Veterans Home of California, Yountville

My parents have lived at this beautiful facility for the last 4 years. My father, who just passed away, received excellent care while on the campus. My mother, who is not a vet but who was allowed to be there due to my father's service, has found the whole experience incredibly enjoyable. There are no end to the activities offered to the residents there, there are shuttles and buses to take them all over the Bay area, and you could not ask for a more gorgeous location! If you or a loved one is a veteran I would highly recommend checking it out.

I have resided in this care facility for 11 years and have seen quit a change in policy. When I first arrived it was paradise. We had a commander that was in her dress whites and knew everyone by name. Those were grand times. Currently, I am thankful for the care I received at the on-site care. They are wonderful. I don't interface with administration any longer. That has kept me sane. All in all, take away administration. This place is my paradise. There is no perfect place. But to finish out my years, this is just fine.

I was really looking forward to residing here but I was denied. Between 30and 40 years ago I unfortunately had DUIs. Because they were so many years ago I just figured there wasn’t any records, I was wrong and therefore I was denied. Funny thing is, is the the federal government all across America is letting murderers, Drug dealers and many other criminals get out of prisons, jails and other facilities to have a second or even third chance at living a somewhat normal life. Me on the other hand, homeless for the first time in the 60 years I’ve been alive DENIED because of my bad choices 3 to 4 DECADES ago. Thanks for nothing Yountville VA!!!! PS Still homeless

It's a prison. Don't consider it!

My grandfather has lived here for many years and LOVES everything about it! So much to do and see everyday, theatre, museum, sports, art studio, radio station, church, nature, dances, movies, library, bingo, game room, on campus activities, field trips, and so much more! Today I am going out there because he is in a talent show!

For serving my Country, I am offered amenities from my Government to be able to relax in my Golden years and play ⛳ golf, 🐟go fishing, do a little bowling 🎳, have a garden 🎍👨‍🌾, And just enjoy life and reminiscing with my brother's and sisters Vet's.

They have some great staff, food, activities, visitor accommodations and they have taken super great care of my father for 8+ years now. They have communicated with me when he has any medical changes and patiently answer all my questions. The best of the best here.

Beautiful campus with historic buildings. Trees from all over the world are planted on our campus...no real opportunities for people who have no business at the Veterans Home...but if you have a reason to be on campus you will not be disappointed.

This is the crappy food they give the veterans in the skilled nursing facility at Yountville Vetrans Home.

I was told today depending on level of care a some veterans have been on a waitlist since 2017 that's five years. I am so sad to know that sort of situation exists

