Sunshine Villa, A Merrill Gardens Community

I couldn`t be happier with this beautiful assisted living facility for my Mom!! I have done extensive research. and I must say I am very particular....Sunshine Villa has more than exceeded my dreams and expectations!! The staff is extremely caring, kind and respectful of each and every resident!! Because I visit my Mom just about every day, I overhear lots of conversations....the staff puts the residents needs above all, with attitudes of serving and helpfulness and encouragement!! This wonderful place has been an absolute blessing to both my My Mom and I. What a joy to be apart of this very special community!!!!!!! Thank you HEAPS Sunshine Villa staff and your commitment to excellence!!!!!!!!!! more

I posted a positive review in November 2011, and this is a followup. My mother is still at Sunshine Villa and so far, so good. Based on declines my family saw before she came to SSV, we were not surprised that mom had to move from Assisted Living to Memory Care. At SSV this only meant moving from one apartment to another without having to leave new friends and now familiar surroundings. She participates in the ""Illuminations"" program where she can socialize, go on scenic bus rides, participate in various activities, etc. As a bonus, the Illuminations director plays classical guitar with a Cabrillo College ensemble and often entertains her SSV guests. At mom's semi-rural home she used to spend most of the time watching satellite TV on a favorite couch, so these new opportunities have been a godsend. We are still very happy with Sunshine Villa. The staff is wonderful. Based on our 9 months there I have trouble reconciling the January 22, 2012 ""Not a good experience"" SSV review, which seems to be unfair. Our experience has been just the opposite. The reviewer said her mother had ""experience(d) six other facilities"" before Sunshine Villa. I wonder about some sort of serious adjustment problems there. Facility hopping is very disruptive plus is expensive with the move-in fees charged by all facilities. We've seen no reason to leave SSV and expect that it will be mom's final residence. The reviewer's seven relocations in a row seem inconceivable to me. This has to be a red flag. I can understand why the reviewer had to ""scramble to find another facility"" for her mother since a given geographical area only has so many assisted living places! They're not like gas stations on every street corner. Finally the reviewer says that her mother was a ""medical social worker whose professional experience included licensing smaller elder care facilities"". Be that as it may, many SSV residents and their families are well-educated observant people who could readily frame vigorous articulate complaints if they felt the need. In fact my mother and I often have dinner with a resident who is an attorney in good standing with the State Bar of California. His Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree is from my own alma mater, UC Berkeley. As well there are UCSC Professors Emeriti who are residents. There is a wide range of resident backgrounds, and I would say that this is not a stereotype hopelessly vulnerable crowd as painted by the ""Not a good experience"" review. more

