TerraBella Northridge

TerraBella Northridge have done a wonderful job with my loved one. I don't have any notes really. The staff communication has been great with the family. There are three meals a day, and the residents get a choice and follow my loved one's dietary restrictions/needs.

TerraBella doesn’t have a welcoming spirit. The ED is always in her office. During the tour she never came out to introduce herself. The staff in AL wasn’t very pleasant. I did hear a CNA talking to a resident as if she were a child. The memory care is so depressing and sad. Residents wondering around and their clothes are dirty. One staff member walking around with her pants sagging down. No one (staff wise) look very happy. I wanted to speak with the director of nursing. After my tour she was sitting in her car smoking. This is not a very pleasant atmosphere for my dad.

The registration process (applying, move in, etc.) were all great- amazing help and friendliness. I think it's important to note that when he passed away I was very disappointed with how things were handled in certain aspects. But I couldn't say enough good things about the beginning experience.

I would just say they are not compassionate and they had my mom in the wrong level of care. She has dementia and they said she didn't. They had placed her in the hospital. The director of nursing and the director of the facility has their staff working for all of them in fear of them. The whole thing is very poorly managed and executed. They ordered so much medication that we are overflowing with it and have no clue what to do with all of it. They lost many of her personal belongings including her mouth guard. Just overall was a bad experience, do not select a facility based off just looks and amenities it is about the care and compassion of the community and staff that matters most.

I moved my loved one in on the [date removed] and brought him home last [date removed]. The service we received from [name removed], who was in charge of his particular floor, was wonderful. She always addressed my concerns. [Name removed] was his primary caregiver, he loved her and she was great too. She went on vacation and he misbehaved while she was gone, that tells you how much he liked her. There was a med tech who was great too. She would send me notifications in advance before his medication ran out, so that I could make sure there was no lapse in between. TerraBella’s biggest problem for us was hygiene. Bathing, shaving, brushing his teeth, etc. His skin those 2 months was to the point where it was peeling off due to lack of bathing. I provided Dove lotion and Aquaphor to prevent that, but it was still like dandruff. I brought home almost a full container of those products, only maybe 1/4 of it had been used in 2 months. His toothbrush was always like-new and had not been moved from where I put it the last time I visited. I know he didn't want someone else to bathe him, but they should be able to handle a situation like that. That really concerned me. He also had a lesion on his backside and that got treated only after I made a big deal about it. There was a doctor making house calls and he let me know that the zinc ointment treatment was ordered March 10th but it took 10 days to actually be applied. I find it “convenient” that it was applied the same day I visited. Worst of all, he left the community with Covid. Since last Friday we've both been quarantined and trying to get him well. Fortunately his oxygen levels are good and so is his temperature, but nevertheless he came home with it. They were allowing him to go to the dining room to eat even though he'd been exposed. The day I took him out (last Friday) I had to wait for him to leave the dining room and I don't think that's proper protocol. They were well aware he'd been exposed, as they called and told me on [date removed] and said he had tested positive. I visited on the [date removed] , a couple days later, and saw several notes on other residents' doors informing them they had tested positive as well. There was also a note telling visitors at the front door that there had been a Covid outbreak, yet they were still allowing visitors. I told one of the staff members that he had a bad cough well before the positive result, but never got notification that it was looked into. It wasn't until I pressed the issue and after he tested positive, that they had checked on him. He was evaluated on the [date removed], a day before he left. The only indication of Covid he has is a bad dry cough. No temperature, no difficulties breathing or eating. Just the cough. He was also prescribed medication for the cough that I have paperwork on, but they did not send him home with the medication. I’m unaware of if he actually received it, how to administer it and what exactly it is or is used for - this is an issue for me. If they prescribed it to him and possibly gave it to him there, why not send him home with it? I know they are understaffed and I greatly appreciate what the caregivers do for him. I may have made a mistake taking him out, but I don't think that he was getting the proper care he needed. In my opinion, he was put in memory care, when he should've been in assisted living. I say this because he was not in the same state of the people on his floor. He’s alert, he did great in physical therapy, he's able to hold a conversation. He has Parkinson's and that's one of the reasons I put him there. He doesn’t have tremors, but needs help walking. He is incontinent; there were several times I did his laundry and noticed that the padding was so saturated with urine, it was yellow. I don't want to complain, but I think people should know about this before placing their loved ones here. Prior to TerraBella, he was in a different community that was way worse than this experience. If they had more staff, they'd probably be able to do a bit better. His primary caregiver, [name removed], was responsible for about 10 residents at one time. I'm sure they were all doing the best they can. [Name removed] and others seemed to really care, whereas some of the other staff seemed to be mentally removed at times and unwilling to help.

We really like the TerraBella Community, we have recommended it to families and we will continue to recommend families.

The staff went above and beyond to get our loved one moved in with being on a tight budget. They were very willing to work with us and go that extra mile. Location wise the community is very close, and right away we noticed how clean it has and how clean it smelled. The community itself is aesthetically pleasing to look at. Even though they are experiencing high turnover rates the people there are very nice.

I would recommend to check this facility out. It is very clean, they are very helpful and very attentive with my loved one. They do activities but as of now they are cut off due to covid. We are happy with this community.

The community is welcoming to family and it is a caring environment. They are very safety conscience. Anytime there is a question or concern the community is willing to talk about it and help come to a conclusion for everyone involved. My loved one doesn't like the taste of food; however, there are snacks available for the residents. The people that serve the food are so nice, according to my loved one.

We chose Elmcroft of Northridge because they met our budgetary needs in our timeline and they seemed to be on top of things. Once we got in here they were not all that they said that they were. We have asked for things to be done and they are not done and some items have been misplaced. Communication is also difficult and it is hard to talk to anyone on the phone. I would also like visitation to be increased from 1 day a week. I do think these are things that they could improve on at the facility.

Make sure you do your research on the community's covid guidelines. They are very restrictive. Communication is good with the staff but the director is not good at communication.

Nice and clean place. Friendly staff. Good activities board and food menu

It was the absolutely worst experience ever, I would not send my worst enemy there I would never want a family to experience what our family went through, and what our loved one endured during the time he was there.