ManorCare Health Services-Walnut Creek

Manor Care has taken excellent care of my mother. She was recovering from a hip replacement while undergoing chemotherapy at the same time. The people at Manor Care are absolutely wonderful. When we first had to transition her to the facility I was concerned because I saw mixed reviews. I can honestly say that I’m happy with the service and caring. I removed a star because they could use an update on the interior and they do not allow bed alarms or bed guards which is a little scary when my mom decides to leave her bed unattended. They do have one mitigating solution which is to take the bed to the floor.

I went to this rehab facility on June 21, 2015 after having a total hip replacement. Initially I was in a semi-​private room from Sunday evening until Saturday afternoon. This shared room was a very bad experience. Both of my roommates had hearing problems (one refused to wear his hearing aid) and had the TV up so loud I was unable to hear my own TV. Finally my wife and son insisted I be moved to a private room which finally happened. The private room was a 1000% improvement. The only negative was that there was no cell phone service due to its location on the property. That became a non issue, however.
I entered the facility on a Sunday. There was no one to process me in and give us all of the information about the facility. It was the following Friday before my wife got the full orientation and checked me in. The care was inconsistent. Some of the nurses and aids were very caring and others acted like they could care less. I had to ask for a shower. Showers were only give to patients on Mondays and Thursdays. The food was inconsistent. I finally learned that I could chose items off an always available menu. Those choices were much better as to taste. I was in for physical and occupational therapy for 2 — 3 weeks. However, there is no therapy on a weekend so I lost 4 days of therapy. Too late, I learned that I could have gotten a day pass and gone home for the day.
On the first day of my 3^rd week of PT, I was unable to do the therapy due to dizziness, etc. Finally in the late afternoon I told my wife that I had blood drawn that am for lab work. We called my nurse in and asked if anyone reviewed the lab results. He came back quickly and said we have to transport your husband to ER immediately for blood transfusions. His hemoglobin level is 5.9 which is dangerously low. I was transported back to John Muir hospital in WC where I received 5 units of blood, upper and lower GI tests, etc. and spent five more nights. I feel the people at MC were negligent in not checking the lab work immediately and/​or notifying in charge persons of the low hemo reading.

This is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. When my grandmother got out of the hospital to recover at Manor Care, I was initially impressed with the facility. The place is clean, doesn’t smell like a hospital, seems to be maintained well, and a very friendly elderly gent sings to you when you check in.
However, now that she has been there for about a month, I can see this place for what it really is. The staff is overworked (not their fault). Some are really sweet (Karla is amazing), but my husband and I literally heard a nurse at the nurses station say «F*ck my life». We were in my grandmother’s room when we heard it… yes, she said it that loud. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!
The food is disgusting. My grandmother was having eating problems, and I thought she wasn’t trying (bless her heart), so I showed her I would take a bite and then she would take a bite. It tasted like rancid meat. I felt so badly for her.
In summary, I guess it will do if you don’t have any other options. Family members should visit daily (yes, daily) to ensure that their loved ones are getting proper care.

I have experienced the workings of the therapists now for two months when they are working with my brother, who is recuperating from an accident. There is the physical and the occupational… both seem to feel that they are better then all those around them; the nurses and CNA’s are wonderful! Their main point is to get you to go with them AT THEIR APPOINTED TIME, and you had better not complain about that time… since they have a schedule to follow; one just butts in when my brother is in the bathroom with the CNA… I asked her to leave but she didn’t leave…(I don’t get along with her and I neither speak nor look at her!). This therapist is a bully and an arrogant individual!
But, other then that, the place is wonderful with it’s food, nurses and CNA’s.
The therapists… NO!

I was a patient at Manor Care Walnut Creek for a week. I was recuperating from surgery. The place is very clean and the staff well-​educated but I found the experience dreadful. During the week on 3 separate occasions I waited from 40 minutes to an hour after pressing the call button. The food was very processed and it took me 5 days to get some simple steamed vegetables, poached chicken or fish, and fresh fruit. The lower paid staff were kind and helpful; the salaried professionals seemed more interested in themselves than the patients. They did a very poor job at pain management.

My husband is being treated there now and so far it’s been fine. They gave him a spacious single room and because it is carpeted it is very quiet. Medication is regular and nurses are polite. Insurance is paying since this is rehabilitation and but ManorCare didn’t charge me extra for the single room. Family still has to come and sit with him during his meals because he is helpless. But he feels safe and taken care of for the most part.
Anyone who is so dependent on nurses for basic human needs should no expect ²⁴⁄₇ care from these places. Am I wrong?

They don’t even deserve 1 star! What a bad experience. We thought because everything was decorated so nicely that their standards would be as equal, but they would have let my mother die there! At the emergency room I asked a doctor what happens to patients who don’t have someone there for them and with big eyes the response was, it’s scary! So if you love you relative make sure you know what is going on if you put them in such a place, or better yet just make arrangements for home care.

Sadly thought the facility is pleasant enough from the general manager to staff they are horrid. Case in point. My father was treated there. After his death our family asked the state of California to investigate the care he was given. The state not only wrote up Manor Care but fined them as well. Be careful.

