Lakeside Park

I am not a client or family member of a client, but I wanted to simply review the excellent service I received by calling Lakeside Park to find out about their availability. Ann called me back and spoke to me at length about what I was looking for. Even though they don’t currently have a room available, she answered questions I had about hospice care and gave me recommendations for in-​home caregiver services as well. It was clear that she just wanted to help – she wasn’t looking at this like a sales call. It felt really great to talk to her and get her feedback. If Ann is indicative of the type of caring attitude at Lakeside I can see why the place gets such great reviews.

Lakeside Park and its staff are second to none for dementia care. I had the privilege and pleasure of assisting a client for the last 8 years of her life as a resident at Lakeside Park and couldn’t be more pleased. The staff are stable, concerned, considerate and very caring. My client was cantankerous and beloved by the staff who embraced her unique personality and she loved them in her special way.
Lines of communication are open and doors are open for problem-​solving and team solutions. Even when hiccups occur, great care is taken to resolve to a satisfactory conclusion. The management team cares about their residents and I was even fortunate to have additional assistance as my clients’ move out was different than the norm and TJ and the team stepped up to make it happen smoothly and without a hitch. Anne is a bright shining star and Mila and her med techs keep everything humming along. I can’t say enough about the care staff — Glenda in particular — who was grace under pressure and unflappable always! Great organization and well run. Thanks Cheryl for upholding such a terrific building. Definitely able to recommend to anyone in need. My 5 star choice.

Approximately one year ago, I moved my mother from a Southern California assisted living facility. She has moderate dementia and after evaluating 2 – 3 facilities with specialized memory care, I selected Lakeside Park.
Lakeside Park has provided excellent care of my mother. It is not an easy task to look after a family member with cognitive impairment, much a group of several individuals. My mother’s condition not only stabilized, but I feel her cognition had slightly improved. All of the staff members, including the front desk receptionists, housekeeping personnel, caregivers and management, were genuinely concerned with the welfare of the residents and responsive to my concerns. I visited my mother frequently during the week and on weekends, and not once did any of the caregivers (known as «care partners») demonstrate frustration, impatience or anger with any of the residents. Lakeside offered a good variety of activities for residents, as well as excellent lectures and support for family members. The chef is outstanding and prepared excellent tasting and nutritious meals.
Lakeside Park has contracted with an excellent and dedicated physician who provides medical consultation for the facility. However, there is a lack of onsite licensed nursing care which may impact on administration of certain medications and I would recommend family members discuss their specific situation with Lakeside Park.
After much consideration and some sadness, I decided to relocate my mother to another facility in closer proximity to my home to live out her remaining years. I hope that the new facility will be as good as Lakeside Park and will miss the people there.

As the one year anniversary of my mother’s move to Lakeside Park approaches, I am thinking about the quality of her care. Reviewers have commented on the exceptional specialized facilities, professional staff, and interns. Although I do understand that Lakeside excels, I am still regularly taken aback by the little acts that I witness. How do you get a loved one, who refuses to move to Lakeside Park, from the car to the new room? The staff has a seemingly endless repertoire of approaches. How do you determine whether meds are working well? The staff captures impressions from all care givers. How do you cope with the transition for the family? The staff offers weekly support groups and even one-​on-​one sessions for guidance. What do you do if the elder rejects care? ALL the staff, no matter what position they fill at Lakeside Park, are ready to intervene, appease, and compliment the elder. As Boomers age, we can hope and plan for opportunities that approach the comprehensive care Lakeside Park offers to its current residents.

The compassionate people at Lakeside Park have found ways to care for my mother that I would never have thought of. She was in an institutional skilled nursing facility before; now it’s like home — in fact, much better than home!

I logged onto the Unilocal site to post an update to my original 11÷27÷13 review of Lakeside Park in Oakland. To my surprise I found that my review was missing in action. I contacted Unilocal help to see what was up and they said that their software automatically screens for inappropriate reviews and deletes them. After reading over all of the «guidelines» I could not find anything that was inappropriate. Since I had given a five star «Woohoo As good as it gets!» review that the Unilocal software may have inaccurately assumed that I was some sort of a Lakeside «mole» that posted a slanted review simply to pad their rating. I can assure anyone who is reading this that is not the case. Look at the other reviews… all five star.
I have asked Unilocal to re-​post my original review so that this updated review will have more meaning. I will be surprised if that happens so we will see if the software likes this one.
Two days ago my wife and I had a three month Family Meeting to assess how my mother-​in-​law is assimilating into the Lakeside Community. Over the past three months between my wife and I and her sister we have visited at least once a week. We communicate regularly by phone and email to follow how my mother-​in-​law is faring and assist in any way we can. We receive regular updates so this meeting was scheduled as a formal summary of the past three months to benchmark the progress she has made over that time period.
Three key staff managers, including the CEO, and one of the interns [more on that later] were in the one hour long meeting. In a nut shell the report was very encouraging. We knew that things were getting better and better because the formally traumatic visits were becoming more and more pleasant. over the past month the aggressive behavior has all but disappeared and she is no longer exit seeking. This has occurred without the need for medication.
We realize that it is normal for a person with dementia to take three to six months to transition, as in my mother-​in-​laws case, from her home of 65 years to assisted living or memory care. Without recapping our experiences from my original post prior to coming to Lakeside, I cannot stress enough how the environment at Lakeside Park has had a positive effect not only on her quality of life, but on the families peace of mind as well.
Aside from the physical attributes of the building design and function which are uniquely functional, it is the staff there that puts it all together and makes it work. I am speaking of the reception everyone gets coming in the door to the maintenance staff, and everyone in between. In my business experience I have found that the example set by management flows down through the attitude of all employees in their job performance and ability to work as a cohesive team. It is evident that the administration sets the stage for that to occur.
Back to the interns, this program is clearly a value added bonus to everything else Lakeside does to provide quality care. The interns are graduate students that sign on for a year as part of their education journey. They interact with the residents on a regular basis and share valuable feed back with the staff as well as the family. I see them as an adjunct to the team that offers a fresh perspective and another window to view the needs of the care plan developed for each individual.
So, since our introduction to Lakeside Park almost four months ago, I have not changed my first impression from day one. We continue to be impressed on all fronts and give a two thumbs up!

