Belmont Village

Overall a good place

My family was grateful for the prompt responses when we inquired about relocating our Mom to Belmont. Some of the initial promises were not kept but the staff were collaborative in problem solving when we approached them with our concerns. Family was consistently present during the transition but the true test will be how care is occurring on future visits when we drop in. My Mom is sad about leaving her former living arrangements at Brookdale but her condition warranted increased expertise with memory care. We are hopeful Belmont can deliver on their promises. To date, the PALS have been attentive, patient and caring which we, as her out of town children, deeply appreciate.

I have a friend that moved here a few months ago and they really liked it. Not as friendly as one would hope, but very clean.

My mother has not resided at Belmont Village long enough for me to rate all services. In general i am very happy I moved my mother here. The staff is very helpful and friendly. They have alerted me to problems and are working on solutions.

So far it's going okay. The initial on-boarding was difficult, but they have worked really hard. They are good people there, and they do the best they can with what they have. I feel like I have to do a little more keeping on top of the cleaning, than I thought I would. Generally the other residents are friendly and happy. We liked the location here, and we really liked the circle of friends program, but it's turning out to not be quite what I thought it would it would be. I also really liked the 24/7 nursing staff. The communication among the staff needs to be worked on, things are dropped from shift to shift, and it takes a while to get a call returned.

They seem to have some issues with staffing, especially on the Memory floor. This contributes to some lack of communication between employees. Over all we are very pleased with Belmont, so far. One thing we were lead to believe on the tour and on admit, was that one could "die in place there" if needed. This turns out to only apply to if hospice is brought in. We were told at a meeting that if "the resident is bed bound, they would have to leave the facility" due to lack of skilled nursing. Again the only exception is if hospice is brought in.

I really liked the staff at this location.

We had a bit of rocky start here, but after things settled down this had been a great place. When our loved one first moved in they weren't taking care of all of her needs, and it feels like it took about a month before they started handling everything they needed to. With a few exceptions the staff are all very friendly and caring, although they could do better about returning calls and communication in general.

A lovely community with apartment living to assisted living and memory care. Mom took her dog and others have dogs and cats. Food is included to two meals a day, your choice although her apartment has a kitchenette. I have eaten with Mom on occasion and enjoyed the food. Great and dynamic library. Transportation and outings are available. Only negative so far is that recreation such as yoga is given by staff and not experienced teachers.

When I visited Jill was very helpful and gracious. It's definitely not as swank as some that I have seen, but is also not as expensive. The activities looked robust, and they were lots of opportunities to socialize. The dining room was clean and there were lots of folks filing in for dinner when I was there. The employees at Belmont weren't as outgoing as another place I had seen, and in fact I overheard a couple of staff talking about not being happy to come in the next day, within earshot of several residents. The carpet had some spots that needed some attention, and we walked past some debris a couple times, and she didn't stop to pick it up.

It's tiny! My father is ambulatory and likes to walk around and they couldn't take him on walks either. There is a garden that's across the street that they take people to but it's treacherous. It would not be good for someone with a tendency to fall. There is one resident that does go for walks in the garden but it's not paved and I don't think it would be good for my father. Otherwise, Belmont Village is on this hill, near the Hollywood Bowl. It's very hilly and near a major street. This would not be a good option for my father.

My husband and I only found out about the physical therapists on staff the last three days of our 3 week stay - we booked respite care for two-- only wanted two weeks but they required one month, however, because it was already a week into the month we were able to get three weeks (we left at two and a half weeks). The food was very good for the most part, except when the chef was out you knew it..... really..... the waiter/waitress staff tried hard (most of them), but we think they were short.....the staff in general was very nice and helpful..... but we feel that we should have had more info from the person that booked us in...... The morning exercise pro was very nice -- good way to start the day.... however, around the time that we left they were doing away with the morning exercise class.... people were crushed.... another problem we had, one of the beds had a dark brown color, knit material. bed sheet set that was not acceptable to my husband... we asked if they could change the sheets to regular white sheets, never got an answer, so on the third day we went out and bought an acceptable set of white sheets which is now on a shelf in our closet....

My mother was isolated at home after the doctor told her she couldn't't drive any longer. I was overwhelmed by the number of options for senior living until I discovered A Place for Mom. Belinda asked a lot of questions and then sent us a very reasonable list of affordable options which we revised together after each visit. My mother knew Belmont was right for her as soon as she walked in the door. She is very happy, has made many new friends and most of all, I have peace of mind knowing she is well cared for.

The attention to memory care patients can we lacking. Activities don't match the cognitive levels of the patients. They basically sit in one room all day and rarely get taken outside, to hear live music or have use of the theater. All promised during the tour. Communication with management is difficult. Hard to get responses.

Staff generally caring, friendly competent. Activities many and varied but mediocre - Activity for memory impaired aimed completely at the "very " extreme with nothing for those in better shape who could benefit from a well planned program. Food ranges from mediocre to good with ample choices plus a weekly rotation of specials. Service ok to awful. High probability to be served something different from order e.g different vegetables, protein, sauce on side, etc. Not enough staff, so you can wait 10 minutes to get silverware, etc, or attract someone if you need more water etc. Rooms nice size, comfortable with good weekly housekeeping and laundry. Backup if there is health issue good and important!

The front desk staff are great, food staff and food are great. The Pals are doing their best but some are more engaged with the residents than others. I feel my relative is clean, her room is clean, she gets to engage in activities if she wants. I feel the level of enjoyment varies between the independent and assisted living with those in memory care. Memory care residents seem (understandably) are experiencing less freedom, less understanding of what is going on.

We had a fire alarm go off while family was there. The sound was blaring for at least 15 to 30 minutes or more. No staff was concerned about it. Waiting on building supervisor to come from home to investigate. It was in a laundry room on 4th floor. The next day i asked about their procedure on fire drills in staff office. No one could answer my questions. Do the elevators lock down ? How would you get people down from top floors? Glad family had room on 1st floor. Not very good about keeping clothes separate from other room occupants when washing. Lost bedsheets, towels, and compression socks.

It's not the best respite care. There are some caregivers that need to retire as they are not providing care that is being paid for due to personal aches and pains. I would not recommend them for respite care, but would for memory care.

My biggest issues are with the Memory care floor and not the overall experience. A bit of a bait and switch. Residence like my Mom who is mobile and fit are never included in the activities for the other residents so she is locked on a floor with no physical activities and they sit on the same room all day unless there is physical therapy. Don't walk them or bring them outside. I would have to pay extra to have them walk. Often pals are just sitting around when they could take some residents to patios or to hear the live music. Been a battle.

Belmont Village Lincoln Park is a nice friendly facility. They offer good care. Cons: Understaffed, underorganized which makes it difficult getting questions answered, including financial.