry Library is about 1.5 miles away.

Public bus stops are a short walk from the entrance, which can help family members who visit without a car. On a tour, ask how the assessment process sets a care plan, how the memory care neighborhood is staffed overnight, which outings are on the current calendar, and how short-term stays are arranged. Ask, too, about pet policies for the specific apartment you are considering. Local Senior Advisor is a free service to families.

If you would like help comparing Sky Ridge with other communities in Gilbert, or deciding which level of care fits, reach out for a short conversation.