Atria Walnut Creek

Overall disappointing.
1. My Dad’s 1^st week in memory care a resident wandered into his room at 2 AM and scared him sleeping (door wasn’t spring loaded properly). He pushed the person out and that person fell. I was called into the office by memory care director Kate and told HE wasn’t a good fit. Really??? I asked her to have maintenance fix the door and she said «No.» Really??? I watched a 5 minute youtube video and fixed the door in 15 minutes. It costs 8K a month for that service. I was told later by her boss that Kate replaced the original director last minute. She needs empathy training when dealing with the family of Alzheimer’s sufferers.
2. Management was too surprised when my Dad mistook his closet for a bathroom (went to an Alz lecture where the speaker used the same behavior as an example of what to expect). Atria memory care opened last year and the inexperience shows. I will say the management tried to resolve the situation by making the bathroom easier to see and that was helpful.
3. Showers: My Dad was showered at best 5 times by staff during the 4 month stay. I supervised his bathing multiple times/​week. 8K/​month for me to make sure my Dad showers-​total bargain! (His new place makes sure he showers twice/week=more experience).
4. During a game of catch a resident wouldn’t throw the ball so my Dad kicked them in the leg multiple times. Why didn’t a staff member step in? Guess: no one was in the room. Another resident (IN THEIR 90s), however, did have time to get up and get between them. Seriously? We were then asked to find a new place for my Dad. (Atria kept all but $ 500 of the $ 3500 community fee saying we were lucky to get anything back due to the contract-​big companies can afford a full refund).
The care staff at Atria is incredible! They are kind and caring and take care of our loved ones at all hours cleaning them and treating them like family. There just aren’t enough of them (and with 2 levels in memory care there are more chances to lose track of residents). Staff also gets paid $ 13/​hour at best (overheard) and work harder than most. This isn’t a livable wage. PRN meds in memory care are not allowed even with a doctors OK. That’s problematic when someone you love is upset and can’t be given anything-​not the case other places.

I just left Atria walnut creek and was so thrilled I chose this facility to convalece. The Food superior And ample. The attendant care loving interested in your welfare and meticulous. Cleanliness reached impeccable. Above all else the entire staff was very Eager to make my stay happy, comfortable and pleasurable.
OI made Many friends And the activities fun And well planned.

Atria Walnut Creek is a wonderful place. The residents are happy and the food is great.
I have the pleasure of knowing many of the people who work there and they are wonderful and caring.
The resident love the community. It’s wonderful to see people visiting and even walking their dogs. Love it and recommend it.

My mom has been in this facility for the past 2 years. My experience with staff has been very postive. The caregivers sincerely care about my mom’s well being, as does the dining staff, the med techs and the executive staff. My mom has memory issues and physical disabilities that require her to need extra attention. The staff is very loving towards my mom and treat her with dignity and respect. The upper management cares about any concerns and expediantly responds to them as they arise. I live out of town, so it is a big relief to know that my mom is in good hands when I can’t be there.

My father spent the last three years of his life at Atria Montego Heights. This is a for-​profit business, privately held, so perhaps the reviews below don’t take that into account. There was a lot of changes in the management of the facility, but the folks that deliver the care and food were all wonderful. I looked forward to eating there with my dad as the fruit salad was always excellent and sometimes the meals were very good as well. I was not so happy with the attitude of the social worker as they basically forced him to leave as his health continued to deteriorate.
As with any facility of this type, it pays for the family to stay on top of the quality of care being delivered.

Atria,
where do we start. Three med techs were just fired, one other quit, management rotates like a revolving door (most quit) food quality is dropping despite a new chef (old one recently quit) lying is prevalent!!! They nickle and dime you for everything here (above and beyond your contract) and the bus is nice when you can get a spot on it. Residents complaining all of the time about a wide variety of subjects here. This is a poorly run company at best, employees always quitting, since I have been here management has changed then changed yet again, no normalcy!!! Would be a nice place if they could get their acts together and be consistant across the board from food to service to policies, time for a change, fire the management team, start fresh!!! Update (7÷16÷2013) the bus driver quit thee weeks ago and little is being done to replace him (we pay for it), the maintenance manager just quit, the food continues to get worse (got sick from the food and was in the hospital for five hours-​documented) and this guy calls himself a chef-​REALLY! They just jacked my rent $ 1400 a month without a letter to me explaining why (look at other reviews– Erik B. 6÷21÷2013− same thing (–60 days required by law). A major remodel is about to begin then the real problems will start! I have never seen a business anywhere where the managers don’t have voicemail, its 2013, it appears they don’t want to hear from you or deal with their many problems (like lying employee snitches-​the staff will tell you), it all starts at the top!!! Residents are also leaving you can see it in the dining room at dinner! The regional director was supposed to call me about my concerns, she did but left a brief message with no return number or e-​mail. I called back the number (on my phone) and it just rang and rang, even corp. doesn’t have voicemail, amazing!!!
Montego Heights Residents