Truewood by Merrill, West Covina

Deborah W.

My dad was at Truewood by Merrill, West Covina, for a month until he passed away. My mom is still there. She is still in the studio apartment that they have, but it is now above her income level. It's a beautiful place. It's very nice. I really like it. The experience started slow for my mom because you have to consider that it's very personal for the seniors coming in. It is a new way of life. However, from the receptionist to the director, everyone is so welcoming and so personable. They have several activities during the week. The first month is hard. Sometimes, seniors don't want to come out, but they make everyone feel comfortable. It is a struggle for my mom getting in and out. First it was because my dad was sick and she didn't like to leave him in the room, and now it's because he's gone, and she's got to start all over again. However, every worker down to the kitchen staff is amazing. They make you feel like family there. They give you the weekly menus, and on the opposite side of it, there is a list of all activities for the whole week. They have special events where they have people come out. I'm welcome to go there any time and hang out with my mom. They have ways that you can order additional plates for your family; there's a small cost, but it's lovely to know that I can go sit down and have dinner with her. It doesn't feel overwhelming. The building looks smaller than it is when you're looking from the outside, but when you get in, the openness, the cleanliness, and the friendliness are so inviting that once I started walking around there, I knew I was going to like the place. I like the fact that their activity area is open and very close to the seating area for the kitchen where everyone eats. It doesn't feel like you're walking into a small room to do activities. They have a pool table in there, too. There's like a movie event room where they have movie chairs set up. We could sit down and watch movies. They go to church and read from the Bible, too. I have been invited to sit there and play bingo with them. There is a salon in there. If you call in and make an appointment, they will come do your hair for you, so that's cute. There's a small exercise room that has two treadmills, little dumbbells, and resistance bands. Diana, the activities director, took videos of my mom doing bass yoga. They have big yoga balls and little sticks, and she's playing music. They do their best to pull their residents out. If you have a parent or an elder who is a little bit far gone, activity reminders and meal reminders are in those care level plans where they will go to your room and say, 'Hey Mary, we're doing bingo. Come on. Let's go play, and let's go hang out.' They do it in a fun, light way. It's not like, 'Okay, you got to join.' It's not robotic. It's very family and friendly oriented. What's awesome is that they have meetings there for the residents to speak up about what it is that they may want to enjoy. It's not just about the kitchen staff, it's really about the residents coming together and speaking up and talking about some different things that they would like to have. I think the food is great. I also love that they do omelet bars and special events. The building is amazing. I think the furniture that they have is amazing, too. There is an outdoor area off to the side of the building. There is a seating area that looks like it could be wonderful, but the lawn furniture they have out there is severely broken down, very dusty, and dirty. Maybe when the summer comes around, they'll fix it up. Even for the winter, it is a little bit of an eyesore. The inside of the building is immaculate. The cost is a bit high, but I'd have to say I can't complain, because all utilities are included plus cable. They also give each of their residents a Life Alert bracelet. It's free. It comes with your rent. They have their own bus to get back and forth to appointments and to store runs. It's amazing. Of course, they provide all their foods, like breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, desserts, and drinks. I think $2900 is not a bad price point with all of that being included. The only thing that's left over for the residents to do is buy their own resources for their room like toilet paper, lotion, soap, and whatever they need. It is difficult for seniors on a fixed income to get to $2900, but the truth is you get what you pay for. I might go cheaper, but it may not be as wonderful as this place.

Sandra

My cousin has moved into Truewood by Merrill, West Covina. I like the layout of the community and of her unit. She has a one-bedroom unit. It was upgraded. The staff there is very, very nice and accommodating. They're like one big family in the community. She's independent, but they're very accommodating with her mental stability. They have a lot of things going on. They have movie nights for the residents, they plan trips, they do bingo, and they have Scrabble. She's able to shoot pool. They have crafts. One of the residents is teaching the ladies how to crochet. The event coordinator will come and get her out of her unit to participate in different things. She likes playing bingo and playing cards. Church service on Sundays is optional. They're always doing something for the residents. Every Thursday, they have a breakfast buffet, which is nice. During the first month of her residence, the family members are able to come and eat free with her, so that's nice. Everything is nicely kept up. The food is very good. They take a lot of time with the residents there. She's there independently, but they have staffing there to accommodate the residents if needed, to help them bathe and dress and make sure they take their medications.

Robert

I felt so comfortable visiting here. I felt like it was home. I took my dog with me because they said they were pet-friendly and I loved the place. Everybody was just in a good mood. They were singing along in the lobby and I saw the way the people were acting towards the residents and they were great. The grounds and everything about it were beautiful. They were nice, easy to access, and clean. It's perfect. It's just not what I want right now. Someday maybe, since I still wanted to do my own stuff.

Laverne

I toured and they had the most amenities out of the places I visited. They had the option of having care coming in versus having to take somebody out. They had little trips going to different places, and they have a facility there for parking your car if you wanted to -- if you're still in that mode. It just seemed like they had different things that would have been going on were it not for COVID; those kinds of things are very important for older people. The staff were very nice. You can make the apartments your own, and if you really needed, you could borrow from them if you didn't have the right size -- like my couch would not fit in there. They don't seem to provide any kind of cooking facility inside the room. They had a small refrigerator. I could see the people interacting with each other in a really nice manner. One staff member was able to kind of tease back and forth while talking about what they were doing that day. It was just kind of nice watching the interaction between the staff and the clientele there. I rate them highly because of the overall appearance, the camaraderie between the staff and the clientele, and the amenities that were offered there. It was a country-living kind of place. There were places out there where you could walk along the sidewalks or on small trails. It wasn't in woods or anything; it just had more of a country feel to it, and that appealed to me.

reviewer0312

It is very nice, but more geared towards being a retirement place. My dad didn't like the fact that my mom have to take one elevator, then through an area, then up another elevator. It wasn't a very direct way to get to the rooms, and it's a large community. The staff who accommodated us was very helpful and very nice, it was a very pleasant experience. We checked the dining area and it was lovely. It was a very nice place, but it's just a little bit too big for my dad. We also checked the rooms.

Reviewer

It was a good facility, but it's very close to the freeway, so you get the noise from that. It's close to a brand-new gym and community center and I thought that was nice. It's a pretty big facility that you could go to. The apartments were OK. They were playing Bingo, and they have a library. They didn't have a speaker at the time, but they did tell me they have them as well. They have a small exercise room and activity rooms.