My father was experiencing dementia and had been at our local hospital. We needed to find a place that would accommodate all his needs and where we felt comfortable as well. We met with the staff at Lakeside Park and it was immediately evident that they were caring, professional and experienced at assisting with these types of patients. They welcomed us in with open arms and were excellent at communicating his progress and how they were assisting. They take lots of care to provide safety for all their residents. I was very impressed that they would stop and talk with each resident many times throughout the day. They have lots of daily activities and the décor and furnishings are top notch. Very home like with a warm pleasant ambiance at all times. The staff of helpers are very caring, kind and compassionate with each of the residents and the visiting families. They also have a very nice garden area outside that is always open. The staff will work with you professionally and they are more than accommodating to patient needs. Cheryl, Ann and Linda are clearly some of the best people you could ever want caring for your family. Highly recommended!

Dementia is a horrible disease and situations can change in an instant and to say Lakeside Park went out of their way to help my mother QUICKLY is an understatement. On 12÷12÷13 I was referred to Lakeside Park by another facility because of the urgency for extra help for mom. Within 12 hours of a phone call to Anne Sanabria, Community Relations Director at Lakeside Park, she had visited my mother along with Cheryl Martin, Executive Director, and Linda Perez, Operations Specialists. We met the same day and they knew my mother needed much more help and support so they took her in the very next day. Plans were immediately put in place for mom with the confidence that they could help and make a difference. I have great appreciation to Lakeside Park for giving me truth with compassion even when it is just for the call checking on mom’s day. I have great hope that the future for my mom will be brighter with Lakeside Park.

This is an updated endorsement on an old review. I am adding to an previously published review because this place is a gem simply because of the staff of dedicated people.
Let’s face it, it times when your loved one’s are in their twilight years, their ability to care for themselves if diminishing and you cannot be with them ²⁴⁄₇ you need people with integrity and good will who you feel you can trust. I went through a tough period with my father as a conservator of his physical state, I needed help. This is where my story begins.
My dad resided here for six or so years. In 2010, I had to make a critical decision to authorize having his leg amputated. I was overwhelmed and just devastated. Four weeks, my dad was a patient in the hospital and became very depressed refusing to eat.
Following his surgery, the surgeons and therapist in the hospital had written him off. The inpatient social worker and case manager urged that I immediately have him placed in a full care nursing facility because they believed that he would not be a candidate for a prosthesis or therapy and did not believe he would recover from the surgery. When I told Executive Director at AgeSong Lakeside Park, she began to advocate on Cliff’s behalf as did Linda and Janice and everyone.
During his hospital stay, interns from AgeSong went to visit him. Just like a family member, my dad became very happy because his eyes would light up at the sight of the interns and the E.D. This was a good sign for him. By the following week, Cliff returned home to AgeSong! His beautiful eyes lit up upon entering the foyer and he smiled to see the familiar kind and loving faces that joyously welcomed him back home.
I was so happy and pleased to know that my dad resided in a caring a loving place. AgeSong at Lakeside Park has the most wonderful and genuine and attentive staff. Not only do they care about the residents, they care about the families too. They are the only family that my dad and I have in the Bay Area and we are so thankful to everyone at AgeSong Lakeside. Everything is first-​class from food preparations, hygenic and personal care to advocacy. The staff is wonderful and we love them. They are the best!
UPDATE: In February 2013, my dad Cliff passed away. It was difficult for me because essentially, I was all he to be present for him. Lakeside Park was once again there for us particularly in the last two months. Death of a love one is difficult when you know it is the last days. So many staff persons, supervisors, directors and caregivers we just sweet and wonderful. Some of them were Ann S, Marsha P., Cheryl M., Linda P., Joseph, Morissa (sang beautifully at my dad’s memorial), Elma, Simret, Mary Lou, Nila, Maria, and so many others whose name I did not mention and some who are no longer there.
I trust that with staffing turn over and changes for reasons unknown, I hope today that Lakeside continues to hold high standards and that employees are happy and treated fairly and well. A happy staff provides happy and healthy services. All the best.

I’ve since had a chance to take a more in-​depth look at Lakeside since the AgeSong transition. Apparently the facility was previously run by AgeSong, but they only had a 10% share, which they still hold! I’ve also found that most of the staff has remained the same, and they seem happy working here. For my full review of this place, which remains valid for the new Lakeside Park, either google for «Agesong Lakeside», or look for it in my review history.
You’ll find that my full review is two pages long. However, the short version is that we are incredibly happy that my grandmother is in such good hands. The residents have a very active schedule which includes singing, yoga, crafts, bus trips, and things like pie baking competitions (my grandma just won one!). I genuinely believe that we could not have found a better place than Lakeside for my grandmother, and we feel confident in recommending it to others. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you’ve read my full review and still have questions.