Westmont Living

We picked this community because, of the overall appearance and it was a new facility. Now that they have more residents, the dining room is always full, and there is a long wait for food. Often the portions are smaller. It would be helpful if they hired more staff.

My uncle is pretty happy here and feels very welcomed, but there are a lot of changes going on that are impacting the facility. They have a new director, a new chef, and staff turnover rate is high. Things fell behind and they're trying to catch up. They are short staffed in the dining room, but the food is adequate. The sales person is helpful, but did misinform us a bit in the beginning. The staff is friendly overall. They do offer transportation and my uncle utilized that recently for an appointment and said it went great. They have a nice pool, physical therapy room that they can also use for exercise, and a theatre. My uncle is comfortable here overall and has a lot of privacy. They do have a welcoming committee that sat with him at dinner, which he enjoyed. I'm just not sure that I would recommend it to others considering all of the changes and them falling behind on things and being short staffed.

We really loved this place when my parent moved in. There had been consistency in directors, the cost was aligned with other facilities in the area, and the staff seemed to genuinely care. Through covid, services began to fray. Food was inconsistent, and we would find that additional services that we were paying for would be skipped here and there. Around the facility, little things were being missed too, like the bistro not being stocked with fresh coffee or water, umbrellas missing from a messy interior patio, or the theater wasn't working for weeks. Fast forward to mid-2022, and almost all of the directors have turned over in the past 6-8 months. Residents are stressed by the lack of communication or continuity. Then a letter for a 10% increase in rents, and charges for 'amenities' that were previously included by the facility. Mariposa claims that it is to bring the facility in line with others in the area, but it actually puts them above many others.

I recognize that they are struggling getting and retaining staff, like every company. But they don't listen when you tell them that things that aren't getting done. Keep in mind that the things they're telling you on the tour are not the full, honest picture. Had they been more honest, they would be getting higher ratings for being honest about what hey can cannot do. We were told all sorts of wonderful things would happen for my mother. She would be so engaged, and they would check on her often. I am there visiting frequently, and that is all a bill of sale. They day-to-day staff are very friendly when you're there, but responsiveness is lacking, and I feel that' s a problem originating with management. We had a billing issue, and it took them seven weeks to get back to me after I sent 15 emails. The care services are poor, and I even cancelled some aspects of care because they were not providing them after multiple times addressing it with them. While the food is okay, it used to be very different, with salad bars and a much different and better approach. There are plenty of activities - that's one of their strengths. They do as much as they can keeping in mind Covid challenges. It's very expensive, and the value just isn't there. Had I known what I now know about Westmont, I would not have moved my mother there.

I would be very careful they said that I would get a refund and I was never given a refund from this community. They said that they would come to the room to get him for programs for his memory and they never did this. I always had to remind them to see when someone was coming to get him.

Due to covid the cafeteria is still closed so the food is being delivered to their rooms. We spoke with our loved ones on Easter Sunday and asked what they were given for breakfast, and all that they were given was a box of cereal with no milk or no sugar. The reason behind that the staff said they ran out of food.

Our loved one is not very happy with the meal service that is the biggest complaint. When they get to the dining room the whole experience takes about 1-2.5 hours, so the service quality is pretty poor. Due to the covid restrictions the activities have been shut down for the most part, except for this last month.

The staff are very nice. The organization needs to work on being more informative with how to move in, ie how to set up internet, telephone, tv. Quality of meals could improve. Communication with residents and family members could improve.

Appearance is clean but there are issues, they have gone through ownership changes and have a ways to go. the room sizes are adequate and they are remodeling and making the rooms better. Food is not the best it's not moms home cooking. I would recommend because they are moving in the right direction

We chose this facility at the time because it was close to home so I was able to visit at anytime. She also used to work next door so it was a familiar area that she felt comfortable being in. It seemed like a nice friendly community. The staff members here were not very attentive and they dismissed me on things I would suggest them to do with my mom. They were not very helpful and did not seem to know anything about my mom. My mom told me that they did try really hard, but they were understaffed. I did not have a very good experience here.

[Name removed] and [name removed] were very informative and pleasant. Outdoor and open spaces were very nice. Meeting/activity areas plentiful. Somewhat limited choice of meals. Very spread out requiring lots of walking to get to restaurant etc. 1 bedroom apt was adequate, but the "studio" was a joke. More like an extended hallway into a smallish bed area. No room for a sofa or other sitting area. Limited closet space. Pricing started off at a fair price but the costs quickly escalated for each and every "option" for service.