I really wanted to give this place a 5 star review, I did. They made accommodations to get my father in independent living when he was borderline...and falling into memory loss. But, eventually, he wasn't taking his meds and was moved to memory care where he went from riding his bike every day to being in a wheel chair, slumped over and barely responsive in a matter of weeks. My dad, normally engaging, energetic and healthy outside of his short term memory loss began to be out of it. He couldn't walk without gasping for air after 5 steps and needed to sit down. I couldn't understand why, I asked them test him, they just said, "he has old age lung disease and its just going to get worse" One Thanksgiving, shit hit the fan, I took him home for 10 days, and of that entire time, he was awake for a total of 3 hours and that is generous. He woke up only to use the bathroom...slept the entire time. I was worried, I looked up all of his meds and saw that they were giving him the dosage of an Alzheimers patient with stage 4, the highest, combative type, when my dad only had slight dementia, I was furious, I told them to take him off it immediately! They did and he was immediately better. It made me feel like they just give all their memory care patients that dose to shut them up and make them more manageable. They said the drug stopped their decline...but hell, what is life worth if all you do is sleep and are depressed? I also noticed that they gave him meds before bed that made him both groggy and urinate, so he would get up at night and pee all over himself trying to make it to the bathroom. When I'd visit his CPAP mask was under the bed and he was asleep on a toddler bed like mattress. I asked why the mask was ignored, and they just said he keeps taking it off...well, if he is groggy and has to go to the bathroom all night, he has dementia, he needs help putting it back on....damn you people....every time he sleeps without it, he is deprived of oxygen and his dementia gets worse. They just shrugged..as if it wasn't their problem or job to assist him back into bed. His laundry was always wadded in plastic bags in his armoir and he was always wearing someone elses oversized clothes, even though I bought him an entire wardrobe of nice clothes. The last day I went there, I found him in the corner of the activity room, dirty, wet with slobbered up sweatshirt, inside out...he was nearly unresponsive...I greeted him, he lifted his head up and got the biggest smile on his face when he saw me...I was devastated by the red droopy eyes and sadness in his face...this WAS NOT MY DAD!! I said "dad, I am taking you out of here, this is so wrong, I am sorry I put you in here, I thought they could be trusted." So I told the staff I was taking him home, permanently, to get the paperwork in order. I took him home that day. They had me return for the paperwork. I waited in the waiting room for hours....they finally came out and said, "we're sorry to take so long, but we are not sure what we are suppose to do, no one has ever taken their oved one out of here before" It broke my heart, it is a place to die and that's it. No dignity for these veterans. Just a meal and meds on a schedule. So sad. It was no wonder when they all ate lunch, their heads we all in their plates...they were all being over medicated and drugged silent. About a month after I took my dad home, he came into my room at 3am saying he couldn't breathe. I said, I know, Dad, they say you have old age lung disease...he said, "You don't understand I can't breathe" I said, Ok, so I jumped up and called the advice nurse at the hospital...she said bring him to the emergency room immediately...so I got him showered, cleaned up, dressed and took him in, I sat with him for 10hrs thru tests and more tests. They finally came to me and said he is suffering from congestive heart failure. I said they told me it was his lungs! The doctor said, no, its his heart...he has 20% electrical & 20% muscle, there is no repairing that...he'll need a pacemaker and defibrillator immediately...if he doesn't get one in immediately and has any more of these arrhythmias like he has been having they will kill him...& soon!" They suggested at his age to just let him go to hospice and let him die, that no doctor would risk operating on a man his age. I said, but my dad is strong as a horse. He was a champion boxer, he is healthy and his blood work is better than mine! He can fight this!" They suggested I call my family, so I did...they all said just let him go...I was not going to not give him a chance...I said, my dad is still coherent, I am asking him...so I did, "Dad, they say your heart is very weak, you have CHF and have had it for 3 years...you need a pacemaker & Defib right away, but you could die in surgery, do you want to risk it and try tom live or do you want to just call it a day and go to hospice?" He said, "I want to live" So, I looked at all the naysayers and said, PUT THEM IN!

The Veterans Home of California touts itself as a historic destination of sorts, along with being a nursing home/hospital/retirement community. They have an onsite restaurant (Heroes Bar&Grill), the Napa Valley Museum, a swimming pool, a baseball field, chapels, the Lincoln Theater, and picnic grounds. They have good signage when it comes to parking, because it can get complicated. The Napa Valley Museum is an excellent little place- they had a wonderful exhibition about food with the sketches&paintings of Wayne Thiebaud. Its downstairs level showcases Napa Valley history. On the other hand, the picnic grounds are a mixed bag, especially where people did Mad Max: Fury Road kind of parking. Parts of it are handicapped-accessible, and veterans who were wheelchair bound (conventional&motorized) struggled with the terrain at the recent Suscol Intertribal Powwow. The picnic grounds themselves aren't that accessible; you get to drive past shipping containers&the auto repair place. The lot is somewhat small&not well-marked. The Veterans Home is an average place.

The stuff are so nice in admininstrations office the lady who is a incharge for the application are very accomodating... i love going back there to submit my application

My dad has been at the Vets home for about 12 years. Because of the great care and regular medical attention he receives, I truly believe they have helped extend his life several more years. The VHC was established in the 1880's for sick and aging civil war veterans. The well landscaped grounds are beautiful with scores of magnificent trees from all over the world. The men and women who reside there number about 1200-1500 and stay in Spanish colonial housing with tiled roofs, all named after American presidents. It like small village having its own post office, bank, cafe, store, chapel, public swimming pool and barber shop. When my dad applied, (he had to wait a couple of months for an opening) the requirements were that the veterans had to be able to take care of their basic needs by themselves such as getting dressed, making their beds and doing their laundry. As they age and become more dependent, they are moved to a higher care section and then eventually to a hospital like care center where all their needs are met to the very end. On-site hospice care is given to those in their last days. At the time of my dad's admission, he had to turn over 47% of his income and then everything was provided except for the few personal necessities like a radio or TV, toiletries, clothes, pens, paper....that kind of stuff. The Home provides all their meals and of course all their medical needs. There are many great services and entertainments including a large library with books, magazines, DVD and CD rental, etc. There is a cafeteria, cafe, saloon, gym, bowling alley, pool tables, shuffleboard tables, ping pong, computer rooms, art classes, dance halls, movie nights, and a performance theater where name acts come to perform for the vets-- all free. Plus there are many clubs and gatherings so no one should feel lonely or an outsider. And if a member is still spry and capable, the Vets can play golf at the adjacent golf course for free. The VHC is a wonderful option for aging veterans of the armed services. I can't praise it enough, and when I think of some of the very costly and/or depressing nursing homes out there, this place is a treasure and I can't understand the low rating of other posters. I should mention that some of the doctors contracted by the Veterans Home may not be the best. At my dad's advanced age it's a little hard to know if they are not taking the time to listen and try all avenues to help him with his various physical needs, or because he is so old (93) that there just are not cures or remedies for his situations. He does complain that SOME don't seem to really take the time or try to solve his issues. But still, a far superior setting than most nursing homes. AND I should speak for the wonderful nurses and aides who are so kind and patient with the residents. They really seem to care.

