Sunrise of Oakland Hills

The task of choosing an assisted living facility for one’s parent is an awesome responsibility and can be very traumatic. Therefore, I find it imperative that I write a review of Sunrise Oakland Hills so you know it is one of the best elder care places in the East Bay. The staff of Sunrise Oakland Hills is amazing. From the very beginning Cheryl, the Director of Sales, made us feel welcome and was so friendly to our family. Most notable is that she maintains her relationship with the families during their whole stay, not just until you “sign up”. The leadership team is always available to me and communicates regularly, especially Justyne the nurse, Graciela the Assisted Living Coordinator and my dad’s primary Care Manager Maricela. It is a well-organized place with protocol in place for every situation. Their staff training is outstanding, including for their volunteers. Respect for their residents is primary, but additionally every staff member is full of love, patience, kindness, thoughtfulness, compassion and enthusiasm. The affection they all show to my 101 year old dad warms my heart and makes me feel confident that he’s in the perfect place, even though he’s far away from me. I may only be able to visit once a month, but in between I know that he’s being well taken care of and treated with the upmost respect. I am so appreciative of everything the care managers do for him: repeating themselves until he hears and understands, spending time sitting with him and letting him tell stories of his past (his greatest pleasure, long before his dementia began), encouraging him to be as independent as possible by doing as much for himself as reasonable, knowing what he prefers to eat and never hurrying him when he takes a long time to finish, checking on him often to be sure he hasn’t fallen, making sure he is shaven, clean and well dressed, etc etc etc. Knowing my dad is safe and that his twilight years are the best they can be means the world to me. I feel like he is respected for the awesome man he is, even though his true “self” is now somewhat hidden. It seems like the Sunrise staff recognizes what an amazing man he is, full of integrity, intelligence, tolerance, open-mindedness, humor and love. I highly recommend you consider Sunrise Oakland Hills when it is time for you to make this heart-wrenching decision.

Sunrise is very warm and family oriented, they care about their patients and treat them like family. The warmth of the staff was what stood out to me. They have men’s outings, women’s outings, shopping, and scenic tours, but my dad doesn’t participate in them anymore.

Sunrise of Oakland Hills was nice, but more expensive. I like it. The person who helped us was nice. He even did a follow-up call, but we cannot afford the price. It's up the hill in a nice area. It looked classy and not like a senior citizen living place.

Sunrise on Skyline (Sunrise of Oakland Hills) is top notch. The location is fantastic. They are very attentive.

At Sunrise of Oakland Hills, the units were smaller and would not meet the needs of my friend. It was a drawback. However, the facility in general was very well planned. We saw the memory care unit, which seemed to be well maintained. We had very good interactions with the residents who engaged us in conversations.

Sunrise of Oakland Hills was very nice. The room seemed very nice but small compared to my parents' place where there are 300 residents. This one had about 100 people living there, so that was nice. I would suggest more outdoor space for the residents.

I think Sunrise could improve their grounds a little bit, they could remodel and repaint. They could remodel the rooms to keep their lower functioning residents out of the front lobby. The staff was helpful though.

I visited Sunrise of Oakland Hills quite often because I have a friend there. I enjoyed my visit, but I found that the administrative and managerial staffs were not that friendly. However, the staffs on the floor are very nice. They need to improve the staff relations with the tourists and even with the residents. My friend is very happy with Sunrise because it is a beautiful place. She said the food is good, so she is happy. Although on one occasion my friend has not been showered as she should have been, and her hair was not kept up. I had some questions about that because it looked very poorly on them. After the complaint, they changed and assigned her to a staff member who could work with her. My friend likes music, so she is involved in any music activity and bingo.

The Sunrise of Oakland Hills is smaller and a little more human, so that is good. The facility seemed good, but it is also quite expensive. It is a little isolated in the middle of nowhere, and it is pricey.

I liked Sunrise and its amenities; it’s got a beautiful view of the bay area but it’s just not within my price range otherwise I would have considered it. It’s in the hilly area so you can limit on walking if you are disabled. The staff was great, and the location and the rooms were gorgeous. The only exception is they don’t have balconies or patios. It’s a beautiful place, but it’s just not for me. They don’t meet my need in walkability. It is really setup for older senior citizens that need a little bit more help than I do right now. They allow pets which is a good thing.

Sunrise was my second choice because it was much harder to get to. I like it because they allow small pets, and my mom has a cat. The rooms were smaller, but it was also very clean. The dining room was very restaurant-like with separate tables. It was a very pleasant facility. One of the things that I didn't like as much about Sunrise was the rooms were smaller and gave less ability to create more of a homelike atmosphere. There was less that could be done in them and fewer ways to make them into living and bedroom space, which I thought was really important so that you don't feel like you're living in your bedroom. It helps psychologically not to feel that you're confined to bed. But the staff is just so nice, and they knew everybody's name. It was very clean, and everything smelled great. There's a nice recreation area, and the view of course is incredible. They did have a calendar of events. The only thing I actively saw was the book club. There were many things to participate in, like movies and clubs.

