Merrill Gardens

possible

nice units. long hall ways not for me.

2000 a mo. private room

Staff very helpful. the bottom line is the cost.

nice setting, a little far from Berkeley, very nice untits, particularly the studio alcove, not as many activities and trips as Monarch, limited transportation - 4 days/wk, fair diversity, laundry on two of the four floors; overall 3.5

Merrill Gardens is pretty expensive, and it was brand new when we first looked at it so it had some issues. Some of the staff was fine, it really just depended on who you talked to that day. This community is more independent living so there weren't to many care services to be provided. The activities were very good, they have library groups that my mother really enjoyed, they would also go out on little outings. You would pay one overall fee for the food per month, and from what we understand its more of a restaurant setting where you could eat anytime between 7AM-7PM. The was special menu items you could order, as well as a more simple menu. However, they would constantly run out of food or coffee.

The facility is nice and clean. The activity’s are often and seem like fun. The food is okay. If you have to move a loved one to memory care, be prepared to do everything yourself, and have little communication on there end. The higher up seems to have a, “on your own “ mentality towards the family. Ask lots and lots of questions. Our family member wasn’t welcomed into the memory care community. Several balls were dropped in communication. When confronted the head leadership blamed the family for expected them to hold our hands through this process. The only communication and preparation we had was the sales team pushing us to memory care, and paper work and payment. There also seems to be a lack of communication between leadership and staff. I wished we could have expected better. Maybe they will fix these issues. I hope so.

Merrill Gardens has great potential. Administration and staff is very kind and caring. Food service needs better administrative supervision. Cafeteria staff would benefit from regular training in caring for elderly.

My parents have lived at Merrill Gardens for the past few years. Staffing is always a problem. Chef quits regularly and any good staff leaves for better paying jobs. Can't keep a general manager. Food is horrible. If you need any help with daily living, they charge even more. Very expensive and rent is always going up. They need to pay a decent wage and try to keep staffing consistent. I do not recommend this place.

We toured this community and it wasn't a good experience, in fact, it made me a little nervous in regards to thinking that all communities were going to be like this. The place was clean however it was very depressing no activities being done the residents were sitting around in what looked to be the dining area. There was nothing on the tables the community just had no personality to it. As you were walking around you couldn't help but notice a smell that was not pleasant. The staff was a little pushy trying to get us to commit to a lease and as we were walking around we didn't see a lot of staffing.

This place is pretty good!

I visited my friends in their apartment and was given a tour by them. Except for the high cost, I was favorably impressed until we had lunch. The salad bar was fresh, but very limited. The entrees, however, were almost inedible. Fish tasted old and unpleasant. The ribs were burned and tough and left uneaten. Friends said they had a new chef who was trained at Cordon Blue, I believe. If so, he must have graduated at the bottom of his class...or he falsified his resume. Desert was good, but I am sure it was purchased from elsewhere.. This is an expensive place. No excuse for poor food. I'll pass.

Not the best of care.

They seem to be a little understaffed even though they have the "required minimum" if anyone is sick or needs extra help there isn't really anyone "extra" to give them attention. We have had to move our Mom because she needed a little extra help getting settled (she was slapping her legs and yelling No!) and they felt it was disruptive to other residents. We know that if there would have been at least one "extra" person that could have gone to her and comforted her she would have settled down. She is really not disruptive to other residents (per our observations) she just needed a little extra attention at certain times and there weren't enough staff to help make that happen. She was given 3 weeks to acclimate - since we've never been through such a thing before we don't know if this was a "normal" time period for her to settle. We looked to their expertise and were told they had not ever dealt with such behavior and couldn't give advice. That was hard to believe since we personally know two other families with dementia parents who have exhibited the same types of frustration behavior. We don't feel like they were much help with advice upon move-in or with what to expect. We got the standard answer of "everyone is different" and when our mom started having her frustrations the staff were saying she was fine and getting better but the administration was saying that she was a problem and we would probably have to move her. At 5 weeks in they seemed to be short staffed due to illness and that is when we were given 30 days to find a new place for Mom. The truth is we think she was settling quite well and when she was upset if she was given a hug and distracted she would calm right down and her "episodes" were generally first thing in the morning when she was frustrated with getting dressed and whenever she was asked a question that she couldn't answer. I would think that experts in the field of memory care would understand that frustration from someone who can't even remember their own name. I have to say that if you have a family member who is cheerful and easy in all ways or docile and not hard to take care of then Willow Park is a great facility but if you have any issues of any kind this is probably not a wise choice. I make this observation by spending many hours per week at the facility with my mom and observing the other residents and their interactions with staff. They are wonderful caring people - they just don't have much time for any individual attention beyond bathing, dressing, feeding... Hope this helps

Although, my mother has started her rent as of March 1st, she has not as yet moved in. It would not be a fair evaluation at this point. She has gone to Fig Garden for several meals, but she still needs to move furniture into her living space and as yet has not even spent the night. She has felt welcomed and included into the circle of table mates. Perhaps another month she will be able to haved moved in and can offer an opinion.

It’s so new. We went and the staff was so new. It was all young people and they were just all scatter brained. Mom did not want to take a chance with them because it was just a young, inexperienced staff.

When mom moved in, the apartment was not clean. Caregivers were putting soiled clothes in her closet and not doing laundry. It appeared that they were hiding the soiled clothes. The biggest reason for the rating is that MG told me after 2 weeks that they recommended she move to another facility due to her use of a Pure Wick external catheter at night. We were very transparent about mom's needs. We spoke about the external catheter during the interview and intake process but after she moved in we were told they would not touch it. They wouldn't assist her nightly and wouldn't empty or clean it. Mom is a stroke survivor. She is in a wheelchair and has no use of her right arm and hand. She couldn't use the unit without assistance. I was extremely upset that they told us this after she moved in. I then had to find a new AL facility and move her again. I also had to pay a moving company twice.

My Mom lives at Merrill Gardens. The food ranks from mediocre to bad. They say they have a "chef" but the offerings are not ones a chef would make. 2 entrees each day that are the same for lunch and dinner. 2 days ago it was a BLT or turkey meatloaf. I've had a sandwich on moldy bread once there. It's very sad that for the large monthly cost of this facility they can't spend more and do better. We always hear excuses of staff shortages, etc. Staff shortages and revolving "chefs" come from not paying enough to attrack or keep good kitchen staff.

Mom only stayed there for 4mo. Director changed twice in 4mo. Understaffed, takes up 2 a week 2 get laundry back, some clothes even though labeled never returned, tiny tiny rooms especially when using a walker. Plenty of activities weekdays, almost no staff on weekends, mom consistently had trouble getting questions answered & needs met- waited a month 2 get a lightbulb. Food was good but frequent repeat meals, mostly chicken & mostly casseroles. The alf side was clean but urine smell from memory care side was very evident. Not impressed that all laundry was mixed in & washed together. Was ok 4 short term use. Prices in NE are incredibly high 4 what she got. Paying half that now & gets much more.

We were promised a credit on rent because of a referral from current resident. The resident or my father in-law did not get it. They promised a good friends make great neighbors a discount that you get after living for 3 months. We have been there 6 and no discount and they keep jumping through hoops