My loved one has been living here for several years and it has changed considerably during this time. Although it was wonderful at first, it has gone downhill in several areas. The worst aspect is the food service. They do not consider the dietary needs of seniors and what they serve is completely lacking in nutritional value. Most often the entrees are fried and the vegetables (except for the salad bar) are rarely fresh. Everything is purchased from a food service, and probably a cheap one at that. The food is awful and frequently inedible. The apartments are lovely but the cleaning service is overworked and probably underpaid. The staff is continuously changing; which is extremely confusing and upsetting to the residents. The activities are uneven: they recently began some exercise classes, which my loved one really appreciates, but they have little in the way of anything intellectually stimulating. Recently they cut down on the mindless craft activities (think: kindergarten) and began offering more movies, but the residents have taken it upon themselves to form discussion groups. There is no care. My understanding is that the most the on-site person can do is a blood pressure reading--s/he is not even a nurse practitioner. If anything feels wrong, they offer to call an ambulance. The furniture and many of the doors are heavy, showing a lack of consideration for seniors' lack of strength. They used to have round-the-clock staffing, but that has disappeared as they continue to cut expenses. On the plus side, they have a wonderful library, lots of card games are organized, and sometimes there are musical activities. There is a nice fitness center and an indoor pool, as well as an on-site hairdresser (very 1950s) and manicurist (much more expensive than the local nail shops). If you can live with the horrible food and don't require much in the way of care, it is not a bad place. But the price is pretty steep and the transportation they provide is only to prescribed locations, which limits the possibilities for those who don't drive.

Pros: A very new facility with spacious rooms and some nice amenities including a comfortable movie screening-room with daily movies. Well-designed (walker-friendly) bathrooms and kitchenettes. Convenient to local shopping. Nice views from second-story rooms. Cons: Understaffed, with unusually high staff turnover. Food quality of rotating menu reported to be frequently unsatisfactory. Management (except for the Activities Director) seems very disengaged, hard to get in touch with. Having elevators only in one corner of the building is an unfortunate design choice, given that many residents are mobility-impaired.

It is really clean there. He is really happy at this facility. The food is really great which is why we switched him here.

Sold to a "for profit" company last year. Rates much higher than advertised. Studio Apt. now $2,825.55. Monthly assisted living care is $2,874.35. ($5,647.65 per month). New rooms are nice but older rooms are falling apart. Too much staff turnover, apparently getting cheaper staff is a constant goal. Assisted living residents should only be housed on the first floor! In case of a fire, not enough staff to take disabled/non-ambulatory residents down stairs when elevators are unavailable! 3% rent increase annually! Housekeeping needs to be better and more frequent. When "assessing" resident's needs, some areas and fees overlap so you pay twice. Quality of care decreasing and costs are rising to maximize profits. Sad to see this happening to this facility.

building is on a steep hill and requires crossing a very busy street to get to shopping.

Very nice staff and beautiful grounds. The only room available was too far from the dining and living area. Felt she would be confused. Room was nice, but carpet in one area was frayed and edging around it was up. Didn't look safe.

A lot of disorganization. Ex director left several staff changes. No solid procedures in place. Follow thru is not great. Hope it gets better.

My mom is at this Westmont. I was hopeful this would be a great experience but there are many problems that need attention related to management (an Executive Director who is not impressive.) Positives: nice community of residents, lovely care staff, spacious modern rooms. Problems: BED BUGS! Broken air conditioning system, leaving seniors with room temperatures well into the 80s on a regular basis; poor communication from management to residents; a lot of staff turnover. MAJOR problems: Food/service is shockingly poor. At least 4 chefs in under two years. Food is often cold, they run out regularly, and can take an hour to be served. Quality is so bad that many residents refuse to have family join for dinner. Too many spend money they shouldn't have to, ordering food from outside. MANY complaints have been made to facility management and city agencies. More than 60 residents signed a letter that was sent to corporate HQ demanding changes. Sadly, senior voices are regularly dismissed

I can offer that the care at Westmont isn't great - the staff are lazy. The person in charge of the care staff is ineffective. They don't currently have a manager on staff because they were at capacity so they moved him to another facility. They charge a lot and provide minimal care. I would tell people to look at other facilities. Westmont Staff lie. They continually make up excuses for why things aren't done and are constantly increasing your fees. I would not recommend it or Loma Clara at all. It's lipstick on a pig - looks pretty but the care is atrocious