Nursing Home Communities in Berkeley, CA

"My husband had his rehabilitation at Rehabilitation Center Oakland. The physical therapy part was very good. They had some lovely staff and nursing people. I thought they were very caring and they did their best. Just like any other nursing home, they were stretched thin sometimes and couldn't respond immediately when somebody put their call light on. They could improve by having more staff so they could have a faster response time. I could think of as many negatives as positives, and I was trying to be positive, but I thought it was a good place for rehabilitation, and the sanitation was fine. "

"The older section of Piedmont Gardens looked more gracious. It seemed a lot of lively people lived there. The food was good. "

"I wish zero stars had been an option..... RUN, do not walk, away from this facility. My mother-in-law needed rehabilitation after her surgery, and though this place looked shabby, we could find no other beds available locally. The "care" was shoddy at best, dangerous at worst. Prescribed medications were not administered, while tranquilizers which had not been prescribed obviously were. The doctor who attended her seemed incompetent and appeared to be suffering from dementia himself, as he was unable to understand anything we said or make himself understood. He looked and dressed like one of the more unfortunate residents, which we mistook him for when he wandered uncertainly into the room. In fact, he was so elderly and frail that at one point while standing with us, he began falling over into my wife, and she had to catch him and help him to his feet. If this sounds unbelievable, it was to us also. We had to take over much of her care. She was supposed to be receiving assistance with walking; there is a room with exercise and rehab equipment, but we never saw anyone using it, though we were there every day for over 2 months. My mother-in-law was in a wheelchair against her doctor's orders every time we arrived, and we had to help her get some walking practice. They lost many items of her clothing, though we had written her name in them; she never appeared in her own clothes after the first week. She presented with unexplained bruises, smelled and looked horrible, never was clean or had brushed teeth unless we did it during visits. My wife began to visit at different times during the day, and often found her asleep in bed with the blinds drawn. We often came just after dinner to find a full plate of uneaten food, with no one monitoring the fact that she hadn't eaten anything, and then someone would come for the tray. This may not have been such a bad thing, as I cannot describe how much like dog food some of the more unrecognizable food was. The worst part was that, out of concern for her welfare, we still had to be friendly with the uncompassionate and rude staff, especially one of the managers, Anna, who repeatedly assured us that my mother-in-law's stay was completely covered and that she would let us know the minute insurance coverage ran out, yet presented us with a large bill the day we went to pick my mother-in-law up, believing everything to have been covered. In what was supposed to be a restful place to recover, my mother-in-law's dementia and ability to walk worsened considerably, probably from inactivity. I would not let my dog stay in this place. "

"This is the most caring facility. My mother spent her last few months at McClure and they treated her with such love, compassion and dignity. I cannot express my gratitude enough to these "angels" who helped my in my darkest hour. I noticed they also are quite effexctive in getting seniors "up". My mother has one roomate who was there for a short term and they were always encouraging here to get into therapy even when she was trying to be lazy. When she left it was with a smile."

"My mother, Jan, was admitted late last year to Shields Nursing Center after being discharged from Doctors Medical Center. She, just like anyone else, did not want to go to any nursing facility, because she missed home so much after being in the hospital urgent care for about four months. From her feedback as well as from my personal visits, the staff were very friendly and helpful even though they were very busy doing their best to care for so many people. The food was reasonable. The facility does need more improvement on the lighting in the rooms. The rooms are small, which is not the factor. The rooms have a dark interior which seems to bring gloom to not only the patients but the visitors as well. Knowing the buildings are quite old, I am sure some time the rooms will be brightened up, which will help in brightening up the patients who stay there. I would like to add, that my mother needed to have all her pain meds upon discharge from the center, and even though the full prescribed amounts could not be released, they were so compassionate enough to give her samples and whatever amounts that could be approved right away. Though I was not a patient staying there, I still miss the wonderful staff and my mother would say the same. Rest her soul. "

