Atria

A family member recently signed a residency agreement with Atria. It is a safe, clean, and friendly community. It is very pricey when compared to other A.L. facilities with similar features. This is primarily due to the fact that they price care levels separate from rent pricing and don't hold themselves accountable for demonstrating the hours of care provided / for the level of fees charged. In this pricing model, residents inevitably overpay based on the assistance "level" your loved one requires. This is a very arbitrary calculation and pricing method. The level and cost is dependent on the activities the resident needs assistance with, regardless of the effort expended by the aides. For this reason, we will likely look at alternate facilities this upcoming year.

Management does not have a handle on what aides do.

This community could use a lot of improvements, they are very under staffed and have poor care for there patients because of it. My mother would often wait long periods of time for the staff to attend to her needs and would receive cold food a lot of the time because there was not enough servers on the schedule. I have expressed my concern to the administration many of times and the problem never has seemed to get fixed.

My experience with Atria center city is that the pricing information given me when I signed up was deceptive in that costs that were supposed to be included in the rent (for example, export services for my Mom who is in a wheel chair) were supposed to be included in the rent and not factored into the "personal services" that were a separate charge. Although eventually her personal service charges were reduced, it was because of my prodding. I think if Mom did not have an advocate that she would just continue to be charged much more than was represented to me when I first signed the lease. Also the aides are often very slow in responding to requests for transport or other assistance.

Atria Sunnyvale is a nice, remodeled property, but feels very corporate, much like a hotel. I have had respite stays at other AL facilities that felt much more omey, welcoming, and attentive. There was little in the area of a warm welcome, and virtually no send-off. I was rarely checked in on. The bed had a liner on it (I assume for potential incontinence) that caused the sheets to slip off easily, and made me sweat. This could have been avoided by a simple question of whether or not it was needed, or a linen/soft liner between the plastic and the sheet. The TV was very, very small. Little things like needing captions on my TV were requested, but not tended to by staff, and when attempted, there was no communication as to status (a visiting family member finally figured it out). The shower handle lever was very hard to operate, which I mentioned to staff more than once, but was never fixed/made easier to operate. There was no seat in the shower, which seems like a safety issue in an assisted living facility. At times when I pressed my alarm for assistance none came, or came after at least a half hour after pressing the button. At one time a LOUD fire alarm went off, and there was no explanation as to why (no communication or assurance by staff, just them running around). The food quality at the restaurant was average (I have had much better restaurant-quality food at other AL facilities), and more than once my order was incorrect (wait staff never wrote down orders). I did appreciate the toiletries provided by staff upon check-in. Thank you for requesting this review.

Essentially positive experience as newcomer but: There was a lack of information about many of the where's and whys of atrial operation. I had to learn too many things such as putting out my laundry, etc from other renters. A brochure would have been so helpful and comforting. Also waiting a half hour or more to be just waited on in the dining room is not cool. I think we deserve better. On the plus side, the staff are all friendly and helpful as are the people living here. In summary, generally ok assessment but can we'll stand improvement.

We are very disappointed in this facility. We highly recommend that you read chapters 3, 4 and 5 in BEING MORTAL by Atul Gawande. Atria is mentioned on page 100. Chapter 3 details the difficulties the elderly face in moving into such a residence. Chapter 4 talks about the level of services offered by many of these residences. Chapter 5 relates what could be, but what only exists in a tiny fraction.

A beautiful residence. Nice restaurant, friendly people. A little concerned- Mom's 1st week. Was told she would have escorts to and from breakfast, lunch and dinner for the first week or even second if necessary to orient her. Never happened once. Also, 1st night at 3am woman walked into her apartment, woke Mom and introduced herself as someone who worked there. What? Mom is now locking her door at night. Med management is a little disorganized- not sure yet who's responsible for getting ok from Dr to continue Moms vitamin supplements, me or nurse. Still waiting on a maintenance repair that was promised her 1st day. A 4 year resident couple I met in elevator said they like it, but to keep my eyes open and be very active there. This all concerns me.

My step mother was put in Hospice and allowed to get bedsores. Granted, she was a difficult person but no one should get bed sores when you are suppose to have more nursing care when in Hospice. Care for the dying should be in place not the attitude of , "She is dying" like they don't care. Their business is to care. They lost her linens and brought her clothes that weren't hers consistently. When we asked if we should put her name on her things we were told no, but I think it would have been a good idea.