We moved our mom into Sunshine Villa in February 2011. SV’s representative gave us the impression of competence and caring and knew that we were stretched so thinly that we needed the facility to be fully competent to care for our mom from the get-go The room we chose turned out to be dangerously hot. When we discovered that on March 31 we notified the facility. But no action was taken. Mom’s west-facing room had no fan, no A/C, no cross ventilation, and no fresh air exchange. It had to have been known about this fatal flaw. When the health services director and maintenance person did nothing, we spoke to the Ex. Dir. When she did nothing I sent an email to BPM Senior, the corporate parent. There was no response. This is a paramedical facility licensed by the state of California. The Dept. of Social Services monitors care facilities as best they can under the laws that were written to favor corporate profits and interests. An attorney recommended that we contact DSS, a first experience for us. We were finally forced to buy an A/C unit to keep our mom safe, as the one the facility finally installed was inadequate by half in BTUs and not automatic in function. We also bought fans, a digital thermometer, hired an outside afternoon caregiver (as SV did not dependably check up on or remediate the hot room situation as requested) and other items to keep the room within the safe legal limits. In addition, we had to go every evening to cool off her room as without our intervention the room could start the next day with a temperature of 90 degrees – and build from there! There were also issues with care – services not needed and not provided, but billed for. The health services dept. was often in chaos with terrible management. Before I could locate another facility our mom was evicted after we notified the facility that conservatorship had been granted. The only accurate part of that retaliatory eviction letter was a reference to not being able to care for mom. We had to scramble very hard to find another facility for her and that move was traumatic for her as her immediate quality of life changed so dramatically, plus leaving behind a new good friend. She is just now acclimating to the new facility, which is locally owned, well managed, and fair and honest. There are other significant problems there too. We ended up sending dozens of pages of documentation to DSS for multiple failures. We are fortunate that Mom survived the experience: there was a wrongful death suit brought against SV about a year and a half ago which may still be unresolved, but after talking to the attorney representing that family about the facts of the case, it appears to be SV’s fault that Carol Fundingstand died. So, unless the corporate parent has changed, or the Ex. Dir. is replaced (as we hear the Health Services Dir. was), we could not recommend this facility for many good reasons. Having experience six other facilities whose management was good or whose health services were organized (and not chaotic as we often experienced it) we feel we have to share this troubling information. Our mom, a medical social worker whose professional experience included licensing smaller elder care facilities, has insisted that we do this to “protect the elderly, who are a very vulnerable population in great need of companionship and assistance.” And, we will add, unlike most children, the elderly represent an easily tapped source of wealth that can bring out the very worst in human nature, especially in a for-profit health care delivery system. more

After interviewing us, and first qualifying our mother so as to not waste out time, they just wasted our time. And the cascading events of their misinformation were unfortunate. Pros: Attractive facility, amenities and great location Cons: The administration more

I am so angry with this facility. We came for a visit and made arrangements for my Mother to visit and be evaluated, exchanging doctor reports, only to find out now they won't take her at all. I had prepared my Mother for the visit and the move and made arrangements with her current facility, all to no avail. They don't know what they are doing. The right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing. Good luck with this bunch!!! more

My Mom lived at Sunshine Villa from the year they opened- 1991 to 2007. She was obviously one of the longest time residents of the facility, so we saw many ups and downs over the years. There were moments of brilliance where there were good managers and nurses. But for the most part they were changing staff and management constantly. I know it's not an easy industry in terms of finding employees, and keeping them. \r But when her health got worse, and she had to be moved to full time nursing, I saw a huge difference. Her new facility in Saratoga is run so much better. The staff rarely changes, and the communication is superior. It doesn't have a view of the ocean, but the grounds are very nice! And my Mom says the food is superior, which is important. \r It's Saratoga Retirement Community, if you're looking for a better alternative. It offers Assisted Living, and Skilled Nursing, as well as independent living with condos and single family homes. Pros: View of the Boardwalk and ocean-beautiful Victorian setting. Cons: Management and staff inconsistnent and everchanging. more

Sunshine is the most beautiful facility of its kind that I have seen, The dining facilitiy and menus, grounds, laundry service, maintenance and housekeeping services, and activities are all great. But the reason most folks move here, caregivers and nursing, is wanting. If you are wheelchair bound, and need physical help dressing, transferring, etc, beware! Help to the toilet can involve a 20+ minute wait. Most caregivers are hardworking, caring, and committed to what they are doing, but they have been ""shortstaffed"" all year. They all wear radios, and I have been there and heard the boss screamming over all radios simultaneously. If everyone addresses the same issue, it is a waste of the limited resources and counter productive. They lost their executive director the 1st 1/2 of '08, and we are now at 4th Q with noone minding the store. I have serious concerns about the competancy of the nursing staff. Turnover this year has resulted in a disappointing drop in quality of care. There is a marked lack of nurse accountability, and there is a continuous lack of communication. They have shown an unwillingness ( or is it inability) to learn about a patients existing pain monitoring system. Not sure if they are following a policy, or are just short on skills. A replacement of the borderline performing nurses, and an improvement in the caretaker/patient ratio could return them to a top quality facility. Pros: Facility is great Cons: shortstaffed on caregivers, nurses need to be replaced or managed more