Merrill Gardens at Willow Glen

My Mom lived here for about 9 years. She couldn't have been in a better place. Corinne, the Director, is exceptional; compassionate, efficient and has an extensive depth of experience. She more than deserves any and all accolades sent her way. My Mom and our family were thankful and proud to call Merrill Gardens at Willow Glen her home!

The logistics of moving my 97 year old mother from one assisted living facility to another were overwhelming enough in normal times without the added challenge of doing it in the middle of a pandemic, but our family is so glad we chose Merrill Gardens Willow Glen. I truly can't say enough about how helpful, responsive, compassionate, and professional all of the staff at Merrill Gardens has been throughout the entire process, starting with Community Relations Director Andy Anaya, continuing with Managing Director Grace Komasaka, then Carina Berumen in the Garden House memory care unit, nurse MJ, and everyone in between. They have been wonderful.

My sister and brother-in-law moved into two rooms in the Garden House in October, 2018 at the time while there was not a general manager nor a resident nurse in Merrill Garden. Even under a lot of stress due to lack of a full staff, I found that everyone tried very hard to take care of the residents and to satisfy family member’s requests. Within a short time, they hired nurse Betty, med tech MJ, and an interim general manager Wilson. Betty and MJ are very friendly and work very hard to satisfy the resident’s needs, a sharp contrast to my previous experiences at the other location in Campbell. General Manager, Wilson, is a nice person, easy to work with, and always has the benefits of residents in mind. Recently, after my inquiry about moving my sister and her husband into a single room, Wilson took the initiative to convince the residence in a larger room to move into a smaller one so that my sister and brother-in-law can share this larger room instead of staying in two separate small ones, which saved them a couple of thousand dollars each month. Under Wilson’s leadership, I can see that the condition of Merrill Garden at Willow Glenn is rapidly improving.

As is with all businesses, changing of management staff is a challenge. Such has been the case with Merrill Gardens Willow Glen over the last year. One poor Director hiring can take its toll very quickly. Getting that Director to leave and find a good replacement also takes time and effort. I and my uncle lived through the process. What I found important that once identified, Corporate took corrective action, immediately placing an intermediate manager in place to correct damage that was done and to start a search for a 5 star replacement Director. My uncle is in the Memory Care Unit and I could not be more pleased with his care. Staff attitudes have been redirected into the needs of the residents, open communication with the families, a clear definition to all parties of what the goals and standards are, staff are cross trained, a new proactive RN has been hired. The residents are well cared for, the place is immaculately clean, staff smile and take that "extra" to spend time with the residents and listen. Activities and entertainment are scheduled daily. In Memory Care an Activities Coordinator has been hired that is trained in Dementia Seniors Stimulation, to exclusively work with these residents.. The Facility Director sets the tone and standards and insist the staff comply to them or HR takes appropriate action for correction. It is not business as "casual whatever you feel like doing" , but rather it is business handled in a professional manner as defined by policy. I personally like the Director's fair and no nonsense approach, and his willingness to fill the gap when staffing manpower conflicts occur. i.e., driving the resident bus to an activity. I'm at the facility constantly and at different times night and day and I can attest to the fact this is a wonderful facility for Assisted Living and Memory Care.