My mom joined the community at The Elms at the end of May/beginning of June, and she is loving it! Her one bedroom apartment is a good size, a nice balcony with great afternoon sun, big closet, big bathroom and lots of wall space for her art she's collected over the years! The staff are so kind and welcoming to all of us, she feels very taken care of. She loves the food and the activities.We took her on a month long trip and half way through she asked when she was going back home to The Elms? The town of San Carlos is also the perfect walking town for an ambulatory elder! Across the street is the library. Two blocks away is the Senior Center (if your loved one wants more activities.) A block and a half away is the pharmacy. Three blocks away is the bank, post office and grocery store. Two blocks away is a coffee shop, and Laurel street which has lots of activities (pictured here.) If you or your loved one is considering The Elms, please contact Amanda and get on the waiting list ASAP, we waited a year for my mom's name to come up and it's been life changing! To quote my mom "thank you for making my life so easy!" That's what The Elms does for the residents, makes their life easy, so they can enjoy this chapter of their life with ease and comfort! read more

I had to place my mom in a care home this year and she has been at the Elms for 6 months. I toured several assisted living facilities that also had memory care. These other facilities were newer and fancier (complete with smaller rooms and 10%/yr price increases to keep their publicly traded parent companies happy!), but they didn't come close the warm and welcoming environment we found at the Elms. The staff are wonderful: happy, relaxed, dedicated and you can tell they truly care about the residents. The Elms is a nonprofit and was started by San Carlos; you can see the focus is on the wellness of the residents, respect of the staff, and bringing as much comfort and joy to the community as possible. The residents are lovely and my mother has made very nice friends (they had a little holiday party in one of their rooms this week, and another family brought my mom a small Christmas tree for her room). The downtown San Carlos location allows residents who are able can walk to the wonderful offerings on Laurel Street. We walk to restaurants, the farmers market and seasonal street fairs; it feels like a breath of normalcy amongst all the changes that have been forced on her over the last few years. The Elms has a good variety of programing for the various abilities and interests of their residents. Today my mom and I caught an acoustic guitar holiday music show in the lounge. It was such a gift to enjoy that with her. The holiday parties are quite fun and everyone participates. The administration reaches out at regular intervals to make sure everyone is doing ok. The housekeeping and medical staff have been very responsive and easy to work with. I imagine managing the expectations and needs of this age group is a challenge but I think they do a great job with a tremendous amount of compassion and patience. I believe most of the staff has been with the Elms for some time and everyone seems to know whats going on and has a great deal of competence. Ultimately the biggest winner in the arrangement has been my mom. Her neurologist said her test results have improved over the last year which she attributed to her environment and having socialization, quality food and stimulation (and professional medication management). Moving a loved one out of their home is a very hard choice, but I am grateful for the Elms staff and their sensitivity, kindness and caring they show towards the residents and their families. read more

MyMom has been at The Elms for around 5 yrs now. The staff is amazing! The facility is clean and the residents are treated like family. I cannot say enough good things about The Elms. I have never had to worry about my Mom there. FIVE STARS!!! read more

My mother in law was a resident at the Elms for three years. As it was becoming clearer and clearer that she needed additional support, we look at several options and got wait listed at the Elms. We needed to get her in somewhere in the meantime and settled on an other local, larger, beautiful looking facility. That place was nothing short of horrible, lacking staff, honesty and integrity. We had to move her, as she was becoming someone who was slipping away. The Elms became available, and not too soon. After being in this other place for a very short time, she was withdrawn, sleepy and we were losing her. Within two weeks of being at the Elms she was her old self. She medicated herself with our support and became clearer and much happier. I am a nurse and very familiar with healthcare and its challenges, especially for the elderly. The Elms is an outstanding place. The management is responsive and care about their work. The staff are caring and kind, the activities well done. My mother in law passed away and we all miss her, but let me assure you, we miss visiting the Elms too! We can't thank them enough! read more

Beautiful community and friendly staff. As soon as we walked in, we we're greeted by friendly concierge who made us feel welcome. Community is comfortable and clean without odor. Residents were all smiling. It's a good feeling. We will definitely bring some clients here (through our care and referral agency) read more

My Father lived a full and happy nine final years of his life at the San Carlos Elms. He loved its convenient location near the library and the charming Laurel Avenue restaurants and shops. But, more importantly, he loved the caring, professional staff that made living there a "home". Whenever I would visit him there were fun activities in the making; Bingo, Mexican Train, speakers, piano concerts and special events and decorations for various holidays. Kathleen, The Activities Director puts her heart and enthusiasm into it all and it shows. Through Dad's ups and downs with health issues Maribel, the Director of Health Services, and her loving staff were always there with patience and care. Now with the CoVid issue, Scott Evans, The Executive Director, has kept the residents safe and the families well-informed. There are so many staff members that add to this amazing fabric which makes The San Carlos Elms a wonderful community. Now that my father has passed at 92, I will miss visiting The Elms. I can only hope with the highest regard that others who want an assisted living community have the opportunity to live at this exceptional place. read more