"The accommodations are old and very basic"”looking very much like small hospital rooms. In the way it's run, this place suffers from all of the negative effects of being part of the Medi-Cal system, and seems to cut corners on care. There are few resources dedicated to providing any real memory care at all"”and very few resources for entertainment of residents. In fact, most of the residents are left in their beds for most of the day, while some wander the halls alone. Since the staff seems overworked, they spend little time on the niceties of care, such as helping residents brush their teeth if needed. Residents who are paying privately rather than receiving Medi-Cal benefits are in demand. In fact, when we sought to release my mother-in-law, who was a private-paying resident, workers there attempted to frighten and threaten her to encourage her to remain. Very little innovation or imagination is used in caring for the residents. There are dinners for special occasions, but little else in the way of planned activities that are part of daily life. There is no designated space for entertainment or recreation, so no way to residents to get genuine privacy. Finally, the cost, which went up to $6,000 month recently before we moved my relative, is way overpriced, especially considering the accommodations and care there."

"We toured St. Paul's Towers. It was very nice. The woman who I walked through was very informative and very nice. The place is essentially located, but too expensive. The staff was great. The apartment is set up with two bedrooms."

"My experience at Lake Park Senior Living was great. Everything was great. However, I was looking for a facility that was based on my grandmother's income. It's a beautiful facility. I wish we could afford it, but we can't. The lady that gave me the tour was wonderful. She showed me all around. She was very informative. I appreciate it. I saw the menu, and it's a wonderful menu. They have a library, a painting room, and an exercise room. It was a wonderful place."

"I liked Orinda Care Center. The rooms were small and could use some updating. It looked like they had some activities that the people were engaged in. There wasn't much grounds; it was all parking. I liked the feel of it. I am upset that my husband is not able to get in there; unfortunately, they are not taking him at this time. The layout is nice. I wish that they would have more outdoor areas because there aren't any outdoor areas for them now. I think that would be very important for them to be able to go outside. I only saw one room, and it looked well kept. The staff person was very nice. "

"I have visited friends there. They did a lot of research before choosing to move there. They like it. I thought it was a pleasant place. "

"My friend has been at Windsor Healthcare Center of Oakland for about a month now. What I liked most about it is that they feed him 3 times a day, they change the bed every day, and they're there to help him, but I like something a little bit better. They have too many patients but not enough staff. Some of the staff are good, while some are probably overwhelmed with work. The meals come with water and juice, and they do pretty well. They celebrate the holidays. They just had a Halloween celebration. Every room has two hospital beds, a TV, a button to call for the nurse, and a shared bathroom with the room next to theirs."

"My mother, Jan, was admitted to Shields Nursing Center after being discharged from Doctors Medical Center. She, just like anyone else, did not want to go to any nursing facility, because she missed home so much after being in the hospital urgent care for about four months. From her feedback as well as from my personal visits, the staff were very friendly and helpful even though they were very busy doing their best to care for so many people. The food was reasonable. The facility does need more improvement on the lighting in the rooms. The rooms are small, which is not the factor. The rooms have a dark interior which seems to bring gloom to not only the patients but the visitors as well. Knowing the buildings are quite old, I am sure some time the rooms will be brightened up, which will help in brightening up the patients who stay there. I would like to add, that my mother needed to have all her pain meds upon discharge from the center, and even though the full prescribed amounts could not be released, they were so compassionate enough to give her samples and whatever amounts that could be approved right away. Though I was not a patient staying there, I still miss the wonderful staff and my mother would say the same. Rest her soul. "

"I like Excell Health Care Center a lot. It seemed like every time there was somebody in the hallway in a wheelchair, a staff member would come and get them. They wouldn’t just go bobbing into the hallway. Whether it’s a medication question or my mom has been pushing the button, they come right away. They are very clean; they kept offering to give her a bath. Her roommate had passed away when she was there, and they handled that really well, too, to prevent trauma in my mom. The food was good, and they gave her a second. When she wanted a little bit more meat, they would give her more. "