"The care team at WindChime of Marin combines professionalism with deep compassion". Lauren Cottman & Lisa Lomeli communicate openly with families and personalize every care plan. It's clear that this isn't just a job for them -- it's a calling." read more

Beautiful and clean facility with a friendly staff. We are placing my uncle there, and the Director of Sales, Carolyn Bopp, has gone above and beyond to accommodate my uncle's needs. He was born in Italy, and Carolyn has been speaking Italian with him that she's been learning on DuoLingo to make him feel more at home and at ease. So far, all of the staff has been very welcoming and friendly. Call Carolyn who goes out of her way with empathy and understanding during a very difficult decision making time for our entire family. read more

I have had to place both my parents in memory care due to Alzheimer's and dementia. The staff at Windchime are AMAZING!!! So attentive to not only my parents needs - but helping me thru this difficult transition. I trust all the caregivers at Windchime. A fantastic and trustworthy community! read more

I am thrilled to hear the ED, RCD, and activities director have all been laid off-- and for good reason, though I fear they are now understaffed even more so. One can only hope their replacements actually know what they're doing and literally CARE for their residents. Thank goodness those three are gone, though! read more

I am so sorry I ever put my husband here. He went in their walking and died three weeks later. They kept me away from him for 10 days( that of course I will never get back) so he could "adjust". On day 10, I ignored them and went. My husband is bruised and unable to walk. Laundry had not been done ( per contract) and he had a warm sweatshirt on a very hot day. His room was intolerably hot most of the time as the AC did not work. They brought in a noisy fan to mitigate the problem (which did not work) . My husband was constantly pulling all his clothes off because he was so hot. The staff, while generally kind, were pretty incompetent ( and pretty difficult to understand). I don't think the Medtechs have any formal training as they did not seem to understand PRN and mixed up his meds on the last night of his life. Frankly, I don't think any of them get any real training. Costs are supposed to be prorated on a daily basis and their outrageous community fee of $7500 is supposed to be refundable on a sliding scale. Instead, I received a bill yesterday and a withdrawal from my bank account today for the next month. OUTRAGEOUS! read more

WindChime is a poorly run agency. The problem is management which trickles down to the direct care workers. Care takers do the best they can, but procedures are not followed consistently. When a problem arises on the floor (someone waiting for hours to be taken care of) it is always someone else's fault. When a family member calmly brings up a concern there is no responsibility by the agency, and one is met with defensiveness and dismissiveness. No one should be leaving their loved one there unless they can be there several hours a day to make sure their loved one is being taken care of properly. Even when you pay for the extras, they don't happen consistently. Yes, it is a clean and neat facility but it all about appearances. read more

When Alma Via assisted living told us that our elderly cousins, for whom we hold their full powers of attorney, could no longer reside at there due to their increasing dementia, it put the whole family in a tizzy. Their niece and I visited a few memory care facilities in Marin and determined that Windchime best met everyone's needs. It was great that, at the time, there were walking groups because our cousins were used to being physically active and walking everyday. Plus there are no alarms and elopement practically impossible. We loved the garden and the deck for getting a bit of sunshine, as well. Music and food offerings, plus numerous other activities were also great. Their room is very nice and the common areas clean and, bright and comfortable. But most importantly, the staff is really kind and caring. Definitely check it out FO ant loved be suffering from dementia, Alzheimer's or other memory issues who cannot live alone. read more

I highly recommend WindChime of Marin. We placed my 78-year old father who has Alzheimer's at WindChime 18 months ago. The facility is clean and well appointed, the food is nutritious and tasty, and the care staff is incredibly loving, patient and kind. The activities are thoughtfully planned and tailored to the unique needs and abilities of dementia patients. During COVID they have gotten very creative in trying new activities. The staff is in frequent contact with me to report on my dad's weight, appetite and any changes to my dad's health and well-being. They have correctly and appropriately sought out medical care for my dad when it is needed. WindChime's administrative staff is very responsive to my questions and open to feedback. They listen and care and are always looking for ways to improve. WindChime has many long-time employees who have been there for 10+ years, which says a lot. It is very difficult to make the decision to place a beloved family member in a memory care facility. WindChime has been as good as it gets for my dad. He is happy there, loves the care staff, and I believe is in great hands. read more

