Pacifica Senior Living Union City

I am a student from JLHS & I came here at Pacifica to do an internship and volunteer work. All the workers here are very friendly and helpful to the elderly & they make sure to interact with them every once in awhile. They offer many activities for the elderly such as bingo, painting, manicures, and many more. I interviewed a very sweet lady who stays here at Pacifica, her name is Loretta Emert. She’s been here for over 2 years and she says she’s very happy with her stay and says it is better than living alone. She mentioned that she attends all the activities here and said her favorite is monopoly. She also enjoys her lunch outings and loves the food here. She also said that she wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the nice workers named Shirley the activity director and her assistant named Rose. She presents this place as her home because they treat her like family with loving care and would recommend this place to everyone.

My dad recently stayed at Pacifica for 2 weeks, during the Christmas Holiday. My mother and I interacted directly with Robert (in Marketing) and Kathy (the Nurse) and coordinated my father’s stay and care for the 2 weeks. I have researched multiple Memory Care units in the Fremont/​Oakland/​Union City area and I must say that Pacifica of Union City surpassed my expectations. Previously, my father was living at Brookdale North Fremont and we had a horrible experience. Although the staff was generally nice, the nurse at Brookdale was a nightmare to work with. At Pacifica of Union City, my family and I experienced something completely different. It is already very stressful to look for respite care for aging parents and Pacifica made this process as seamless and smooth as possible. From the time I spoke with Robert, about availability of rooms for respite care to the day that I went into Pacifica to do our tour, Robert showed extreme patience and professionalism. He was super responsive with all my questions and knew that I was stressed about not being able to find a respite care room before the Christmas Holidays, so he made sure to assure me that he would hold the spot for me and make sure that my family was taken care of and my father was in good hands. Robert and Kathy came to my house to do an initial assessment of my father so that we would be able to see what level of care he would need for the 2 weeks of respite stay. Robert and Kathy, both showed up to my house with a big smile on their face and made sure to answer all the questions that my mother and I had. You can truly tell that both of them care about what they do and do look out for the best interest of the families and residents. My family and I checked on my father before we left for our family trip and the staff were very friendly and at-​tentative to my father’s needs. While we were gone, my cousin and friend checked on my father as well and also confirmed that they staff met them with friendliness. I would recommend Pacifica of Union City to anyone who is looking for Respite care for their family. I will definitely be bringing my father back to Pacifica for Respite Stay, the next time my family goes on vacation.

I will be vigilant after reading these reviews. We just rented a studio for my mother-​in-​law and hope her stay here will be a pleasant one. This is only her second day there. We had lunch with her and the food was fresh and tasty. She’d been living at Bonaventure, another assisted living place in Lacey, WA. She didn’t have the best of experiences there, so after almost 3 yrs. we moved her here close to us. I’ll be sure to post other reviews as time passes. I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt.

I have written so many emails to the director Ann voicing my concerns, but I never get a timely response or a response at all. And recently I experienced the most appalling behavior from the director. My father passed away yesterday at her location, she never came by his room to give her condolences, and my father and my mother have been residents here for 2 ½ years… Today as we where packing my fathers belongings, I approached her during an open house event as she was kissing baby’s and shaking hands. I sarcastically told her thank you for visiting my dad when he passed and paying her respects … She acted like she had. It was the most disgusting display of un-​genuine and un-​compassionate behavior I had ever experienced. I also requested the contact information for a higher contact at their corporate office, besides the regional Jackie… I have not received adequate responses from her either… still waiting for that contacts name.
…at this point I am also in the process of contacting consumer advocate 7 on your side and the State (I HAVE SEEN MANY CMS VIOLATIONS)
Now that my father has passed… We will start looking for a new home for mom. We just didn’t want to separate my parents when my dad was diagnosed with a terminal illness. And in all fairness the staff is wonderful but the location is understaffed and employees undervalued… This is obviously a leadership issue… Almost every caregiver paid their respect to my family when my dad past away– a handful also visited my dad in the hospital when his health took a turn for the worse and the end was near.
My family has always been advocates for my parents care. It saddens me to think about those elderly who do not have a voice… But I have decided to continue to have the elderly’s best interest and be an advocate for them and these shady business practices in an assisted living environment. Like excessive rent and care increases without notice. But Pacifica is able to throw these lucrative open houses, with violinist, raffles and fancy food/​alcohol to bring in new tenants… Where do these marketing funds come from … Not from hiring much needed staff… It’s from Excessive rent hikes and manipulation of the rent and care ratio.
They told us nothing would change when Pacifica took over ALMAVia over a year ago… It changed for the worse.

As a nurse, I know how challenging it can be to care for patients with dementia and as a daughter I know how difficult it is to make the decision to move a loved one out of the home.
When my Dad’s dementia progressed to the point where it was no longer safe for him to be at home, we moved him to Pacifica Senior Living in Union City. He had a very difficult transition and we felt he needed to be in a place where he could be better cared for, so we moved him out after just eight days.
We were told it could take up to eight weeks to receive our (contractually agreed) refund. After three months with no refund, I started calling inquiring. After numerous unreturned phone calls and being continuously blown off, I turned to KGO 7 On Your Side, who thankfully were able to get us our money back.
The link to our story/​struggle with Pacifica Senior Living is below:
Please, think twice before you think about moving a loved one here– they were extremely shady, unprofessional (misplacing copies of contracts/​paperwork– we had to provide THEM with OUR copies of paperwork multiple times because they couldn’t find theirs?!) and made an already difficult life transition so much more stressful for my Dad and our entire family.
I can’t speak to their assisted living side, but the memory care unit seemed inept to care for my Dad.
If you are looking for an outstanding dementia/​memory care facility for your loved one, check out Willow Creek in Castro Valley. They are wonderful!

My 80 year old father wanted to come live with me in California after spending ~20 years living alone in Florida.
He had multiple ailments stemming from multiple heart bypass surgeries, lower back problems, diabetes, impaired kidney
function –you name it, yet he was in good spirits, and had his wit/​mental faculties.
I was fortunate to find availability for him at Alma Via of Union City only a few miles from my home.
The staff at Alma Via of Union City are top-​notch! The facility itself is clean, well maintained, and Chef Tony (and
Chef Cynthia’s) food is outstanding.
My dad was accustom to living on his own, and was in relative good health –so he received only the care he wanted,
nothing more. Of course there’s a complete menu of services depending on the residents needs. The staff works hard to
provide a full calendar of activities and events. Sister Annette, the facility Spiritual Advisor is amazing.
Although my father was not a particularly religious man, he and I always felt welcome and included in all that
Alma Via had to offer. Alma Via welcomes everyone– of all (or no) faiths. The feeling of genuine care,
dignity, and respect from all of the staff towards all of the residents is palpable. If you’re uncertain about anything
(care services offered, financial concerns, residential freedoms, help moving in, facility access, etc.) — please
talk with someone at Alma Via. I can’t say enough good things about Alma Via of Union City, its staff, and how
wonderfully they treated me and my dad during his short time in California.

I won’t be calling, we already talked… you blew me off. You were wrong, the care was terrible