Sunrise of La Jolla

Sunrise of La Jolla is an amazing place. At the place we moved her from, almost every day she was left naked. When I asked to have someone dress her (I live in Tennessee, the facility is in California), they refused saying she wanted to be naked. She fell frequently. She missed meals and when they brought them to her room, the food was wrapped in cellophane. My mother has advanced dementia and isn't capable of deciding if she wants to wear clothes. The indignity was overwhelming. She is incapable of removing cellophane from food, so she went without and was losing weight. Several members of the staff repeatedly told me she was a mean spirited woman and they didn't want to take care of her. None of these conditions are present at Sunrise of La Jolla. The staff is kind and loving. They are well trained to understand dementia and its effects upon a person. Every person on staff repeatedly tells me mom is one of their favorite residents. She can no longer do anything for herself, yet every morning they awaken her and dress and groom her in lovely outfits. They hand feed her when necessary. They keep mom in community with the other residents and a caregiver is always in the room with the residents. She is happy. One day when she was able to speak, she told me she had never lived in such a nice place. I know those words were a gift from God to our family to let us know that we had made the right decision concerning her care. We are so thankful for Sunrise and every person who is employed there.

Beware! Bedsores and Ripoffs! This is a bad place. My mom moved there in July, walking with a walker and by the following March, she was completely immobile and had a BEDSORE! They had her on tons of dangerous meds, so that she was completely out of it mentally and could not hold even a simple conversation. Unacceptable for the most expensive assisted living in La Jolla!!! They do not keep the rooms clean. The staff is overworked and there are only 2 caregivers at night to take care of 2 floors of residents. The wait times - my mom would have to wait 30-50 minutes to get help for the restroom. On her very first night, they did not come for over 30 minutes after she pressed her call button (which constantly broke and had to be repaired and/or changed) - devasting for my mom, first time in a new place after 45 years in her old home - she had to call 9-1-1 because she was so scared. Later we found out, several residents call 9-1-1 or yell and yell at night because Sunrise is so understaffed and cannot take care of the residents in time. The administration lies and lies and plays dumb (or are super dumb?) - they just keep asking for more money every other month, even after they admit they are not doing their jobs! My mom was afraid of the administrators - they constantly lied and were rude to my mom and my family. At the beginning, they tell about all of the wonderful things they do - ALL LIES. They show you the bath with the music and candles but it is like pulling teeth to ever get one arranged!!! The only good thing about this place were the caregivers - they are dedicated and very caring - but they are so overworked and understaffed, they cannot possibly do their jobs adequately- unfair to them and to the residents. We moved my mom to a wonderful, new place - she is regaining her mobility, but may never walk again because of the damage Sunrise did. She is off all of the heavy meds and is happy conversing in all kinds of topics and has her complete memory back, thank God! Both her doctor and her P/T were shocked at what a different person she is now. Sunrise of La Jolla damaged my mom permanently and caused her and our family so much pain and distress and was completely unnecessary. We researched and thought we were making the best decision but made a terrible choice - since we left, we have met many people who had similar problems and issues with Sunrise. DO NOT PUT YOUR LOVED ONE IN THIS HORRIBLE PLACE!!!

My father spent the final three months of his life in the Sunrise La Jolla facility on their Memory care floor or "Reminisce Neighborhood" as they refer to it. It was a difficult decision for my mother to no longer have her husband at home but his level of needs had become too great for her to handle even with assistance from her children. Several of the family toured Sunrise La Jolla to see if it was worthy of having our Dad, who we all adored, live there. What we observed on our tour made the decision easy. We found the right place for Dad. We saw a dedicated team of care providers interacting with the residents and the residents seemingly very content, well cared for and safe. We continued to see this level of care on our regular visits to see my Dad, which were mostly unannounced. Sunrise encourages family and friends to visit anytime. We were always welcome. The level of care, respect and compassion provided by the staff to our Dad was extraordinary and we are very thankful to have found such a place.