Well, where do I begin. My family and I have been looking all over Marin county and Napa county for a memory care facility to look over my mother. I have been very stressed out looking for a place that would care for and accommodate my mothers needs. A couple of weeks ago upon arriving to WindChime I was greeted by the Executive Director Bradlee who was really amazing, very hospitable and very knowledgeable. I told her about my mother and the situation that she was in. Bradlee was very supportive and knew exactly what I am going through. She said she would love to help me and my mother out with what ever I needed and with recourses to finding the best possible solution. She gave me a tour of the facility. During the tour I watched very carefully how the care givers interacted with the residents and from what i saw the care givers were very attentive toward the residents which was a big plus. The facility was very clean and tidy which was another plus. I also notice that WindChime is the only memory care facility in the Northern California with a music memory program like in the documentary "Alive Inside" I was very very excited about that! We then stepped into her office and spoke about what needed to happen to get her to move into WindChime. It was going to be an easy transition and practically seamless. My mother is now living at WindChime and her quality of life is amazing their. !!!Thank You Bradlee you have an amazing team at WindChime Of Marin!!! read more

Wind Chime of Marin is one of the best place for residents with Dementia and Alzheimer's in all of Marin. It's one and only boutique Assisted Living dedicated and specializing in Memory Care. The best management ever taking care of calm and restful resident having the best time of their life while they are being taken care of exceptional care staff providing the best service and activities! read more

We toured and applied. Promised that take all patients with Altzheimer's or dementia and the only type of patient they don't take is one diabetes. We like the facility and thought it work quite well for our relative. We the sales pitch. We were told that someone would go out to do an evaluation at the skilled nursing and that we could attend. They should up two hours before our appointment and heard only from a not very effective staff at the skilled nursing. They did not call us when there was this discrepancy in meeting times. They have not decided they will not take him due to behavior. This was never told to us. They misrepresented themselves. We had to give him $7000 to come out to evaluate. They want to keep $500 for this evaluation that we have not seen nor participated in. Avoid. read more

The coronavirus pandemic has been a trying time for us all, but I was particularly worried about my husband who is a resident of Windchime of Marin. We have been unable to visit him, but the staff has been wonderful about keeping me informed about him and the procedures followed to protect both residents and staff. They have been diligent about following best practice procedures, testing and "social distancing" in the home. They have put in place the ability to talk to residents using FaceTime and Skype. My husband has been a happy resident for more than two years, and we so appreciate the good care he is given! read more

Let me count the way that Windchimes disappointed us. Well I guess I won't but all I can say is please look beyond the lobby and the pr person as it is not what it seems. We were led to believe the residents are treated to a lovely experience including dining in the lovely dining room but on closer inspection and daily visits these dining experiences are few and far between. On the whole the caregivers, the ones on the ground floor doing the work, are quite kind and hardworking. However the management from the top down, are really rather unresponsive and callous. If I could only list all the problems we encountered, it would be quite hard to believe. I was shocked at the state I found my loved one and had to be so proactive for him that I ended up calling 911. I just cannot believe that this place, once a wonderful almost five star facility under previous management, has progressed to where it is now. I would look elsewhere when placing a dementia loved one. Perhaps if the loved one is highly functioning it wouldn't be quite as bad but someone needing that extra attention? This is not the place. read more

These are difficult times for all of us but especially for those of us who cannot see our spouses at nursing facilities due to the covid19 virus. While I struggle with my grief for not seeing my husband during this time I am grateful he is safe and and cared for at Windchime of Marin. They have been ahead of the curve In testing and isolating their residents and they have been prompt in notifying me of any changes in my husband's condition. Thank you for your diligence and exceptional care staff and employees of Windchime! read more

This is a really nice facility, with well-done rooms and spaces, and a good program for the residents. Valdete is the Activities Director, and she is so good at providing a range of activities. She organizes kids and adults to come in and do volunteer activities like Christmas caroling and Bingo. She also gets musicians and bands to come and perform, as music is very important in the lives of Seniors with memory loss. She gets yoga and dance teachers, and just keeps the residents very stimulated. Valdete really cares about the Seniors, makes an effort to give them the best, richest, and most engaging life and activities. The Seniors seem very happy and well taken care of. read more

