Northstar Senior Living

When I went to visit this community, I noticed a bad odor. The furniture showed stains on it. We did not want to stay long. It looked more like a business. This was not the worst but not the best.

My father does like it here at this community, he has adjusted very well to it. I do have my concerns with the management of this community. There were many delays with the cleaning of his room. I have to remind the staff to do their jobs. I just feel that we are paying all this money, and they did need to provide my father acceptable care. The care staff is kind, but the communication between the staff and management needs improvement. It is a neat and tidy community. Overall my father is happy, but I would not recommend this community until improvement are made.

At Brookdale Sellwood I was pleased with the kindness and attention that he got from the individual caregivers. My problem is with the system. He has since left this facility to live with my brother and has made an amazing turn around. When he moved there we didn't realize he was severely dehydrated and was developing at UTI. We just thought he had dementia. The management just thought that's how he is and they said they couldn't do anything about it. I was sick a lot at that time so I wasn't able to be there as much as I would have liked to. There was only exercise one day a week. The facility is very poorly designed. They don't have one big room for the residents to gather. I think more exercise would have really helped him.

At Brookdale Sellwood I was pleased with the kindness and attention that he got from the individual caregivers. My problem is with the system. He has since left this facility to live with my brother and has made an amazing turn around. When he moved there we didn't realize he was severely dehydrated and was developing at UTI. We just thought he had dementia. The management just thought that's how he is and they said they couldn't do anything about it. I was sick a lot at that time so I wasn't able to be there as much as I would have liked to. There was only exercise one day a week. The facility is very poorly designed. They don't have one big room for the residents to gather. I think more exercise would have really helped him.

We had a pretty negative experience there. Part of it was just due to the medications that my wife was being given. She was agitated all the time and I just didn't feel like the staff could keep up with her. It just didn't work out for us.

We did not like the way this community was setup. The rooms are grouped together like a wagon wheel and you either come out or make a left or a right to get to the center. This setup seems like it would be confusing for our loved one. They also took me into a community room when they had just opened it for the day and it already smelled like urine. If the room was just opened for the day it shouldn't have that odor. The community was also just too big for what we were wanted.

My Mom has lived here for 4 years. About 6-9 months ago I received a phone call from the head nurse, [name removed], saying my Mom needed extra help getting dressed in the mornings for the day so they bumped me in a higher tier level (around $400 more!). No one, ever helps her get dressed. I do her laundry and pick up once a week. How can one person go through 12 days of clothing (outfits) in 7 days. She even told me she does not change her clothes throughout the day. Her room with this lock down is a pig sty! She was sweating like crazy today because she was so hot - the heating system was on in 100 degree weather! They don't even check her to make sure her A/C is on in this weather. I think with this lock down they should encourage the residents to participate in the little activities they do have. This is absolutely killing her having to eat in her room by herself all 3 meals - & saying the food is cold & not good like it was eating in the dining room - so therefore she has lost weight. I took a case of water - they never put any of it in her refrigerator - just left it on the floor. I know they are short of help (and have been for years!).....but just a few extra minutes a day to help a 93 year old!!! When this lock down is over - YES - we are going to move her. Lord willing, she lives that long! This 1st year was nice - but has gone down hill. There are quite a few med-tecs and caretakers (just love them and one of the main nurses, [name removed] - love her too - always there for me) that are very nice & helpful, but the management staff - sucks! With families not able to visit or hug their loved ones, you would think they would give them extra care & attention. It's like an extra pain for them. For over 2 years they seem to be always understaffed! That is the excuse I always get. I talk to my Mom everyday on the phone and it gets worse every day. I just pray constantly that she can live through this lock down.

We have a family member here but a lot of our free time lately is spent looking for another place. We are just not getting the care or basic services we signed up for. There are a lot of issues that we have hoped would get sorted out but they have not and we feel like we have given this place a lot of chances. We don't trust some of the staff there. Some of them are excellent and really caring but others just don't show up or do a shabby job. The executive director can put on a good face but is unresponsive to our needs. We have to follow up quite a bit to get a reply or we get the runaround. We are finding that other families are experiencing the same thing. Some families are running out of money paying for private caregivers which they really shouldn't have to pay for if Kokoro was doing its job. We don't want to be in that position. While we are at it, Kokoro also seems to hide information. For example there were a few breakins over the last year. The executive staff kept it quiet until families started to ask about it. They say they have an "Open Door" policy but what good is it when the communications are so unclear or misleading? I am sorry that we are at this point since Kokoro seemed like it would be a good place. The families are nice and some of the staff work really hard. But there are staff who should have been let go a long time ago for putting residents at risk and they are still there! The same will probably be the case with the executive director no matter what complaints families raise, and they have. It is no wonder residents leave and staff resign left and right. We were told that there was a new hire recently but no one has seen this person. That's the normal way here, unfortunately. We have hoped Kokoro could bring in new leadership that is interested in the elderly and their needs. But there is no accountability which is really too bad especially since the victims are our loved ones.