As a rehab and nursing facility, this looks first class. My mother has been to several facilities in the area, and the health care staff, rooms, and rehabilitation portion are definitely head and shoulders above the rest. It’s clean and cheerful, and the gym and occupational therapy room is impressive. The medical and nursing staff is generally up to par, and do seem to care.
However, I was constantly frustrated. Every issue I have comes down to administration and communication.
1) Phone system. Want to call a staff member? You must call the receptionist (about four rings). You are then put through to an extension. If that person is not available (8 rings), you are forwarded back to the receptionist (another four rings), or tries to page (another 3 minutes on hold), or TAKES A MESSAGE. Really? In 2012? No direct line? Not even voicemail?
2) No central person to contact. Talk to the case worker, ask her questions, and she will say «You’ll have to talk to the speech therapist.» Or the physical therapist. Or the occupational therapist. Or the nurse. Or the doctor. Or the social worker. Or the discharge planner. Each time, going through procedure 1). You will also get a completely different story depending on who you are talking to. The doctor will tell you that there is nothing that they can do, and she will be released soon. The therapist will tell you she’s making significant progress. On the same day.
3) Upon admission, she was assigned a room. I was given her phone number, which I distributed to family and friends. She was moved to another room in the middle of the night, and no one called to give me a new number. So, for 2 days, no one could get in touch with her. No one at ManorCare called me.
4) Administrative/​discharge staff are disorganized, unable to give useful information, and don’t care. Really don’t care.
The hardest thing to find is good nursing and rehab staff, and a cheerful, clean facility. And they have it! To tarnish that with less than perfect communication/​administration is really unforgivable.
«Skilled Nursing» would seem to be a step between hospitals and home… it’s not. You are pushed out if «significant progress» is not being made. My mother was too ill to take advantage of the physical rehab, but not ill enough to be admitted to the hospital. I tried to keep her there as long as possible so that she could have a nursing staff around her.
She passed away less than 15 hours after release.

My husband had knee surgery and is staying at Manor Care. It is clean and the staff are nice. But the care he is getting is not very good. He presses his call button and waits anywhere from 15 – 20 minutes. They are just not very intentive. The food is horrible! So I bring him in lunch. His roommate said he has not eaten much either during his stay. You ask the nurses a question they roll their eyes. They tell you they will check on something or be right back they never do. I don’t know the last time my husband’s blood pressure and pulse where taken. The OT and PT are very good and the CNA’s are pleasant. It’s just the care needs a lot of improvement. Good thing he is only in for his knee.

My 72 year old mother fractured her leg, and lived at Manorcare Rossmoor for 8 weeks during April-​May 2011. As comparison, my father and father-​in-​law both spent time in nursing homes here in California and also in Florida. To be blunt, Manorcare Rossmore is the top of the heap, while many, many other rehab facilities are literally awful.
At a rehab facility, five things matter:
1. Rehab staff (5 stars)
2. Nursing staff (5 stars)
3. Non-​nursing staff (4 stars)
4. Food (5 stars)
5. Facility (5 stars)
All three staff categories here are first rate. The rehab staff gave personal rehab plans and attention starting on day one, and challenged her the whole eight weeks. The nursing staff are all very caring and competent, and the other staff all have great attitudes. We did notice that the response time to the room buzzer was occasionally long, but in retrospect decided not to deduct a full star from the overall rating for this. The food is as good as it gets at a nursing facility, and occasionally very good. The facility is nearly new, with a new gym in mid 2011.
By comparison, my father in law spent five months at Mission Skilled Nursing Center on Winchester Blvd in Santa Clara. On the above scale, our rating for that place would be 2,4,3,3,2. We know some places in Florida that would score even worse.
Warning about the process: your insurance company determines how long you stay at a rehab facility, and what services you receive while there. Be prepared to fight with your insurance company for more care if necessary. Manorcare was as helpful as they could be during this process.
Note that there is another Manorcare facility somewhere nearby in Walnut Creek. I do not have any experience with them.

My husbands uncle had to move in this facility recently due to his slow disintegration into well, old age.
Its sad, its scary, its a learning experience and its a fact of life unfortunately for all of us.
The facility is really nice and if he had known to choose a facility for himself this would be the one to choose.
Now to the nurses. These men and women are saints on earth. I know that I am not the type of person who has the patients to deal with sick and ailing people. Not to mention people who are also in and out of dementia.
The stories that I hear would be just too much for me. I guess thats why some people save up so that they can afford to pay people to take care of them and also listen to them in their old age.
This isn’t the cheapest of facilities and it shows. Its very clean and you know how some old folks homes have a certain odor. This one doesn’t.
They are also very family friendly here. When I came to visit there were moms and little kids running in and out. We brought the baby to visit our uncle too. He was a big hit with the nurses. Who am I kidding, hes a big hit everywhere!
You may not be worrying about where you’ll be at 97 years old but maybe its just something to consider. You never know where you might wind up. Hopefully if I wind up somewhere its as nice and caring (and patient) a facility as this.