My mother has been living at Windchime for about a year now and it has been excellent for her. Previously she lived at a large assisted living community that also provided memory care and the quality of care was not at the same level. At Windchime they specialize in memory care only. As a result, the staff are carefully screened for the unique personality and extraordinary patience which is required to care for people with Dementia. People either have this love and empathy for others in their hearts...or they do not. The staff at Windchime "gets it". If you are evaluating Windchime for your family member, you have found the right place. Dan Kentfield read more

This facility advertises short term respite of a few days to weeks on its website and also on Marin County Health and Human Services' website. I called and was given a quote for a daily fee and invited to come in and observe activities and have lunch. I spoke with a representative more than once and received an activities calendar via e-mail to choose a good time to come in. When I called yesterday to do that, I was told by the same person I had been in contact with, that short term respite care is really not offered; it is only offered for weeks or months. I was then asked if i was interested in placement and became engaged in a discussion about that. I believe this to be deceptive advertising used to lure people in for placement.I wasted three weeks of my time and had hope that I could leave my husband with mild Alzheimer's somewhere safe so I could go visit my mother, as I do not have local family to help me. read more

From the moment you walk through the door you feel the love. A sense of genuine caring. From top management to engineering staff you could feel they had a heart for service. The caregivers were kind and respective to the residents.The building itself was very homey in its feel and very clean which says a lot. I would not hesitate to recommend this first rate community to any of my clients who look to me to place their loved ones. I can only tell them that if it were MY loved one I would look no further. Good job to the whole team... read more

Staff that cares for patient are wonderful. Its all about the bottom line thou with management. you have to fill out reams of paper and they never even read it. read more

In 2011, WindChime was the ideal place for our mother since the location was close to our home. At that time we found the admitting director and medical technician to be very competent and accommodating. Since then, we have experienced several turnovers in management/accounting staff (count: 5 executive directors in 7 years - Yes, it's true Rich H.) - not to mention the basic care staff that comes and goes like a revolving door. And, we too have experienced disputes in care assessment fees and incontinence supplies. The basic care staff has always been supportive, loving and professional. We have also noticed that when a staff member stands out in their communication skills and service, they do not stay very long. With that said, we have also experienced trying times with subsequent medical technicians who at times cannot pronounce the medications that were to be picked up and who have a very limited fund of relevant medical knowledge. This was brought to the attention of one director more than once whose solution was to "get more training" to make sure there were no errors. We have been undeniably frustrated by the deficient communication when relating any incidents or health status of our mother. Our mother passed away two days before Christmas 2018. On Christmas day, the first statement from Executive Director Brittany Karlinski was "you will be charged rent for the room as long as your mother's personal belongings are still there." We therefore spent Christmas day cleaning out the room in order to avoid paying the extra rent. The two young women who are part of the care staff were superb in helping us make sure that we had indeed removed everything. When we met with Ms. Karlinski two days afterward to finalize our invoice, she callously informed us that we did NOT fully clean out her room since there were still "items left in the room." We explained that these things were to be discarded and were left in place according to the directions given to us by the care staff who said they would dispose of them for us. There were also a previous resident's belongings that had been stored along with our mother's! We mentioned to Ms. Karlinski that we were disappointed that she did not even acknowledge that our mother had died, and she bluntly said, "We always send an email to the family along with flowers". To date we have received nothing. No doubt the flowers are languishing somewhere with the alleged email. We met with the Business Office Director, Mr. Tony Ibarra, who was outstanding in obtaining the refund owed for rent and the duplicative charging of incontinence supplies. He listened to our concerns and was very prompt in arranging remuneration. When our mother first entered WindChime, the monthly cost was less than $5000 per month; at the time of her death it was nearly $11,000 per month. It is our suggestion that you research all of your dementia/memory care options for a loved one. This is clearly a very lucrative and for-profit industry; you must read reviews and ask questions, and it is imperative that you monitor the month-to-month costs. read more

