The Watermark By The Bay

My mom is currently at The Watermark by The Bay in Emeryville. She's in assisted care. We chose it with the help of an advisor. In retrospect, I don't think it was the best choice for my mother. They don't seem as flexible as we thought they would be. They don't seem as responsive either. It's all complicated with COVID, though; things are pretty messed up. For instance, you go a year plus without being able to visit. They don't have me singing their praises. I think they're trying hard, but I'm not sure they've gotten it yet. It's a five-story building, the upkeep is OK, and I think they take good care of it. I think some of the staff are good but not everybody. They don't always knock on the door, which my mother would like. Sometimes, when they know I'm there, they’ll knock. Other times, when I'm not there, they don't knock. That is a bad sign to me, pretending to be something that they're not. I've only eaten one meal there and it was adequate. My mother's not happy with it, but I also think she's a tough audience. She hasn't participated in any of the activities, and they're pretty limited. The price is standard for this area. It's fairly expensive, but this area is an expensive area to live in. They could try to be a little more responsive to their residents and make sure that they're fully staffed.

I have been a resident for 2.5 years. The apartment is comfortable. The food was very good but it's so-so now if you're lucky. Beef is of poor quality. Vegetables are usually frozen and over-cooked. The staff don't always order what is on the menu or get dishes to the dining room promptly. Activities are limited other than a movie, sometimes just out of the theatre. There is a weekly outing, but it doesn't last long enough to spend much time anywhere. It's rarely to a museum or gallery and never to a live performance. The location is good but on a main street. There is a large shopping center across the street. There is good mass transit, but no one but me uses it. Most residents don't have the ability to know or care that we are in a great metropolitan area or the mental health to take advantage of it. There is little in the way of dining options nearby and we are never taken out to eat. The review that said that some residents routinely set out front or in the lobby staring blankly in to space is accurate. Many do not have the intellectual capacity to take part in the limited activities offered. Weekly housekeeping is promised and paid for, but management has often not been able to keep this promise. Staff are very caring. Most of us have staff handle our medications, which is a benefit.

She was at Bayside Park and she was there as a patient of Kaiser. They have a program that does intensive therapy. Some of the residents were more on the independent living side of the spectrum and the others were sort of just shuffling around and drooling. The amenities for the Kaiser people are relatively Spartan and very basic because you're only in for two weeks, but you have access to the full facility, you are a resident there, and you can participate as much as you want (or not). The studios start at $5,000 and goes up from there. They do lots of activities for the residents and we were very impressed with the choices on the menu. The biggest thing that impressed me was that she was due her 5:00 p.m. medication and we took her out shopping for shoes, and we got back around 5:30 p.m., and her meds person was down in the lobby waiting for her and knew her by her name.

Bayside Park was a lot more posh and fancier but my dad didn’t like it. It just didn’t click with him. The staff was very nice and very warm. My brother had a real nice rapport with the director of the place whom he talked to a number of times before we brought our father there. When we walked in, they knew who we were right away without saying anything; the receptionist figured it out. It’s right down the block from my brother like a minute away so it’s very good to be there. We went in the evening and there were a lot of people out walking around and not looking the healthiest. My dad said it looked a little more like a hospital and I had a feeling that that put him off because you could tell he was immediately not interested. Their apartments were beautiful, nicely decorated and new but it was slightly more urban setting in an apartment building. It has a little more of a country feel and it felt more like the places that he’s lived in before. There is a shopping center which we thought he would like but I think it might have been a little too urban for him. The dining area is nice. The kitchen is good and my brother ate there. He said it was excellent and that was a big draw but it cost a lot more. It was almost $2000 more a month. It was very clean; everything was in its right place or looked like it. It was really the place we were pushing for.