La Vida Real - El Cajon, California

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exelente servicio y exelente trabajo lo mejor

Abimael V.

I recently visited La Vida Real and was thoroughly impressed with the facility. The staff was incredibly welcoming and attentive, making me feel right at home. I want to give a special shout-out to Christina Jimenez for her attentive and engaging approach. She went above and beyond to ensure my comfort and address any questions I had. The community is beautifully maintained, with plenty of amenities such as a heated swimming pool, an art studio, and a cinema. The dining options are fantastic, offering a variety of health-focused menus and made-to-order cuisine. The activities and social events are diverse and engaging, ensuring there's always something fun to do. I highly recommend La Vida Real to anyone looking for a vibrant and supportive senior living community.

Bridget S.

As the daughter of a resident at La Vida Real, I can’t express enough how incredibly impressed I am with the Zest Department and the level of care provided here. The activities offered are not only engaging but thoughtfully curated to stimulate both the mind and spirit of each resident. The Director, Andre, is absolutely outstanding. His dedication to the residents is unmatched—he’s not just a manager but truly involved with everyone. He stops at nothing to help the residents – he helped my mother set up an uber account and called it for her as well as communicated with her throughout the day to make sure she mad it back from her trip without trouble. His attention to detail is evident in every program, from the variety of activities to the creativity and energy that go into every event. It’s clear that Andre pours his heart into making sure that every resident feels included, valued, and inspired each day. The programs are always lively, fun, and filled with opportunities for self-expression. I love that the residents are constantly encouraged to be creative, whether through art, music, or interactive events. It’s so wonderful to see how much these activities help them stay mentally and physically stimulated. A huge shoutout to Gigi as well, one of the amazing members of the activities team. She is so warm and attentive, always making sure that the residents are engaged and having a great time. Her energy is contagious, and she goes above and beyond to make each day special for everyone. I feel so fortunate to have my mother at La Vida Real, knowing they are receiving such excellent care and being part of such a vibrant and stimulating community. Highly recommend to anyone looking for a place where their family member will thrive!

DeAnna R.

Update- March 9th -the care seemed to get better for a couple days but going down hill again. Today they had 2 people this morning. They do have a new person that was on 2nd shift named Jackson. He truly cares for the patients. The other day no one gave my dad breakfast and my mom had to let them know. For 3 1/2 hours nobody came in to check on my dad. Today, they bring him a hot dog for lunch. He has a difficult time swallowing and choked on his food. His hospice bed rail has been broke for over week and today someone was finally smart enough to turn the bed. This place is beautiful but the care is less than. Some of the staff is great but they get worked. For the cost, they need more care. Also, I never got a called back from 3 weeks ago when I called Kim Garcia and Christine.

My dad is in the memory care section of La Vida Real. Last weekend (Feb. 8 & 9, 2025) they had 3 caregivers for 26+ patients. On Sunday, second shift everyone called out sick, patients were screaming because they had to go to the bathroom and nobody was there to care for them. We called licensing, ombudsman,..... everyone we could get in touch with including the Executive Team at La Vida Real. Kim Garcia, Executive Director of memory care said when they are short staffed, it should be escalated to her and she states she wasn't aware of the problem. Well, this weekend (Saturday, February 15, 2025), we had the same problem although during the week, the "Executive Team" were observing the facility. I went to the front desk and they called Kim Garcia and he asked if I wanted to talk to her and she responded, I am not available to talk. Shame on you Kim Garcia!

Saturday, they had live music and the sales department conducted a tour during that time because the appearance was a perfect, fun, entertaining place when in reality, during lunch people weren't getting fed because they were so short staffed. Even the workers were complaining because they want to care for the patients and they did the best they could but when there are only 3 workers, it is difficult.

My mom is paying extra $ for additional care and my dad never gets additional care. During the sales pitch, they said they check on them every 30 to 60 minutes. There have been days they never check on him until we call them and then we have to hunt the workers down. This place neglects the residents, in fact it is elderly abuse.

For $12,000 a month, my dad deserves better care. These people are lining their pockets and don't care about the patients or their employees. #lavidareal #elderlyabuse #elderlyneglect

Chuck B.

We thoroughly enjoyed our introductory visit, especially being able to speak with current and long time residents. The list of weekly activities and restaurant menus look amazing. The property’s location across from the shopping mall and library is a bonus. Open spaces and courtyards are very nice. We are still a few years out from moving out of our home and had been seriously considering another facility prior to seeing La Vida. We are now sold on La Vida as our future choice.
In reply to your request for what else resonated with us I would say your “no buy in” requirement is one and the range of care from independent living to various levels of assisted living is another. Also your range of activities is great along with your in house movie theater! The property just has a resort like feel to it. I am less apprehensive now about having to move out of our home in a few years if we can move to La Vida.

Allan R.

It was a weird experience unlike any other visit that we have experienced. The tour was OK like all others. The person touring us invited us for lunch which we accepted. She had us seated and commented that she would see us later and left. No literature, pricing or discussion of pricing , etc had transpired. We thought that she meant to give us time to eat and then rejoin us. We sat there for some time before we went to the front desk to
learn that she had left, I left messages at the desk which were not returned,. I called the first next working day to find that no one was available to explain why this treatment had happened. But I did learn from my call that the person touring us was not listening as her report misstated our interest.
Our mistake was visiting the facility at all as we had been told that they were experiencing quality of care issues due to staffing problems. Also, we should have turned around and left when a very nice coherent assisted living lady sitting outside on a very hot day….told us that she, “was tired of staring at the four walls of her room”.
There were other disappointments. But it is a clean and attractive Facility and the show room that we saw was attractive and well laid out.

Lesley N.

I had a very good visit for a scheduled tour. The facility was clean, staff were friendly and smiling. The few residents that I saw in the restaurant or common areas seemed happy.

Kelly L.

After touring several communities La Vida Real is my first choice for many reasons, mostly the location, amenities, and service. Kennia and the entire staff treat you like family and I look forward to visiting my family members here to enjoy all they have to offer!