I am not a very active Yelper, but I decided to update a couple of reviews from a year ago or more, and that would include an update for Windchime. I briefly perused the other reviews of WIndChime, and I must to say that I am stunned by the review of Carol H. I don't know what the nature of her experience might have been, but frankly I cannot fathom how she could conclude that the management is unresponsive or callous. My Dad has been there for three and one half years now, and I have never found anyone there to be unresponsive. Sometimes busy and prioritizing, but never unresponsive. Nor has there been a change in management: the primary members of the management team (the Executive Director and the Director of assisted living) haven't changed in over 3 years (the current Executive Director started just 2 or 3 months after my father became a resident). I can only assume that whatever the experience was, that it must have been quite difficult to trigger such a reaction for this other reviewer. But I do feel compelled to write that my experience has been very different than she has described, and that my experience has spanned three and half years. And for me, it is a relief to see that other reviewers have had experiences that are more in line with what I have described...I wouldn't want to mislead anyone with my words. In closing, I'd just like to say that I wouldn't change a word of my original review. I could perhaps add many specific examples of the kind of care that has earned my praise and deep gratitude. I could also add that I have seen the staff deal with lots of other residents over the years, and have also witnessed how they have adjusted their approaches to my Dad as he has slowly declined...and this is just more testimony to the skill and devotion of the staff there. Oh, and I could say Dad has remained happy through all of his difficulties...which still is a (delightful) surprise. But that is about all I could add. Windchime has been a godsend for my father, for me, and for all the other members of my family. read more

Making the decisiom to place my dad in a memory care facility was the hardest decsion my family has ever had to make, especially since we had promised him we would never place him in a facility. But after trying to handle his illness ourselves, it became clear that keeping him at home was just not an option. After visiting 4 other memory care facilities we decided Wind Chime was the best fit for my dad. From the moment we walked in the door, we were greeted with love and understanding of just how hard this decision was for us. Our biggest worry was the thought of Dad knowing where he was but it was all for naught. The staff was so loving and affectionate and truly caring that Dad thought he was in a resort. Wind Chime rotates their aides between the two floors so that each and every aide has the opportunity to get to know their residents - all their likes and dislikes - and their special needs. The aides have one of the toughest jobs but each and every day they show up with smiles on their faces and hugs for the residents and their families. The kitchen staff also goes out of their way to make the families feel welcome and the meals are wonderful. My family would never have been able to come in as often as we did without the love and affection the entire staff showered upon us to make us feel like it was our second home. Nancy read more

Let me start by saying that I am a close friend and neighbor of a woman whose husband was unfortunate enough to develop Alzheimer's a number of years ago. I can tell you that she considers WindChime a godsend. She tells me about how excited he gets when therapy dogs make their regular visits to mingle with the residents. Or how happy he is creating an art project or writing a poem with visiting school children. When my husband and I go to pay him a visit, the place is always clean and we are greeted kindly and treated like family members. Hopefully, neither my husband nor I will ever need this high level of care. But if we did, it would certainly be here. read more

Wind Chime of Marin has been a true blessing in our lives. The staff has been amazing in helping our loved one with Deminta make the transistion from living in our home to a better place for him. It was very painful but through their guidance he is now safe, well cared for and seems content. The staff is so amazingly caring and they go out of there way to engage him in activities as well as spend some one on one time with him. Very happy with his care. read more

There are not enough stars to rate my feelings for Wind Chime. My mother has resided in WC for over a year and the experience has been one of great relief and amazement. The staff is truly exceptional, skilled and honestly from the heart interested in their job. I have so appreciated the fact that the staff makes an effort to communicate with the families. The first month my mother came to WC I received a monthly activity calendar via email that made me start to cry. I knew that this was the right choice and I was impressed that there were events for the families to come and have a special visit. Since I live so far away, communication is vital. When I visited last time the staff suggested that I have lunch in their beautiful dining room with my mother. The food was delicious. Mother thought she had gone to a restaurant and was so delighted. It was so wonderful after a long drive to be able to visit in this fashion. WC is so clean, inviting and immediately exudes a home like atmosphere when you make your first visit. The amount of natural light was very important to me. The rooms are welcoming and my mother loves to show her room to me each time. There is a beautiful redwood tree outside her window and a view of Mt. Tam. Thank you WC for creating such a loving special place. DB read more

