Silverado Berkeley Memory Care Community

Virginia

My wife moved into the Silverado Berkeley Memory Care Community. In all aspects, overall, it was great. The staff members are caring and wonderful people. The food is good. They serve healthy and nutritious food. Her room is a good size. It's not overly big. She happens to share a room, which is a choice that you have. It looks out onto a patio. It has light and is very cheerful. They have activities going on all the time, and there's usually a staff member who will assist people in getting involved. It's a well-cared-for, large, and comforting place with little dogs to make you happy.

Provider Response

Annette

We chose Silverado Berkeley Memory Care Community because they have resident dogs within the community. My friend is really happy having dogs with her. Their rooms are a little larger than in some of the other places, too, and she's able to go for a walk with the dogs daily. They have a lot of activities, and she seems happy there. We like it and the staff is good.

Tyraa

I toured Silverado Berkeley Memory Care Community. It would have been perfect, but I can't afford it. It's too expensive. They are specifically and strictly a memory care facility. The whole facility is all around memory care. It just made you very comforted to know that if you put your loved one there, they will be taken care of because everyone is equipped. Like when you have a change in staff and you have that one person just filling in, everyone knows what to do because it's all the same facility. All the patients have the same ailment; they all have Alzheimer's dementia. It just made it very comforted to know that anyone can take care of them at any point in time. It was extremely clean and very bright with lots of light. It was really nice.

Provider Response

Julia

Silverado Berkeley has a science club and builders group. They also take people to the symphony, and they have dogs to walk and all that, so that already swayed our opinion. My brother prefers this one because there are so many things to do there. The place is an older building and the rooms are quite small. It isn't that attractive, but it has the other things going on for us. It is much larger for one thing. Initially, my brother was leaning towards Silverado Berkeley because he liked the people and he liked all the activities. The place reminds me of a college dorm, so it isn't elegant or modern, but it is good enough.

Brook Svoboda

Quality of Life and Dignity The Short: Silverado offers truly amazing care, service, and engagement with their residents - they are always treated with respect and dignity. Staff are also communicative, understanding and proactive when it comes to engaging you the family member(s). The level of care is worth every penny spent. The Long: My Mother was diagnosed with Dementia last year which progressed quickly to a moderate level. She had lived independently up to this point. She is a retired corporate exe who is extremely stubborn, self reliant, and fiercely independent. Leading up to the move to Silverado, family and friends made several attempts to transition her into a memory care/assisted living community with no success. Before the move, her paranoia and fear had become 90% of her daily focus, she was not able to care for herself. Quick action was required and Silverado responded in kind with diligence and sensitivity. Being an only child, living out of state and not prepared for the gauntlet I faced was more than overwhelming, it was terrifying. The executive staff showed compassion while delivering strategic support every step of way in navigating the malaise of bureaucratic red tape with health care providers and legal documents – I could not have done any of this without their support and intelligence in dealing with the who, what, when, how of getting everything necessary to move her. There is no play book for moving a fiercely independent woman. With all of that add two cats – without them she never moves. Silverado not only agreed, but embraced the cats – they are her children and her safety net – Silverado gets that. My mother has been there now for just over four months. Her paranoia level is 10%-15% of her mindset, her fear is gone, she feels safe, she sleeps through the night (before she rarely did) and regularly states how happy she is. She is a highly social person who had become isolated, depressed and fearful to leave her house or cats. Now she actively engages and has a multitude of friends – residents and staff members. So here are few insights that are worth sharing – please note that the week after she moved and the ensuing trips I have taken, I have spent 6-10 hours at a time with her in the community so I have had an opportunity to observe and engage on several levels. Engagement: This is perhaps one of the most notable aspects about Silverado – their programing provides for constant, daily engagement on various levels – exercise, socialization, mental stimulation and one on one interaction. My mother who was never one for much of organized activities loves participating – they have social events to get folks to chat and engage with each other. I have watched several of these events and find it remarkable how they get a bunch of folks to sit down and interact - truly special. Staff: The resident to staff ratio is high and varied – caregivers, nurses, management and support staff all regularly engage the residents. There is a sense of cohesive support and mindset (everyone is on the same page). If there is an issue staff actively work to address it, I have not witnessed “not my problem or someone will be there to help” situations. Keeping in mind that there three levels of care and different needs depending on where residents are at. Execution seems seamless. The staff know everyone’s names and appear to understand the needed level of care of each individual. Philosophy: It is worth noting that they just don’t provide lip service to their philosophy they execute. Their onboarding process was extremely thoughtful and strategic for getting her adjusted – they know what they are doing and how do it based on the individual. At no time was there a call from my mother I want to go home or I’m not staying here – visiting the first full week and half also helped. The background info about likes dislikes and idiosyncrasies is shared with the staff to ensure success. The Staff don’t act like they are treating memory care patients, rather regular everyday human beings. The level of dignity giving to residents is truly noteworthy, especially when you realize the range of care needs they serve. I visited many other assisted living and nursing care facilities in my life and have never seen the consistent level of care displayed here. Environment: This is not your average memory care community (assisted living /retirement/etc). There are no smells one associates with assisted living communities. The place is immaculate, the food good – different menu every day for each meal, there are standard everyday options, and open seating. The rooms are well appointed and the overall facility has undergone a complete remodel. Heating and cooling works, dining and common areas are well maintained. Final Thought: My mother feels safe, happy and enjoys being there. As I’m sure most people expect Staff to come and tell you how great your family member is, as part of the MO for any organization in this field. What is truly amazing to me was staff at every level engaged me about my mother and how well she was doing and what a great person she was – most commentary was unsolicited and unexpected, even from staff how do not directly over see her. But here is what really brought home what a great place this is – the residents themselves! Over the course of my visits not less than 20 different residents have approached me about how happy they are she is there and how much they enjoy her company and/or how well she has adapted. This happens over and over – you don’t see unhappy or unattended people here, everyone genuinely appears to be happy that they are at Silverado.

Marsha15

I moved Mom in. It's clean and pleasant and very airy. The room is very nice. The staff are very caring and friendly. Their food is tasty, and they offer different choices.