Westmont Living

At the beginning, when I was still "looking" for a place, I always received responses to my emails or voicemail messages I left. Now that I have placed my father in this facility, I can't seem to get any responses to my emails or voicemails that I have left. It is regarding billing and [Removed], the office manager doesn't return my calls. I have even sent emails to Shelly, the person I had signed up with, even though this I not her area and have not received a response. The bill was due on July 1st and there is a 5 day grace period then you pay a late fee. Today is day 5. I started leaving messages on June 19th or 20th. I spoke to the nurse that does the assessment for the assistance needed on Sat., July 1st. She said she would have [Removed] get back to me. Still no response! I am not happy with this lack of response to my questions about their charges which are much higher than what I was told I would be paying.

Westmont of Brentwood is a good place at both the assisted living and the memory care facilities. The food is good on the assisted living side, but has a lot to be desired at memory care. My mother has been living there for three years. The caregivers are amazing. The one important issue I am having with them is their executive staff has gone thru four directors, three office managers/accountants, and three directors of community services (the administrative nurse). Westmont has owed my mother money for months, but wont pay while they demand payment for services in advance each month. The monthly invoices are incorrect as if they dont charge enough already. Its a great place to stay but be aware of financial inconsistencies.

This was just a short respite stay and I wasn't there much. The most frustrating part was that we didn't get the approval until the last minute. I felt like it could have been handled more expeditiously. When we got there, and being a Sunday, they weren't really ready for her. It's a young group of caregivers, but I do like that they have a low income tier. They have a great group of Seniors living there, really friendly, and funny too. It's a small place, they were very open and accepting. The only thing that was kind of scary was that they happened to have two people with with similar names, that resulted in medication mix-ups.

They said they had a security guard walk the perimeter every night. That didn't seem to be the case. We had an incident that indicated to us that whoever is supposed to be doing that, isn't doing it. Other than that they are clean, and they were cooperative when we moved.

My aunt was assessed at a high level of care (I think it was a 5, 6 being the highest). She was coming from rehab from hip surgery and a mild stroke. As one knows the higher your level the more expensive. Her first day there she fell and fractured her pelvis. She was not able to get assistance right away. She was finally brought to ER. When she returned to Westmont she should have been re-evaluated. Regardless the next few days she was barely checked on. My family had to intervene and we were not impressed by their care. My aunt has since recovered more and we have outside help come in on the weekends. Also, my aunt, is vegan and has had to give that up as there are not enough options in the dining hall. Westmont needs to be careful what they promise their incoming residence. At this point I’d say it’s a better facility for independent seniors who don’t need much assistance.

Friendly staff, beautiful courtyard and nice refurbished dining hall. Their staff is attentive. But it is an old building and not in the best neighborhood.

Don't fall for the sales pitch. After all, the only reason these places exist is to make Money. For instance, if one wished to dine in one's room, to have the meal delivered is $[removed]. To pick it up YOURSELF, is $[removed].

When my mother first got to Westmont it was great. When her level of care she needed changed so did the care from Westmont changed. We went through 3 major staff changes in 6 mo. That's how long my mother was there before she passed away. They were understaffed, could not connect with directors or asst directors. Cleaning went down and the aides taking care of residents had definitely changed due understaffing. It's a shame because it was so nice when she got there.

Everything is good when you go in for the first visit. The people and rooms are nice. They are disorganized from there. The intake was disorganized. The food quality is terrible as well as the service to get the food… 45 minutes to an hour and 30 minute long wait. There have been multiple times where a staff member has just walked into my grandmother's room at all hours of the night. There has just been a lot of unacceptable things out that happened. Really nice people who work there however. They are just missing the mark on most important parts.

As far as the facility. It's beautiful! I just wish that they would clean the common area a bit more. Unfortunately the residents have no control of certain things but if the cleaning staff kept up a bit more it would not smell so bad. Sometimes when I visit it takes a long time after I leave to not smell that scent. It's like it lingers. I feel that the staff that takes care of my mom is very friendly and welcoming. They always have stories to tell about my mom between visits. Makes me feel like they really care about her and enjoy taking care of her.

I pay extra for comfort keeper to come assist for daily activities with my mom. I also being charged for medication administration, that's an extra [fee removed] a month and they don't have staff to administer her insulin so I go everyday to give her insulin. I have found her morning medication at the bedside several times and have expressed my concerns about this to the staff.

Overall staff is very friendly and kind. When mom moved in yr ago meal excellent! Chef relocated, now quality has declined. Initial care excellent! Now mom cleanliness (1x a week cleaning) is either not happening or not being done well. On-site OT/PT (not the Oaks) is top notch. The facility is beautiful but care staff and housekeeping struggling.

I was surprised to find that even those with a title of "director" of such and such are paid hourly, and not so well as I understand. Maybe because of that personnel turn-over at the "directors" level seem to be rather frequent, especially at the kitchen. The current chef is the third or fourth since my husband came there at the end of [fee removed] . The quality of meals seem to have declined recently. But the front-line employees seem to be all very kind and pleasant as far as we have experienced. Also, at the assisted living level, there are a lot of freedom, and we are allowed to take [name removed] to restaurant outings as we please. The fact that there are a heated indoor pool and a fully-equipped gym is very nice. Once or twice a month entertainment sessions are also great, and family members are also welcome. So, I try to accompany [name removed] to these events as often as I can. I forgot to mention that there are 300+ "active living" retirement homes, and some of the residents volunteer to conduct painting classes, sewing classes, etc

Clothes are not returned correctly, stool in toilets and smell bad if walking by open room)/Medicines not ordered timely, can't produce record of meds taking and time. never seen or heard of any activities. Too expensive for the level of service. They are priced as a 5 star but clearly a 3 star.

Quality of care is actually non-applicable they were in independent living. When it comes to the meals they charged for containers to take out, charged for delivery. The activities is non-applicable, they never left their room. Value for the money, they moved in. It seemed very reasonable, they were there from [date removed] until [date removed] and the rent went up almost [fee removed] during that time. Many people are moving out of Westmont Village because of that reason.

I wish I was never referred there. Unbelievable run poorly they can't keep their administration people or their LVN. We left after 5 months. I choose a company who actually goes to the facilities before referring a facility.

Communication with the family is getting better, but only after I complained. The move in process was okay, however we were shown a one person room with microwave, small frig, etc. Ended up with a small room without anything in it. I got my loved one a microwave and fridge, so it was okay with me, not so much with other families that I met there. Housekeeping is something that I gripe about on a daily basis. The meals leave a lot to be desired, like serving dry white rice, cold or lukewarm food & this week they microwaved the meat, making it tough. These residents are 98% elderly and it's a challenge to chew tough as nails food. I would not recommend the facility. I haven't changed because it is to hard on him & we, as a family, check and visit every day or every other day.

Just two things. The food needs to improve. It tastes too much like cafeteria food, extremely bland. The mashed potatoes appear to be from a box. I ate there a few times and was not impressed. Activity participation is low. It would be nice if more residents engaged. The staff should help newcomers more with introductions to other residents. Other than that, the facility is very clean and the apartments/rooms are very nice. A decent amount of storage, more than some. The staff are responsive and very friendly.

Some areas this community could work to improve on to better the experience would be the food, it is decent, not great but ok. Also they don't have a driver. They don't have any excursions off property. That is disappointing.

Suggestions for improvement: Better food, much better attention to patients. The staff is never paying attention to patients in pain, leaving patients in urine soaked wheelchairs and beds, not keeping rooms clean. For extremely high charges, etc, etc, I would not recommend this facility to others!!!