Here is another point of view. My husband's father became a resident in early 2013. The way the care is assessed and priced is supposed to work like this as far as I can tell. You meet with the team and a write up of what care will be needed is created. You agree in writing to what is called a "care assessment". There are points for each care item but they don't tell you what a point translates to in dollars. So far so good, sort of. But eventually of course your loved one will most likely need more care. So you meet with the care team again. What happens next in our experience goes like this: You don't agree with the assessment or you have some questions. For example it shows he is supposed to be bathed twice a week but you observe that a lot of the time your loved one is unkempt, hair is greasy etc. And so you wonder if he in fact Is being bathed twice a week. And so while you make inquiries you do not pay that portion of your monthly invoice until the care can be assessed and/or agreed to (in writing!) again. In our case, we called and told the accounting person that we would not be paying the full care amount for that month until the care assessment could be approved. Now what happens is what I call the "great avoid" whereby the left hand doesn't apparently know what the right hand is doing. You get the next month's bill and lo and behold there is a $50 late fee on it! You call again and speak to the accounting person and you explain why you "short paid" the amount from the previous month even though you had already called to tell them this and you ask the head person to call to discuss. This person never returns the call and then the accounting person calls again and says you're going to be charged another late fee because "corporate" requires this of them. Pretty awful accounting. The other thing they do is they send out revised invoices once you've already received them so that at any given time you might have three invoices with the same invoice number on it and three different amounts! As an accounting person, I can tell you this is not how it should be done and can create all kinds of problems. Just be forewarned that their accounting and care assessment processes need work! read more

When we visited Windchime to see about housing my brother there, the facility and staff looked and acted wonderfully. It was through his first year there that we discovered the "real" Windchime. There is a complete lack of follow through with the care plan, no communication and no follow up with family members. On our visits, we have seen residents left on the floor while staff chat in the hallway. We never saw our brother in his own clothes. We would continue buying him new articles to wear, but they were never on his body or in his room. We even labeled them then would see other residents wearing his shirts. I think the worst thing is the complete lack of communication and not providing the care that is stated in the care plan.I must agree with Connee Y's reviw. Now that he is at another facility, we see the difference. read more

We are so happy we moved my mother to Windchimes of Marin!! My mother has Alzheimers disease which made her an escape risk from the last facility she lived in, so several months ago we moved her to Windchimes because they are a "locked" facility and perfect for someone with her problem. Upon visiting the place for the first time, we were so impressed by the way the staff interacted with the patients. I walked around observing, as I wanted to see how people living there were treated by the staff. They were so sweet and attentive. I couldn't get over it. It's been one of the best decisions we could have made for my Mom!! The staff is the best!! Very caring, patient and on top of things. The facility is really lovely, clean and well maintained. Mom wasn't happy about moving there at first and continued to try to find ways to get out, but she has not been able to, and that has given us so much relief. The staff re-directs her to do something else, and even though it took a while for her to aclimate, she's finally settled in, and things have gotten so much better. She hasn't tried to leave for quite a while now, and seems to be enjoying the different things they have going on every day, as well as the excursions she goes on weekly with the staff. We visit her several times a week, and have been very pleased with what we've observed during our visits. Even unscheduled visits have never elicited anything to complain about. Suffice it to say, moving our Mother to Windchimes of Marin was a great decision for our family, and I would highly recommend them. read more

My grandmother lives here. Every time I come to visit her the staff is very friendly and helpful. They have recently remodeled the building and it looks great. Very warm and inviting. After two years of her living their she has become part of their family and they really care about her. read more

I would rate Windchime okay but not great. My mother's care assessment fees have tripled in the past year, coinciding with the facility's installing some new carpet and flooring and some new furniture, and starting to advertise as "luxury" memory care. I agree my mom has slowed down a bit in the past year, but does not require three times the assistance she did a year ago. Her bills have gone up over thousand dollars per month without any warning. When I go in for an explanation I get the runaround. There has been a constant turnover of management in the four years she has lived there. I'm lucky I Iive nearby and see my mom twice a week and can keep tabs on her care, which I feel keeps staff on their toes.When the assessment claims that certain types or amounts of services or care is being provided I can speak from my direct observations whether that is accurate or not. I would be very careful about placing my loved one in this facility if I lived far away. read more

WindChime admitted my mother as a resident after she had been expelled from her previous assisted living facility because they were not contractually obligated to continue to care for residents who developed dementia. When she entered WindChime, my mother babbled incoherently, could not recognize her daughters, was hallucinating, was aggressive, and was not eating because she believed her food was poisoned. After three months at WindChime, she was her near-normal self, could converse intelligently, recognized her daughters, was no longer aggressive, and was eating regular meals. WindChime's employees are patient and kind. I have surmised that my mother had a mild stroke which caused the dementia (the exact cause is unknown); however, her recovery would not have been as great were it not for the care she received at WindChime. read more