Sunrise of Oakland Hills was one of our favorites because it's a relatively small community. I think they only have probably eighty residents. Given that it's a relatively small community, there's lots of personal care. We loved the sight. It was a beautiful sight. The rooms were adequate and nice. We liked the staff. They were wonderful. The good news is that it also has a memory care unit, which was what we were looking for. It has both an assisted living and a memory care unit. That was one of our best choices.

Sunrise of Oakland Hills is in an isolated location. There is no grocery store and shopping stores nearby except for residences. The place is also too hilly that there's not much walking you can do around there, but the facility is very nice and the rooms are spacious. It's got beautiful views from the bay, but it's just too isolated for us.

Sunrise of Oakland Hills takes Alzheimer's patients. My wife has Alzheimer's disease that's why she is there. They have very good and caring staff. Food is very good. They have very big rooms. My wife seems to be very happy there. She has been there since last September.

I was a volunteer for this assisted living provider; usually I worked in the dementia unit, which is downstairs and separated from the upstairs area where most of the residents live. However I have also visited the main area of the retirement home as well - usually with a school group (many years ago) for short "concerts." The staff is very friendly and works actively to plan events for residents and provide entertainment. The dementia unit is locked off, and the residents of the unit certainly have a wide range of debilitation - which could be very frustrating for a high functioning person with dementia. Some of them needed assistance eating, bathing, etc., while others could still care for themselves and carry on basic conversations. I think it would not be the best place for someone with dementia in the early stages. The staff is very understanding, patient, and kind; which is certainly helpful. The center as a whole usually has a few volunteers, but they are usually short-term positions and part of a "service-learning" requirement. However the volunteers are respectful to the residents. One thing this center is particularly good at doing is bringing in groups of children of varying ages to sing (usually for St. Patrick's day, Valentine's day, and Christmas). Although I know that they did once hide Easter eggs and encouraged local kids to come over and look around.

I went on a tour of Sunrise of Oakland Hills because it's in my neighborhood and I was thinking of possible future homes for my dad, who has dementia. The location is lovely -- high in the sunny oakland hills with a few of the bays. It's peaceful and the best thing about the place is a garden space. Staff were all super friendly and while it was just one visit, I had the sense that the place is well run. I visited during what I think was a sort of family activity hour on the lower floor. The scene was lively. Residents sat chatting with their relatives while a staff person led some kind of trivia game referencing cultural touchstones that were, certainly, before my time.

Very beautiful building in the Oakland hills with a view of the San Francisco Bay. The whole place has a warm feeling"”not at all sterile"”and both the building and staff make for a dignified and sweet environment for the residents. The regular staff seem to know all the residents and are familiar with details about them. In the assisted living area, residents are encouraged to be out of their rooms, involved in activities or just enjoying the living room and fireplace. There is a room with a jukebox, with music of the era, and a lot of activities, including a wide variety of outings. The hallways have street names that are familiar to the older generation. There is also a memory care unit"”and the staff there is also well-trained. Residents are out of their rooms, with lots of appropriate activities provided. There are even items for the residents to engage with that are familiar from earlier stages of their lives such as work tables with tools (plastic, of course) for those who enjoyed working with their hands and baby dolls for those who valued being parents. There are also some special touches for all residents, such as freshly baked cookies provided as treats.

I was so surprised when I first visited Sunrise to determine if it would be an appropriate place to leave my father while I was on vacation for 12 days as a resident in their respite care program. It is an absolutely gorgeous facility that is perched on a hill top with 360 degree views of the San Francisco Bay Area. The decor is elegant and tasteful. They have 2 sections, one for independent living in apartment style units and one secure area for residents with dementia, which is where my father stayed. That section was decorated with "memory corners." Some were dolls and dress-up apparrel,some military memorabilia and other items in which the residents might make a connection. The residents could also go outside in a beautiful garden area with the 360 degree views of the Bay Area. The staff was friendly and courteous and the smell of popping popcorn from an old fashion popper filled the air every afternoon as a way to stimulate the appetites of the residents. In the assisted living areas, they offer delicious menu selections, which are posted outside the elegant dining room, cocktail hour with virgin drinks and wine, afternoon cookies served on silver platters, all types of activities and live music, frequent fun outtings and a van with a driver available for use. One observation in the secure area was the staff seem to just let the patients roam and do as they pleased. Personal grooming could have been a bit more attentive, but one good thing was there was no smell of urine that lingered in the air. Overall, I would highly recommend it, especially the assisted living section which seemed to be very comfortable and appealing.