Communities in Sacramento, CA

"They didn't communicate well amongst themselves and they did not provide the kind of care that we needed for our patient although their caregivers were friendly. The most skilled caregivers were the speech pathologists, but again it was not enough to deal with. They had a general idea on what to do for general patients which is physical therapy, but what we needed is someone who would deal with memory, cognitive, and behavioral problems. "

"My husband was at the rehab facility of Advanced Health Care of Sacramento for a while, and after that, Medicare said they had exhausted everything, so we had no choice but to go home. It was very nice and clean. The services were also fine, but they all followed Medicare guidelines, so it's based on it. Their staff members were wonderful. They were very helpful. They have different activities for those who want to participate. What I like best about the place is that everything is a private room. I like that because you have more privacy, unlike other homes."

"My mother was a resident at Gramercy Court for about three years. Overall, they were a positive experience, although there were times when my mother needed assistance and if it was during shift change or a staff meeting, she might have had to wait a long time before anyone checked on her. There were also issues about pain meds (my mother was terminal and on hospice care), when the nurses "decided" that she was taking too much pain medication, after the doctors told her she could have as much as she needed to make her comfortable. This was eventually resolved, and the nurse in question transferred to a different unit. The facility was clean, the food reasonable (very basic, but OK for "hospital" food). They tried to accommodate my mother's preferences. The staff also found a nice spot for my mother to smoke, even though they generally disapproved, and put a bench under a nice tree in the garden. Grounds were pretty, and well maintained. Activities, like bingo, piano and other mini-concerts were good, and there were outside activities to movies, and parks when my mother was well enough to attend. Gramercy was good about helping mother schedule outside medical appointments, and provide transportation when it was available. During the three years my mother was there, she had several "roommates". When there was an issue with one of them, they found a different roommate, and moved her. One of the few complaints I had with the facility is that when she died, her rings and a couple of other small pieces of jewelry disappeared. Since they were only of sentimental value, we just let it pass. The facility allowed us to have a small memorial service for her, since she had made many friends there while a resident. "

"My mother has moved into The Riverview. I like the security of it because it's downtown Sacramento. The staff is very informative and very helpful. It's very clean, very secure, and quiet. It has a nice atmosphere. She has a very large one-bedroom apartment. It's nice and a perfect size. It has a nice view and a nice balcony."

"My knowledge of Arden comes from close involvement, including volunteering, and other functions over the last 20 years. Arden Rehab. and HealthCare Center, a Skilled Nursing Center with a 150 plus beds, is located in Sacramento. It is located off I-80, 20 minutes northeast of downtown between Alta Arden Expressway and Watt Avenue, just 5 minutes from Arden Mall. It is near movies, stores, and eateries. It is conveniently close to Kaiser Hospital, and 15 minutes away from two downtown area Sutter Hospitals. Many medical offices are sprinkled throughout the neighboring area. Arden has a veteran, quality, caring staff. The staff exudes a kindness and patience with the residents. They employ RN's, LVN's, and CNA's so staffing to provide care is rarely an issue. I see a lot of teamwork going on. They have in-house training for care givers. A complete rehabilitation team focuses at returning residents to their home settings or a lower level of care. Arden's activity program is focused on the individual needs of each resident. Music, sing-a-longs, exercise, and outside entertainment fill their days. A registered dietician assures all meals are relatively tasty, meeting all medically prescribed restrictions. Residents I spoke to, confirm the food is "yummy." They have specialized dining areas based on resident need. Arden has a fairly even mix of residents with dementia, and the higher functioning clients. I like the fact that they have several volunteer groups coming in. The also have non-denominational church services. While management seems a bit aloof, the regular care giving staffs are quite friendly. Arden gets high marks for cleanliness, odor is minimal, and when noted quickly taken care of. Some rooms face out to patio; some even have sliding glass doors. While the rooms are bright, with ample space for folded and hung clothing, it would be nice if the rooms were a bit larger. When there are two or more to a room, one finds things a little grounded, making family time less private. The facility is spread out with three different wings or stations. There is a lovely solarium where most activities take place. It is especially gorgeous when decorated during the holidays. Several outdoor patios, including one massive one are adjacent to resident rooms. The larger patio is excellent for summer BBQ's and Luaus Overall, the mood of Arden is of comfort, and friendliness. Because of its size, the use of the intercom system, and the more regimented way of operation, the institutional part bothers me a bit. Still as far as meeting the standards for a nursing home it's a cut above. I rank it a 4 out of 5. "

"Located twenty minutes south of downtown Sacramento Emerald Gardens is a Skilled Nursing Care Home. To find Emerald Gardens, simply travel south on I-5 from Sacramento, take Florin Rd. East and turn left to 24th Street. The trees and flower beds are attractive. Inside the building, it could be brighter, more cheerful, and less institutional. Some inner area like dining rooms and activity areas are attractive. Resident rooms are adequate but too small for any feeling of privacy unless you reside alone. For years I have come there to visit and sing with their residents. The vast majority of residents have dementia or Alzheimer's dementia. This is a Rehab. Facility first.They take great pride, and have good success returning their rehab. referrals home. Yet the highest percentage of residents require 24 hour, hands-on supervised care. Your first impression relates to cleanliness. No matter how hard staff tries, unpleasant odors permeate the air. Unfortunately, they have never historically, in 15 years, got this issue under control. The care givers are hard working and earthy, working as quickly as they can. You get the impression that the care needs exceed the staffing available to care for those needs. They show their concern often for their clients, and a good relationship exists between them. Yet the first impression is the detection of unsavory odors. All styles of dietary needs are met, yet the food I've eaten is relatively bland, and unappetizing. Residents asked will say the food is alright but sometimes served cold. The dining areas are attractive, and the dietary staff nice. Many of the more coherent residents seem frustrated as they have a hard time communicating with their staff whose English is shaky. The activity program is average. It doesn't appear to be individualized enough. Often you see higher functioning residents in programs with lower functioning residents. It could be that happened on the day I was there. They make an effort to have frequent outside entertainment; as well providing spiritual programs. A social services staff person helps with resident needs, and family support. Administrative staff is a veteran, responsive, and friendly group. Because it appears that things overall appear more reactive than proactive, on a scale of 1 to 5, five being the best, I give Emerald Gardens a 3. "