My mother is a resident and her condition has worsened tremendously. It is unclear if she is getting appropriate medical care and meds that might improve her physical and mental condition. When visiting her recently, we found her lying on bunched up bedding, and she and bedding were soaking wet. She clearly had not been tended to for quite some time, and had not been bathed or shampooed for who knows how long. Scary and so heartbreaking wondering what happens when we are not there! We had been hopeful that despite the administrative issues and poor management, that Mom was at least being cared for and loved on. We are upset beyond words and desperate for an alternative place to move her. Any suggestions in the Merced area would be greatly appreciated.

My mother entered the memory care side of Emeritus in late 2012. Within 90 days we realized that it was not the best place for her and continue to look at options. A few things that we found very disappointing [removed] 1) valuables went missing (despite management's promise to secure them prior to their disappearance); 2) even while under the care of Emeritus and their recommended physician (which included regular dispensing of meds), her mental and physical condition deteriorated; 3) the price that we were quoted at admission nearly doubled, and when questioned about the increasing cost we were advised that the cost is calculated based on the amount of time invested with her each day, and there is no way to provide us with a chart or formula; 4) the facility has numerous areas of deferred maintenance (which included a standard company-mounted cabinet falling off the wall while my mother was in the room, and sliding closet doors falling off the track in her room). Given my mother's deteriorating condition under their care, I phoned the manager (who would not return my initial three calls) and requested a copy of the nurse's notes and a list of meds that she was being administered. The manager responded by advising a) they would not release the nurse's notes as they are the confidential property of Emeritus, and b) they would not release the schedule of meds to me because I did not have a medical power of attorney. Not only do we find the services and actions of Emeritus unacceptable, we believe that given reasonable alternatives in the Merced area, Emeritus would be forced to make significant changes (encompassing a focus on the care of its residents instead of the company's profit) and/or be required to close its doors.

If your loved one has dementia/alshiemers please think twice. About having them placed at the Gardens of Sun City. The staff were not trained for that condition. They let my husband lie in feces. They put poop still in the clothes into the clothes hamper. I could go on and on but I wont. Please pay more attention to the residents. Over priced for me having to furnish EVERYTHING! I FOUND A GREAT PLACE FOR MY HUSBAND AFTER leaving The gardens. He has since passed away.

We pulled him out after 2 months. Memory patients have a hard time complaining or expressing any issues. The assisted living side seems great. Memory care is terrible. The girls try, but 20+ patients and only 3 people helping them bathe, dress, eat and all other numerous issues is not enough and some of the girls obviously were not good care givers. Some were amazing!

Initially my Veteran was promised 1 meal and day and transportation but they recently took those privileges due to new ownership and raised his rent. We were told they would have activities but there are no activities provided. My Veteran has limited income and is more depressed. We’re moving him.

A friend‘s mother was there for a couple days and passed away there. I thought the staff was inconsiderate when I saw them and ignored the patient with feces all over the bathroom floor for a whole day after she had an accident. Some of the staff was nice and caring with some could care less.

They could improve by getting to know the patient on day one, not 3 or 4.

0. They did a terrible job. The staff violated HIPPA , didn't repair the sewer smell coming from her bathroom and didn't call me when her room flooded late at night. They seemed nice at first, but after they got her into a room and I started paying the monthly rent, everything changed. I would not recommend this place to anyone.

Assisted living side and community room clean. 4 My fathers room. 0 The only time they cleaned it was the day we pulled him out. My father lost 18lbs in 2 months was shaky and weak. He was in memory care, they treated that side differently than the assisted side. Worst mistake we ever made!!! And those were only some of the complaints we had.

This place is under staffed with very poor staff training. The person who’s responsible in the care department isn’t very present in the community. I have waited to speak to him many times. This place is nowhere near a five star community. Food is bland, the serving is not enough for one person. Staff members do not know what they are doing.

I wouldn’t put my worst enemy in Wellbrook. My sister in law entered wellbook as a hospice resident. Hospice should be a comfort to patient and family. Unfortunately the manager of Wellbrook, [name removed], didn’t care that it was my sister in laws end of life. Instead of encouraging her husband to spend as much time as he would like, [name removed] did just the opposite. He resented that my sister in law had a husband that wanted to be with his wife, the woman he deeply loved. [name removed] actually told my bother that he should go away & they’ll take care of everything. Except they didn’t. I would never suggest to anyone that Wellbrook was great facility.

The staff turnover is concerning, all pointing to administrative inexperience. Staffing and care for those needing higher levels of assistance is not consistent. We moved our mother to another facility after two months when I had to dispatch an ambulance to retrieve her from a pool of her own urine and a getting a fractured elbow after her calls for assistance went unanswered for two hours. It was easier for her to ask Siri to call me in Texas than wait any longer for her cries to go unanswered. I do not recommend rose arbor for any person with acute health needs