Palo Alto Sub-Acute & Rehabilitation Center

THIS REVIEW IS FOR THE PHYSICAL THERAPY DEPARTMENT ONLY!!!
I am writing two reviews as I do want to give the PT/​OT/​ST kudos. Our family friend (86) who I care and advocate for had broken her hip and due to her age and cognitive state, we chose for her not to have surgery. She was transferred to PASA from Sequoia at the Dr.‘s recommendation.
She was very well attended to by the PT/​OT department. I have worked in the industry (elderly) off and on for many years and worked closely with PT/​OT and truly felt the department at PASA were not only knowledgable, friendly, attentive and caring, they were also safety minded. Too bad they are working at PASA as I will be warning anyone and everyone to absolutely stay away from there due to the rest of the facility!
Details in following review.

I could write paragraphs about this facility but I will leave it short. My 94 year old mother recently spent two weeks at PASR. The intention and goal was for her to receive therapy and rest after a hospital stay. While there my mom did not get the amount of physical therapy that was being paid for; her physical & mental state declined, and she begged me to take her out of there. The facility is crowded; three to a room. It needs maintenance and a good heavy cleaning. The staff is nice, but totally unresponsive to our requests. They lost some of my mother’s clothes. There is a huge lack of communication among admin, social services, and floor staff.
I had to pay out-​of-​pocket for a couple days that were not covered by my mom’s insurance and gave my credit card information to Gary in the business office. When I met with him as my mother was being discharged, he had placed ALL my credit card account info on a post-​it note on his bulletin board that anyone could have copied down and used.
So glad I was able to get my mom out of there. Think long and hard before you leave a loved one there.

This is a facility that has moved from a 5 rating 3 years ago to a 4 rating 2 years ago and is currently rated a 2 star facility. Without question, the Physical/​Occupational Therapy and Nursing staff are outstanding but the overall operational management under Clayton Austin left much to be desired in both the apparent lack of leadership and inability to understand the needs of the patients. This resulted in questionable decisions made under the guise of efficiency even during my relatively short 2 week tenure there!
While the facility is in a great location and the food more than adequate, the rooms are not as pictured. Many of the rooms are shared by 3 patients with a single, adjoining bathroom to be used by 6 patients! The overall condition of the rooms is inconsistent with huge variances in temperature and overall upkeep. It is really a shame as this facility is capable of being much better than it currently is, though the outlook that remains questionable from what I can see under the current management practices and policies…

I joined this facility for rehabilitation for my fractured arm and leg. I found the nursing staff to be very helpful, pleasant and friendly. They do take time to respond, but I had no problem waiting for them. The therapists are excellent, again very friendly and understanding. The staff did everything to make me feel comfortable and at home.

My grandmother had recently fractured her hip so she needed somewhere to get physical therapy. I had a friend recommend this facility for her. At first my grandmother did not want to attend such place as she is spectacle of «nursing homes». I reassured her that everything would be fine.
As it turned out I was right! These three weeks were enjoyable for her ! This place has such a caring, honest, and friendly staff as well as professional. Any questions I had were answered when needed! They care about their patients.
Physical therapy was well done! The amount of effort the staff puts into their patients makes them feel welcomed and cared for.
The facility itself is clean and in addition the rooms had their own access to the patios where families and patients can spend time together when the weather is nice.
Overall I highly recommend this place !

DO NOT SEND YOUR LOVED ONES HERE!
These people are horrible. My mom was transferred there after hip replacement surgery and they basically set her aside in a «room» that looked more like an equipment closet than anything else. There were 3 portable commodes sitting out, a wheel chair, and a broken walker. No one was there to welcome her, to orientate her, or to explain any of there processes. I waited along with her for over 2 hours. A nurse (maybe) came in to get her vitals & he wrote it on a slip of paper, not a chart or file. We asked what’s the intake process & could they bring a chair for visitors. It was explained to me that someone would be in to talk with us. Well other staff came in w/​questions but no answers or a chair, they just passed the buck. It seemed like we were a major inconvenience. A few more staff came in to ask questions & I asked about a menu for dinner and was told everyone eats the same thing. Ok that’s fine but they didn’t place a order for her to get dinner so I find out later that they gave her a sandwich & cold soup. I visited the following day to hear that breakfast was served to her cold as well. She had not spoken to a Dr & her roommate blasted the TV all night. When I asked who I could speak to, they directed me to an office, door closed and no one ther! I haven’t received a phone call from any staff about her progress, the «case managers» do not communicate with family. They were supposed to order some equipment for the home before her release, (which I wasn’t informed of by staff) however the equipment was never ordered and when they realized it the placed an expedited order in. I just now was called by Apria’s driver telling me he would deliver the equipment between 8 – 9 PM, Sunday night!!! Plus he’s telling me the items he was delivering & wasn’t aware that a hospital bed is also needed! Bottom line: this place does not communicate well. They have no clue what’s going on from shift & when I’ve tried to call I’m told «they’re not in» «the person to speak to is not here yet» and «I don’t know» Horrible experience this is not how you treat people.

