Brookdale Valley View

My sister was at Brookdale Valley View from April 3rd through the 11th. It was the name that was recommended by the rehab facility that she was in. She was supposed to be going home, but then we knew that we had a vacation coming up, so they recommended this place. She loved it; she had a great time. She said the staff was very caring, they had a lot of activities, and she really enjoyed that. As far as the actual patient's reaction, I would say it was totally positive, but myself and my other sister were the two that went on vacation, and we were a little dissatisfied when we found out that they allowed her to sign herself out and walk across the street to a store; we did not feel that she should have done that on her own. She needed a couple little small things like batteries for the thing that takes her sugar count, and I feel that they should have gotten it for her and not allowed her to walk across the street. She is a diabetic, and four months ago, she fell and broke her hip. That's why she was in the rehab center prior to this. I just thought they used poor judgment in that case, but she was totally happy that she went to the store, and she got to buy candy and soda unsupervised. My other sister and I were not very happy about that. The sister that I was there with liked the caring staff -- because she is very caring -- the activities that they provide, and all those things. It seemed like a very nice, clean facility.

Emeritus is like a hotel. The staff was nice. The coordinator was very professional and pleasant to talk to. Even the cleaners and the maintenance guy were all very pleasant. It was a very nice place. It was the ideal situation for an elder person to live there if they still want to live independently. You can have pets inside. Their dining room was fabulous. It was like a restaurant. They have different activities like movies, exercises and church. However, the place is just too big for my mom.

Among the three facilities I saw, it was the one I liked the least. The people were nice; it was just older, and it didn't have as much to offer. They were friendly, and I didn't feel like I was in a rest home kind of thing.

I found the right place for me. Emeritus at Valley View is a place where they feed me and take care of me. It's very good, and I’m pleased. They have a lot of activities, and the staff coordinates them very well. They’re very friendly. If you need the food brought to your room, the kitchen staff will do that for you. The meals were just OK; they weren’t as good as some of the other stuff. They have several bingo games. They have some board games, and they have some trivia. They have a bus that'll take you to shopping and things like that. Their maintenance and up-keep is very good. My room is comfortable. It's just right, and it fits me very well.

The rooms are very small. I wasn’t expecting them to be big, but they were smaller than I expected. The bathrooms weren’t the handicap bathrooms. They just simply were normal bathrooms with grab bars, and I expected fully handicap-accessible bathrooms, and Emeritus at Valley View wasn’t as nicely decorated as the other Emeritus facility that we visited. It was OK. It didn’t have a very bright look to it. It looked kind of dark and older. I think it needed some work. But the people were nice and forthcoming. The staff was very friendly and very helpful. They gave me good information. They gave me brochures with all the information and a price list. They were good about that.

Emeritus at Valley View was the one I liked. They have a nice walking area, and I like that they allow pets to visit.

I had toured Emeritus at Valley View. Their rooms were in fairly decent size and were clean. When I first went there, the director was in a meeting and I couldn't meet with her and there were a couple of staff members that took me around and were really very helpful and when the director came, she thank them for taking me around and the she continued and gave me more information. The residents were playing cards or bingo in one of the rooms when I was there and everybody seemed to be very involved in it. One of the reasons why I gave it a high rating is because of its location. Across the street was a small shopping center with a couple of restaurants and less than a block away was a public library, two blocks away was the park and if you go the other direction around two blocks and across the street, there was there another mall with some fancy restaurants. They also have a pharmacy in the area.

Emeritus at Valley View provided a great home for my grandfather while he was there. The staff was extremely friendly and the people that also lived there were great companions. The rooms were nice, but not too fancy. The windows were the old kind that are made of a bunch of slatted glass which were a bit drafty. They did provide some programs in the main room, but my grandpa wasn't very interested in those. The onsite hospice was just okay, but was a necessary thing a couple of times for us. The facility did provide some outings for the group, using their own transportation. Not the fanciest of places, but for the cost it was a good alternative.