The conclusion up until Spring 2014 was that my grandpa still got to live there. They do quarterly meetings where they give us an update on how he his doing, their treatment plan and adjustments they make to improve his care, medication, diet, etc. One of the things that helped was psych training from one of my mom's former co-workers at Napa State Hospital. It really helped the staff learn how to care for aging patients who don't just have medical requirements, but mental issues that require training to handle expertly. The staff was overwhelmed with my grandfather for a while because they didn't have the expertise to deal with him. It was within their scope of practice, but the head of nursing herself told me they have trouble passing inspections with the state. So after the psych training kicked in, I noticed the staff became very comfortable with handling my grandfathers needs, comments and erratic behavior. This behavior started in the last 5 years since he hit his head, it progressed rapidly, they never did satisfactorily explore or discuss this issue with me or my mother of what happened to his head to go from normal to childlike and having memory loss. But they took care of him in a way where I know staff are tending to him diligently, if not always confidently in the psych component. As for him being able to stay at the Vet's Home, their message and efforts have been inconsistent. My first meeting with the staff, they wanted to have him conserved. I asked them why and what the definition of conservatorship was and nobody in a room full of staff would answer. Reading between the lines, they were definitely up to something, but it was a disorganized effort. One expert revealed that grandpa had an insult to the brain that they were looking into (no follow up with us). They mentioned the new psych training (worked out fairly well). They wanted to find a new home for grandpa very badly. Fast-forward a few years and each meeting always ended in handshakes and status quo. Grandpa's care was good, his behavior became a non-issue in our meetings. Until Spring 2014, they out of nowhere said they wanted him to leave again. There had been no red flag behavior or reasoning shared, just that there was a new administrator who flagged him for review to transfer. I run a business and had a job in Iceland coming up, so I immediately gave availability dates for meetings and gave them a cutoff date for being out of town... so of course days before I fly out they want to schedule something. I talked to the social worker, he was nice but oddly unconcerned but eager to get grandpa out. They had a consultant call me, wanting me to work with them to set up a transfer. I talked with him and he asked my budget. I'm an artist, my mom is retired; there was no budget on our end to move him, and it basically went nowhere. Without saying it was decidedly let go, the social worker and staff stopped talking about it. Grandpa passed January 2017. He'd had a heart attack overnight, but it wasn't until a change to morning staff that a head nurse caught it. He made it a few weeks. We went to sign hospice papers and he passed that morning. Overall, it was the best place for him. I wish they had been transparent about whatever issues he'd had, but the staff was generally great with him. My favorite nurse was Annette; she's always so positive and professional. I believe it was ward 2C. Just do your homework, take a tour and see if it feels right. Grandpa was known for keeping busy and volunteering, he always had the latest bootleg dvds and music playing, was super friendly and laid back. Life was good until it got hard, and then he was very comfortable. I know he was safe and cared for, he loved the routine and generally appreciated the staff. We had many great conversations and when I was pregnant, I got to tell him each visit that he was going to be a great grandpa, which excited him EVERY TIME . 3 stars isn't bad, just flawed.

Five stars for veterans and a free AAAA baseball game in a place like this.