Our mom stayed here for two weeks and it was great. The nursing staff did a good job taking care of her. The therapy team was awesome. They really encourage my mom and helped get her walking again.
Every morning a manager came and visited to make sure everything was okay. We had one concern and they addressed in within the same day. Hopefully our mom never needs a facility again but if she does we are going back to Palo Alto Sub-​Acute.

I would not send an elderly patient here. My mother was referred by Kaiser after she was stricken with sepsis. She could not put pressure on her feet so they recommended rehab to make her stronger before she went home. The care staff is adequate but they are obviously understaffed. If you expect to see a nurse immediately after you’ve rung for her, it could take up to 20 minutes. You’ll see lots of management running around with clipboards but they don’t seem to be doing much but socializing with one another. My mother felt ignored and pushed around. I set up a meeting with all of the Department Heads to discuss my mother’s situation. Not a single one of them every followed up with me regarding next steps. I checked her out after 10 days. BTW-​my check out took nearly 1 hour. 50 minutes to be exact. Just DONT!

Nursing staff is pretty good. It seems they care and they are easy to talk to.
The administration staff leaves a lot to be desired.
My mom was there for a week. She has ALS and can’t talk.
They don’t communicate with each other there, I got so many calls (which is good) but they said all said conflicting things about what was going on with my mom.
If you here «don’t worry about it» when scheduling a transfer out of facility… time to start worrying.
There was a 2 day delay in getting my mom out of there because multiple people on staff dropped the ball with scheduling.
So bottom line… if you have nowhere else to go and are in need this place will work. However, you better be on top of what is going on because they aren’t.

I’m giving the management a 1 star. The nurses and aids, are very nice and do what they can with what they are given. My grandmother developed a terrible bed sore at this center. The management never has enough staff scheduled, and they talk to the employees very badly. My grandmother was being transferred to a long term care facility, and they took forever to set things up. I had to call like crazy to get the social worker to do her job!!! If you love your love one, do not send them here!!!

My mother had a full hysterectomy at Stanford and based on coverage she was given the choice of rehab stays between Los Altos Sub-​Acute or Palo Alto Nursing Center. Thanks to the reviews on Unilocal I told her that Palo Alto Nursing Center looked the best.
I was very happy with the location, cleanliness, staff, physical therapy and overall aesthetic. They have a couple of courtyards where we could sit outside and visit.
The only reason I’m giving 4 stars is because of the size of her shared room. Long term or skilled nursing patients may have bigger rooms.

My mother spent 2 weeks at this facility in June after having a toe amputation surgery. Her Primary Care Physician had given her the choice to either go home with Oxygen or go to a SNF. My mother didn’t feel she needed Oxygen and refused to go home with it, so she ended up here. Once she was there and assessed by the staff, they weren’t sure they could get Medicare to approve her stay because they didn’t see a need for her to be there.
But they were able to get a two week approval and she received PT and OT while there and my mother LOVED the Therapists. The staff was all very friendly and attentive. This is a smaller place than the other SNF’s she had been to this year and in a much better location– so it does show that location can make a difference. Our only complaint was that she had a roommate who watched TV from 7am until 10pm and my mom is not a TV person. She loved the days when her roommate was at the Doctor’s for tests! She had peace and quiet.
I will say that if my mother is in need of a place like this again, we would feel good about her being at Palo Alto Nursing Center– they did a good job.

My mother has been receiving care here since May. The staff is wonderful and very caring and attentive. The facility is kept very clean. Food is generous and varied and they succeed in serving the patient’s favorite foods often. After viewing ten plus nursing homes, this center was terrific.

My mother spent three weeks at this facility due to a pelvic fracture. I was very pleased with the services and attention the facility offered. The staff was very responsive and helpful — and friendly!
Flexibility seems to be one of the hallmarks of the nursing center. There is not a lockstep approach to getting things done. For example, today one of the patients was in the social area, not in his room. A nurse needed to take his temperature, found out where he was, and came to him to take it.
The physical therapists were attentive and thorough. it seemed like they were really trying to make progress instead of just doing a job.
The facility is relatively small, on one floor, and it makes it easy to get around. You don’t feel like you’re lost in a large institution. However, the facility is old and somewhat depressing as a result.
My mother thought the food was what you would expect for an institution, not great but certainly adequate. There is flexibility so that if you don’t like certain things you can get something else.
All in all, we were quite pleased with the care of this organization even though it was outdated. We had considered Lytton Gardens as an alternative but after visiting it, decided not to go there because it seemed impersonal and institutional.

I’ve seen a number of these types of places over the years and this is a pretty decent one for the price range. It has a more open feel to it than Lytton Gardens. The staff here are all nice and do a good job. A family member of mine is spending time here.