St. Barnabas - Arbors of Valencia

The Arbors at St Barnabas (Formerly Valencia Woods) was in the process of making one wing into a memory care wing. I was not impressed. The lady who took us on the tour was very nice, but did not have an understanding about keeping the residents safe in the memory care wing that they were making. They had an elevator being built and my daughter asked how are they planning to keep the residents from accessing that elevator to go somewhere else, and she said she's not sure. They hadn't figured out the logistics. The rooms looked out into the woods, so it was a very pretty setting. It's a very old and cold building, but the grounds were pretty. The staff was friendly; she just didn't have a good understanding of the memory care wing.

The care that The Arbors At St Barnabas is providing to my in-laws has been very good. They were in a two-bedroom apartment in assisted living, which was really wonderful for them when they were more mobile. It was newly renovated, the food was good and whatnot, but they had to move to another building when their mobility became an issue. They're now in a double room but it's just one room. It's been very good for them. The people really help them get adjusted. At the place where they are now they've gone to some music activities where they bring people in to play musical entertainment. They have some other gatherings and they play games with the residents who can play games. They also have a very good activities coordinator who has activities three times a week, and they again play games to help with their skills. They do sing-alongs and there are activities where they make decorations for the parties they're having. For people who are able to leave, they have buses to take them, or they take them for ice cream or to symphonic type things. The activities are a little less intense now that they're at a higher level of care than when they were in assisted living. The staff has been absolutely wonderful, and since they have skilled nursing, they almost always have a nurse on staff member around the clock. So if you need anything special or anything to get checked there's a nurse to help. The aides are wonderful, they're just attentive, kind, and very good. The meals looked very good. We went there to have Thanksgiving with them, it was a special meal, and it was wonderful; it's restaurant quality. Both of my in-laws are satisfied with their regular meals. The activity spaces are very nice, they're all clean, and almost all redone.

She's at Valencia Woods. It's a nursing home, and it's beautiful. The caregivers take excellent care of her. Her room is private, fully furnished, spacious, and cheerful. The location is very convenient, and the grounds are well-kept.

A relative of mine is at the Arbors. The day to day staff that interact with my relative are nice and pretty helpful. Where things fall apart is the management. They have difficulties in administering medicine correctly. They have issues with managing the cleanliness of the facility. Smells terribly of urine in some areas. Dirt on the floor for days. Dilapidated walls. They mix dimentia/memory loss patients in randomly with other patients. Upper management people are rude and show little respect to elderly patient's requests and show little desire to resolve issues.

The Arbors at St Barnabas is a great place. The staff is very professional and very easy to work with. They were able to get my mom in the facility as soon as possible. We went and visited after a month that she is in there, and they are really, really great. The room that she is in is a double room, and it's a good size room. It has beautiful surroundings. She's involved with all kinds of activities every day. They have physical and craft activities as well as social activities. They have an excellent counselor who sends me email updates at least once a week. Also the reason why we chose the place is because they will keep her all the way to nursing care.