Walnut Creek Campus

Faye

My husband is at the Suites at Walnut Creek in the Walnut Creek Campus. We chose it for its proximity to where my daughter lives. It's a very well-appointed facility. It has been bought out by a corporation since I placed my husband there. Originally it was family-owned. I was a little disappointed when it was bought out because there have been some changes that have not been for the best, in my opinion. I think it's probably as well-staffed as any place of its size. But I think for the number of ambulatory people in memory care, it should have an additional aide. I feel it is understaffed for the number of ambulatory patients in memory care because of the layout. There is no clear line of sight. It's divided into two different hallways so there would be no way for an aide in one hallway to see the other hallway. And so if an aide needs help with a patient, it's difficult for them to find the other aide. One day I was offered food there and it's okay. My husband has Alzheimer's, so there are not a lot of activities that he can participate in. And he's wheelchair-bound. The new owners have made it Medicaid day one, which was a change from their previous policy of self-pay for a year before you would be Medicaid eligible. So that's an important plus.

Lisa

My parents are moving to Walnut Creek Campus. They're in a house there. It's very nice. I call it a cottage. They're independent, but it's part of Walnut Creek. Down the road if they would need other services, everything would be right there. There's a beauty shop. My dad went through it. They're really not having a lot of people go through still because of Covid. I've only seen the cottage. I know there's seven pianos in the assisted living area there, which is very close to the home my parents are in.They have dining rooms there for eating. There were rooms for social activities. It has newer appliances and is nicely painted. There is new carpet. It was very nice stuff, and the lighting in the house is very good.

Warrior Woman

My parents were at Walnut Creek Campus for one year. They were there two years ago. They never had any staffing. It was always an hour and a half call light response time. They did not cater to families at all. Like I wanted to stay some night, but they have this policy that you can visit anytime, but they wouldn't let me stay the night there. They don't seem very fair or family- oriented. They don't want you around. This is before COVID happened. You couldn't dine with them, and you had to stay in the room with them. They didn't want you in the population at all, and that was pre-COVID. I can't imagine what it's like during COVID. It seems like this is an across-the-board issue with people in assisted living. What I would like to get out to the public: If your loved ones need more than minimal care, you need to just go straight on to the nursing home or hire a private duty around the clock. If you want them in a cozy atmosphere in assisted living, you have to pony up the dough and hire someone to just stay in the room with your loved ones. That's been a real eye-opener for me. Assisted living is exactly that. It is minimal assistance, and it's not for the loved ones that needed help. The problem is when you go check out these places, they market that they can do what you're asking them. And then you get your person in there and they can't. I went into Walnut Creek with my eyes shut because I had not had the experience before. They said, 'Yeah, we can do this, we can do that' and they get in there and they can't. They had many activities where they would take them on a bus, and they'd take them to Steak and Shake or Bob Evans. They would take them to the grocery store once a week. Their food was not good at all there. Their food was very bad. The building was good. The room was spacious; they were fine. The overall appearance was fine. There was a movie room and a little library.

Dorothy

Walnut Creek Campus assisted living was like the Marriott. It looked so different than the nursing home part. My husband was in the nursing home part, which was all right, but he had a problem with some of the workers who weren't very nice. It's like day and night. They had a piano in the dining hall, and it had crystal glasses and linen napkins. The only problem I had was you have to have money to be in their assisted living. It's a beautiful facility. They had concert grounds, and at each cubicle they had pictures of the resident's family members. They had people watching things in their theater room.

Rose

Walnut Creek Campus was a very big place. The staff was very professional, and I was impressed that they wore uniforms like nurses. The lady who we spoke to was very nice. The rooms were very nice and seemed to have a lot of things going on. My husband would be able to do a lot of walking around there. It's locked down, so they wouldn't be able to get out of the building and get lost. Everything was very nice.

Wayne076135

Suites at Walnut Creek is very clean, has very caring staff, and is affordable. We told them what our budget was, and they're able to meet it. They have a secured assisted living, the food is restaurant-style, and it's fairly decent. I would have no hesitations for recommending it. I've been very pleased with it.