TOLUCA LAKE MANOR

After suffering multiple strokes my mother was a resident at Toluca Lake Manor for the last three months of her life. My family and I were very pleased with the private room my mother was in and with the care and attention she received. The owner, Mariana, and her staff made every effort to make my mother welcome and well cared for. This facility provides a home style setting coupled with a caring and compassionate staff. I also was very pleased with the fact that Mariana was there personally most of the time. She was easy to reach and was always willing to provide updates and address any concerns. Most importantly Mariana was extremely effective in making sure that my mother received appropriate medical and hospice care. It was a great relief to know that there was someone else, in addition to me, who took my mother’s medical needs seriously and made them a daily priority. I was very impressed by the follow up Mariana provided with doctors and nurses on any health issues that came up. I would highly recommend Toluca Lake Manor for your loved ones who need assisted living or hospice care.

My mother spent the last 8 months of her life at this wonderful facility, receiving the utmost in compassionate care. The home style setting, private room and clean surroundings were a delight to visit in. Any questions or concerns were promptly answered by the owner. The staff are compassionate, patient and caring. The smell of what was cooking for lunch or dinner made me want to ask for a plate as well! I highly recommend Toluca Lake Manor for your LO when you can no longer give them the care they need and deserve.

If I could give more stars I would! The experience I had at Toluca Lake Manor was wonderful. All the people there were so respectful of my mother in a time in her life when she really needed the utmost of care. They were very kind to our family and myself and kept us up to speed on her condition. On top of that everything was orderly and clean and very peaceful. I can’t say enough good things about this place because I have been to others that were not organized or as caring. Even after my mother passed they went out of their way to genuinely care for what myself and my family were going through. To all the people at Toluca Lake Manor: Thank you so much for a great experience and a peaceful transition. When we needed your help you were there for all of us!

This review for Toluca Lake Manor II in Sherman Oaks (same owner): Bed bugs (Nov 2018-March 2019). Cockroaches in kitchen (July 2018-February 2019). Mom endured bites at Toluca Lake Manor II but also hour-long+ waits to go to the bathroom, stage 2 pressure sores, kidney stones from severe dehydration, bronchitis, multiple bladder infections, loss of 36 pounds... The "administrator" advised us prior to move in that she employed 2 caregivers during the day/one at night. Nope. She employed one* caregiver for nine residents (her ill brother, son and ill ex-husband all live here too) during the day and one night caregiver who was allowed to sleep (until recently when she proclaimed she couldn't afford to employ a night caregiver anymore; that she herself would sleep there instead). We had to pay for an additional third-party companion to work 12-hour night shifts for an additional $6,500. The one day caregiver was absent 2.5 hours++ a day (leaving mom without anyone to answer her calls for help) because 3 residents required an hour to change/bathe, and received a half hour for lunch. In the 8 months mom resided here, Toluca Lake Manor II went through approx 40 caregivers. This was very hard on mom because they would rarely be given hands-on training prior to working with residents. *A second day caregiver would sometimes be at the house to help with meals or if working with a new hire. Most of these caregivers quit after a day or week. The "administrator" advised us mom could have anything she wanted to eat from a three-column menu she showed us. And that TLM's "cook" could accommodate a low-sodium diet. Nope. No cook. Mom had to eat the one meal bought for the administrator's family for dinner (fast food, whatever pre-cooked meal was on sale at Ralph's, leftovers from the Toluca Lake Manor house in Toluca Lake or one rotisserie chicken for 9 people). If mom didn't like it, she was offered a potato. Residents had to buy their own food, which was often eaten by staff and administrator's family (not to be replaced!). As for the doctor ordered low sodium diet being followed...the administrator claimed "No one told me. I can't afford to shop at Whole Foods." The administrator is impossible to deal with. When my sister called to find out why our mom was found on the floor of her bathroom with a caregiver, she yelled at my sister and hung up on her. Another time, mom was trying to explain, while visibly upset, that she wasn't a guinea pig to be experimented on (with respect to not training new caregivers before having them work in the house). The administrator started writing mom an eviction. When mom went quiet, she told her she would put it away "for now." The administrator's son came after my sister with a broom over his head when she was discussing the lack of training being given to new, inexperienced caregivers. When the administrator did promise to cure a breach it was never forthcoming, even when put in writing. Other times, issues were addressed by the administrator with texts like "Move out!" or no response at all. Yelling was quite common at TLM II. The administrator's family members would yell profanity at residents. My sister and third parties had to clean mom's room, TLM II never did. We also had to buy mom a space heater because the administrator locked the thermostat box so if mom was too cold or hot she was out of luck. Hot water would be turned off at various times as well. Caregivers never washed dishes in the dishwasher only by hand in luke-warm water, which was disturbing to mom because residents were all on different medications. These are only some of the disturbing highlights. After enduring bed bugs for 3 months without any steps being taken by TLM to protect the residents and eradicate the multiple bug (cockroaches too) infestations, I contacted Social Services. When Best Practices per CA Law were still not taken month later, we gave notice we were moving mom and had no choice but to buy her all new things. The administrator's response? "I'll report you to the credit bureaus!"