"The staff is very compassionate. My mother is here on hospice and is in end of life stage of dementia, everyone has been very supportive of us and focused on trying to keep her comfortable. They have made a very painful time much more bearable. "

"My grandmother is at Riverbend Nursing Center. It is a good place for her to be healing. The staff is nice and attentive to her, and they are really good. We have good communication. I try to get ahold of my grandmother, and we talk every other day on the phone. She is clean, comfortable, and they really take good care of her."

"Florin HealthCare Center, a skilled nursing home, is located in South Sacramento off I-5 to Florin Road -East, crossing 47th Avenue. Florin HCC is 15 minutes from downtown Sacramento. It is within a mile of stores, and restaurants. My familiarity relates to evaluating some of their higher functioning residents in my assisted living home. Thus, I am pretty familiar with this community. The facility is in a pleasant residential area. Surrounded by many trees, Florin has a beautiful patio suited for parties, and BBQ's. The area is alarmed for safety purposes as more than half the residents have Alzheimer's Dementia, and tend to wander. Inside the facility it is a cheerfully painted, and quiet but lively. It may suffer from being an older building. Florin is a moderate size nursing home, whose goals are to return home as many clients as capable. The nursing staff is earthy, and friendly to residents and guest. Many of the staff have worked there a while, and treat the home, and residents like family you truly care about. Sometimes odor can be an issue; and a quicker response to clean-up would be a fair expectation. One could wish that the resident rooms were larger. Placing three residents to a room is most uncomfortable, making vists and care giving difficult. Resident rooms are too institutional at this point. Still resident care is above average. Meals are delicious, prepared by a registered dietician. Residents and staff swear by the quality of meals. All types of diets can be cared for. Administration is very good, have an open door policy, quickly responding to resident, and community concerns. It has been my pleasure to observe the activity program. What activities noted, are excellent, upbeat, and stimulating. It does appear they could use more variety, and individualize programs more for the needs of their large Alzheimer's resident population. That being said, the loving care of the staff, and the general atmosphere, far exceeds the few negatives beyond the staffs control. I give Florin a 4 on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being the best. "

"The staff was incredibly friendly and attentive to the needs of the residents. My grandmother has shown a great improvement living there; she has social interaction on a daily basis, something she did not have before. Most of the staff actually knew who I was before I arrived because I call frequently and send my grandmother pictures, which she shows off to her caretakers. "

"My mom is a current resident at Windsor Care of Sacramento and the other reviewers have said they're one of the few facilities especially trained to take care of Alzheimer's patients. She has been there since March of 2013 and has received excellent care. Yes she wears clothes that don't necessarily belong to her but her clothes are clean and she is always well dressed and presentable. When I visited last July (I don't live in California) it was an unexpected visit and her hair was clean, her mouth as was her body and her clothing was decent. She was emaciated when she arrived there and they have ensured she receives proper nutrition. She now weighs 140 pounds and she's 5'7". When other family visit, she is participating in social activities and spends time enjoying the outdoors playing catch with an aide for exercise. Social Services calls me quarterly for a quick care conference and anytime her medication changes or if she falls I receive a phone call. Is this place perfect? No, but she does receive good care. She is safe, clean and happy. Someone even took the time to paint her fingernails for the holiday season! Back in the day, she never would be caught dead without a proper manicure so it means the world to me that someone took the time to do that for her. I am forever grateful that Windsor Care of Sacramento takes such good care of my mom. "

"My husband has been to Mission Carmichael HealthCare Center. He got physical therapy there, assistance in showering, and was being changed. Everybody was nice. I have no complaints about them. They're just not too clean, and then my husband had problems with one of the persons that was taking care of him. When he would buzz them to come and see him or do something for him, the guy would just keep walking by and wouldn't go into the room to see what he needed. So, he made a complaint to the manager about that. He was in a shared room. My husband said that their food wasn't very good. I would take food of my own to feed him there. Their staff needs to be more concerned about the resident that's there and not ignore a person that needs help. I wouldn't want to be in a facility where if I'm calling for help, they don't come in about two hours or an hour later. They should be there to take care of the residents, not just walk by or give them any hassle or whatever."

"My brother is in Whitney Oaks Care Center, which is a small community. I like the staff, particularly the physical therapy and occupational therapy staff. There’s a variety of CAN levels of care; some are very good, some are average, but a small amount of them are not good, especially the night shift. The food is really good. They have a dietician and individualize each patient. The meal time could be arranged to depend on whether the resident would want to go to the dining room or if he’d have it in his room. They have a variety of activities, but they keep repeating themselves and don’t individualize activities."

"Recently I have had the pleasure of working with Greenhaven Eskaton. What a wonderful first impression I got when I first entered the building. I was greeted by a very professional staff who was very receptive to me. Stephanie, Kim and staff go above and beyond to make sure the residents get the best possible treatment from admission to discharge. Both professional and friendly, they truly meet the highest standard in the skilled nursing industry."