The Atrium Retirement Community

My mom lived there for 2 months until I moved her back to her home in 2010. At that time the food quality was going down drastically and they began getting more & more full-​care or Alzheimer residents. Her apt faced the front of the building, which we first thought was a nice location, but she began getting more and more depressed because she would see the fire department, ambulance, or EMS every single day. As I was moving her out, I would see the emergency people at least twice a day. I was getting depressed while moving her out and I didn’t even live there! The Atrium is getting an abundance of Alzheimer’s patients in order for the corporation to make money. If your loved one us a sharp, intelligent, fun-​loving person, they will soon lose that because it is SO depressing! They feed them mostly chicken and fish and the food sucks! When my mom first moved in the food was great. In the 2 months my mom lived there the food became unbearable. But don’t worry… regardless of the medication the people take, they are always willing to provide liquor. They tell you this is a place for self-​sufficient seniors. Don’t believe it! I was VERY upset when I read a poster mention their relative having been dead for 3 – 4 days before having been found. That is TOTALLY unacceptable!

The Atrium is a large corporation that really doesn’t appear to care about their clients. They decided to remodel a current wing into an extended care wing and unfortunately my mother-​in-​law lived in the wind to be remodeled. They basically told her there is nothing there for her so she can move to one of their other facilities in other towns away from family and friends with 6 weeks notice. And if she doesn’t choose one of their facilities then she has to move herself. What a great thing to do to an 84 year old woman. I’d think twice before you putting yourself in the hands of this corporation.

My mother-​in-​law lived at the Atrium for about three years before passing away suddenly in July 2010 at age 83. She was a very active woman, drove her own car and got out quite a bit. During the time she lived at the Atrium she lost quite a bit of weight, but that could have been due to her age or medical condition, however we were unaware that she had any health issues. She always complained about the food… small portions, tasteless, bland textures and «institutional». There were «parties», but not at all festive. A small glass of cheap wine.
She said there were movie nights, but instead of showing movies recently released on DVD, they would show movies from the 50s & 60s.
The dining room was assigned seating, so after a few weeks she had heard everyone’s «stories» and became bored with the same mealtime discussions over and over. And on the flip side, I can imagine her table mates were tired of hearing all of her stories! People could request new seating, but it wasn’t commonly done and peoples’ feelings were hurt when someone asked to be reassigned.
She said that there were more and more residents who should have been in full care institutions. Evidently you can hire a nurse to live with you in a 2-​bedroom, which was becoming more commonplace.
My MIL stayed at the Atrium because she liked the location next to Oakridge Mall. She could walk or drive over there to shop and go to movies. Her apartment had a basic kitchenette, an area for a small table, one bedroom & bath, a reasonable sized living area, and a nice light balcony where she kept some plants. She liked her view of the Santa Cruz Mountains. She told me that people were allowed to have a small pet, and I did see a few there. Cleaning was done regularly.
Our experience after my MIL died? First, her body wasn’t found for 2 or 3 days and the coroner had to guess at the date of her death. She had told us that residents were supposed to check in every day, which was the system to make sure everyone was ok. Evidently the system failed. It is distressing to think that a loved one is left after death for that long.
Second, there were no after-​death resources available at all. Wouldn’t you think they would have a booklet with local resources for disposing of goods, lists of mortuaries or crematoriums, or even a checklist of what to do after a loved ones’ death? Wouldn’t it be reasonable for them to have a donation area where furniture in good condition could be left for people moving in? There were no resources at all, just perplexed blank stares and «I don’t know» when we asked for suggestions. Someone called to discuss payments, but that was it. My MIL said that about one person per week died there, so they should have plenty of experience, but they acted totally clueless.
This is the only experience I have had with a retirement home. We did what we thought was best when we told her that we were moving her there. After looking at several in the South Bay Area, it seemed like a good choice with more reasonable costs than others.

The non-​refundable deposit is FAR less than the $ 5,000 quoted by the previous poster. If you want your apartment to have upgraded everything, you can have it upgraded for a fee or find one that has already been upgraded. It’s your choice. The food is outstanding! The personnel is great! It’s like living in a hotel or on a cruise ship.
If you want to find out about the living at The Atrium, spend some time with those who have lived there for 8, 10, and all the way up to 16 years (as I did before moving there). They will tell you, «It’s the best place in San Jose.»
It’s true… Senior living isn’t for everyone. If you, your parents, or someone you love enjoys cooking for themselves, taking the garbage out, house cleaning, friendless unless they drive somewhere, scared at night because they don’t have an emergency response system, enjoys the hasslewith electricians, plumbers and gardeners, don’t enjoy numerous activities a day, frequent day trips and too many other things to list, then senior living at The Atrium isn’t for you.