My Parents have lived here for the past three years, we were highly impressed with this facility when they first moved in. In the three years that they have been here the managment has changed a few times and they are unable to maintain the quality we have grown accustom too. The restaurants food, service, and menu has become a main concern for many of the residents, it is a far cry from what was offered a few years ago. The value has been on a steady downward spiral, with the increases in rent.

MY FAMILY MEMBER HAS BEEN HERE FOR ALMOST A YEAR. FIR IS HOW I WOULD DESCRIBE THE EXPERIENCE. CARING IS FACADE. TAKING YOUR MONEY THEY LIKE TO DO. YES, MEDIOCRE MEALS ARE SERVED. WHAT I FIBD SHOCKING IS THAT AT THE SENIOR AGE BRACKET THAT THEY USE SO MUCH SALT AND ETC IN THEIR FOOD. MOST EVERYONE HAS RESTRICTIONS BY THAT AGE. TRANSPORTATION IS PROVIDED UP UNITL 4P ON WEEKDAYS. THAT IS HELPFUL. ACTIVITIES HERE ARE OVERRATED AND THYE DO A FAIR JOB ENCOURAGING. THEY ADMINISTRATION IS A DISAPPOINTMENT. AS I MENTIONED CARING IS A FACADE AND I JUST FEEL THAT THEY SHOULD GO OUT OF THEIR WAY A BIT MORE WITH THEIR RESIDENTS FOR THE PRICE THAT IS PAID.

Don't be seduced by the pretty landscaping and the homey architecture. My parent has been in the "Memory Care Unit" for quite some time. They are terribly under staffed for the amount of people that they care for. I have tried many times to tell the management about the care and they just say that they are hiring more staff but it just stays the same or is getting worse. The manager of the unit has blinders on his windows of his office so you can't tell if he is there or not. I don't think he wants to look out to see what is really going on. Atria just does not seem to care about how people feel. I have had conversations with other residents families and they say the same thing, totally unresponsive. I am totally disappointed by the overall experience provided. They promise you so much and for the cost it should be so much better.

Disappointed with the food which is fair, somewhat institutional. The new director has a cold personality, not what you expect from a director at a assisted living facility. They need to add more activities for the residents.

Be careful. It’s organized, but be careful to calculate the cost of care services. It’s over priced for that portion, and they don’t always provide the care that they say they’ll provide. The food was okay.

It's very, very clean, and they try hard. For the most part they are friendly. They need more aides per group, in my mothers group they only have two aides for 21 people. The aides also have to do dining room service as well, except cooking, at least in the Life Guidance area. It's always a different aide coming in, they don't get the chance to get to know an aide. It's hard to get a straight answer. They ask all about my mom and what her interests are, but they don't tailor the activities to her. We have had to go looking for laundry before, we did find it though. I got sold based on the social worker that was there, and they are supposed to be contacting the family once a week, and I haven't gotten any calls at all, except in the beginning. They have a very pretty garden, but I don't ever see them out there.

This place was sad, and depressing. It was on a main street, and we had to park in an underground garage.

My mom has been here only a week so still don't know if this is the right place for her. She has the start of dimentia and has already had a trip to the ER. We will determine if she needs a more skilled nursing facility in the next month or so.

I don't think the staff do anything to encourage socialization among the residents. This is really sad because I imagine it leaves the residents feeling lonely and isolated. What is needed is professional social work intervention to connect people of similar interests and similar abilities. Atria Woodlands should research other facilities to see how they deal with this crucial issue.

There a 157 residents and you have high turnover because the salaries are low. That was probably the biggest problem is the turnover from the director down to the kitchen help. The elderly become kind of frightened or lonely because all of a sudden people that they're used to and comfortable with are gone. That's what I noticed. You never know who to go to with a problem because the staff is always changing. It's like they have too many people there than staff. It was great for a while and then something happened in the last two years and then they had this horrible amount of turnover. It's great for the independent person who has an active life outside the facility.

We liked the community but it is setup like an apartment complex. The area our loved one would be staying in was away from the main area so would either have to walk or wait for them to come pick her up in the golf carts. It is not a gated community so anyone can come and go. The staff was very informative and very friendly.