I can't say enough kind words about the San Carlos Elms. I volunteered in the Grove (their memory care wing) many years ago, and saw how well the residents were treated, so when my mom started needing that level of care last year, it was an easy decision to move her into the Grove. During the last 10 months of her life, mom was happier than I've seen her in years. She liked the food, liked the staff, liked the patio....and mom was never shy about sharing her displeasure, so I know her love for the Elms was genuine. The Elms staff was also amazing with our private caregiver, who had been with mom for 8 years, and thus stayed on as a companion even after the transfer to the Elms. They also did a fantastic job suggesting, and then coordinating with, hospice when that time came. I would absolutely recommend the San Carlos Elms to anyone searching for a memory care facility for a loved one. read more

My wife and I have lived in San Carlos for over thirty years. She is a health care professional in the area and very familiar with the realities of providing health care to the elderly, so we were very surprised to see the other reviews... as my mother lived there for the last two years of her life and she was treated with respect and cared for extremely well! Before moving my mother to the Elms, we had placed my mother in another care facility in the area where she did not receive the care we were promised and she became extremely depressed. Moving her to the Elms was the best decision we made with respect to her care and our only regret was that we could not get her into the Elms sooner. We believe the management goes out of their way to request feedback from their residents and families to meet their patient's needs and improve the quality of care provided. They then make changes when and where needed... we found them to be responsive, caring, honest and professional. read more

My mother was a resident of The Elms for over four years. She passed away this holiday season at the age of 90. My brother and I couldn't have chosen a better place for our mother to live! We looked at several places and The Elms was by far the best choice. The staff is amazing! Everyone is very caring and attentive. They dispensed Mom's medications several times a day, checked on her routinely and kept me informed of any concerns. The staff has a true understanding of the challenges the residents face and always work with the residents in a caring, gentle and compassionate way. The lobby at The Elms is warm and inviting, the dining room beautifully decorated, and the rooms spacious and always kept clean. My mother brought her furniture, art, family photos and decorated her room in a way that made her feel at home. The food at The Elms is delicious! There is a variety of options and the residents can have their meals in the dining room or in their rooms if they are not feeling well. My family and I had dinner with Mom in the dining room many times and it was very enjoyable. There are many activities, musical performances and parties to attend. The activities staff is wonderful. They are always smiling and relate to the residents in such a positive way. They would always call and remind Mom when it was time to play bingo or ask if she wanted to go downstairs for an event. I highly recommend The Elms to anyone looking for an assisted living community for their parent, relative or friend. It is truly an exceptional living environment for seniors who can no longer live alone. read more

Wow! 3 for 3. We are trying to find a place for our mother, who has memory issues, and someone suggested we check this place out. It is in a nice location in San Carlos, near downtown. But come on! Everyone was just sitting in wheel chairs, staring off into space! No interaction between the staff and their patients! And the place was way too dark! How about letting some light in? read more

My mother lived at the Elms for a year. Depsite two very aggressive illnesses, I think it was the happiest I had seen her in years. She enjoyed meals with the other residents in the dining room and regular visits from Curly the dog. Her apartment was lovely with a little balcony overlooking the neighborhood. The staff did so much to help her given a quick decline of her health. One of the best benefits of the Elms is the proximity to Laurel Avenue shops and restaurants, cvs and the park across the street which has a senior center. There is convenient covered parking downstairs which allowed us access to my mom's car. I looked forward to every visit. I looked at 30 different assisted living residences and this one was the best...no question. read more

My mother was a resident of San Carlos for almost 70 years so the Elms seemed like the ideal place for her when she could no longer live alone. My dad was a fire captain there and my grandfather built a lot of Laurel Street so being in familiar surroundings seemed perfect. The care was so-so and the food was good. What I am so angry about is that when we moved my mother out in May 2015, her Comcast equipment was accidentally packed (our fault) and on the final bill from the Elms, I was charged $120 for that equipment. When I contacted the Elms, they told me to talk to Comcast - this was after receiving a few one-sentence communications from them regarding this - I guess since I was no longer spending almost $6k/month, I did not warrant a further response. Comcast told me when the equipment was returned I would receive a check for $120. We returned the equipment, Comcast received the equipment on 6/27 and issued a check on 7/7 which was stolen and cashed by someone at the Elms on 7/24 (only the Elms had access to that locked mailbox, as we returned all keys the day my mom was moved out. When asked if we needed to sign anything, we were told "no."). During 3 subsequent conversations with Comcast, I learned that the Elms never stopped her basic cable until July, which my mother was billed for and deducted from the $120, leaving about $15. I spoke to Comcast AGAIN today and they are now filing a report about POSSIBLE FRAUD BEING COMMITTED BY THE ELMS. Now I have to file a police report re the stolen check. ALSO, I was told by an employee there that the reason it takes the help so long to respond is that they hide in empty rooms chatting on their cell phones. I am so happy i took my mom out of there and moved her into my home. I stopped working to care for her the last 6 months of her life and I would not hesitate to do it again. It isn't so much the $120, but that the Elms lacks the honesty and integrity that you would expect from a facility caring for your elderly parents. read more

This facility is understaffed. A poorly run establishment that is very unprofessional from upper management to most of the caregivers. There are a couple that are great! This is not the place anyone should leave a parent or loved one in this facility. This nursing facility is one of the lowest of the low, staff members are not trained properly along with management. If they cannot handle a patient they recommend a family member to heavily medicate your loved one so that it can make their job easier!!! It is so terrible to see this!!! I would never recommend this facility to anyone out there!! Do your homework and DO NOT CHOOSE SAN CARLOS EMS!!! read more