The Fresno facility has regular tours stating there is availability within 6 months, even though they know they have a horrendously long waiting list. They keep you hanging on, rarely returning calls with in a week, sometimes not at all, and never advise that you should be looking else where. My husband was told 2 years ago it is a 3 to 4 year waiting list, last week, he is in the same position with the same time frame provided. So in 2 years, no one has left or been removed from the waiting list, NO ONE. We have visited many times and seen many new faces, so either they have no clue or only have open positions for people with a favored status or connections. There are so many powered scooters that is it difficult to get around in their main lobby. The parking lot is very full if you don't get there early and disabled spots are taken by people without placards/plates so desperate for a place to park. The reception desk personnel just shrug. The furniture in the lobby is so low, it is difficult to get in and out of the seating and clearly has not been cleaned in a long, long time. Veterans are ignored, left to their own knowledge and ingenuity, never invited to activities, they are merely posted on outdated and difficult to see calendars up way too high in hallways and not useful in any way to someone with vision issues. Staff is often not identifiable, not even a readable ID card is consistently required. When staff passes someone looking alone or confused, they just keep walking, not even a simple greeting or simple offer to be of assistance. If you approach someone to ask for help, sometimes they just keep walking. Too busy slurping their Starbucks mostly. The on sight clinic ignores problems, unless it might be communicable. Best to have someone else make appointments at the VA Hospital or private medical care provider, they won't. According to friends, the very tiny store is a rip off (a bottle of junk shampoo is easily triple Walmart price), the food is lousy and often cold and tasteless; the vans for transportation often leave later than stated, and drivers are not safe due to trying to make up time; it is hard to get in for a hair cut; games, videos and books that are donated are sold to the veterans. Cleanliness is spartan; the facility is tidy, not clean. They also tell you spouses can apply, too, and even encourage it. However, if an opening comes up, the spouse must move in with/without the veteran and they can be tossed out with very little notice or assistance to find another facility to take them. If a veteran progresses to needing a higher level of care, even if they offer it, they can be told they have to go elsewhere. If they have to go on inpatient status to the hospital, they may have no place to which they can return. This is NOT their home. They have an extensive appeals process, for which there is NO help; not even the vet centers, VA... can help and say your only choice is to hire a lawyer and if you do that the facility will dig in or retaliate. All that being said, and could say much more, but there would be no point. There is no one you can turn to for help, they are completely independent and have no one to answer to. My husband needs to be there. So we wait.

They call it a campus and not a nursing home. Its a place to "live" and enjoy the golden years if you are a veteran. I am writing this only having seen the pictures on the internet and read reviews from various sources. Everyone who knows of the facility first hand whom I have talked to has nothing but praise for it. I will update this review as I have an appointment to visit the campus on July 28. My father is 89 and a veteran of WWII. He lives with me right now. I applied for his admission because I can not meet his increasing needs. The Veterans Homes of California Yountville from all reports is incredible. Self-contained and town-like. They have their own hospital, pharmacy, post office, tv and radio station, newsletter, theater, gazebo, PX Base store, clubs, library, social and memorial events, dance clases, arts and crafts, auto shop, chapel, dining room...and more. I visited the campus and I am impressed. its rustic with a military feel but very nice. Yountville town is charming and built up now with shops, restaurants and more. I had my wedding reception there 15 years ago. So going there to visit Father will be no problem since I love the area. Its an excellent choice for the veteran.

The swimming pool at the Veterans Home is now redone for your sunning and swimming pleasure. No one can drink wine all day long. You need a nice cool refreshing dip in the pool. Ahhhh. Then proceed to Yountville restaurant of choice. Think of the tattoos you can see on these brave men, and women. Directions: exit at Yountville and follow signs to Veterans Home on opposite side of highway from town.

My father resided at the Veterans Home for over 2 years. He was happy for the most part. He enjoyed the person who shared his room with him and we were fortunate that they got along so well. I think this is what made his time there so comfortable for him. There are also many people that try to get the Vet's involved in extracurricular activities to help keep their minds sharp or at least get them out of their rooms. These people do go above and beyond and should be commended. As for the floor attendants, the Nurses in particular, they would look at us like we were invading their private space when we came to visit and I always wondered what they were hiding. They were pleasant to my mother, but she is sweet and elderly and never asked pertinent questions regarding care issues. If i asked any questions they answered reluctantly, or indirectly. They were never overly friendly or helpful in telling me what was going on with my dad. Unless it was a weekly phone call to say he had a 'sore on his bottom'. Really? Again?!! Get him up, move him, get him moving, do your jobs!! The CNA's seem to be cheerful, but the floors are never adequately staffed for the patients needs. My father was dropped twice during a transfer. I requested after the first transfer that a lift be used but they did NOT heed my request. He was subsequently dropped two weeks following the first drop and expired eight days later in the Queen of the Valley Hospital in Napa from his injury. The Vets Home may work well for those that are mobile, but for those that are not I would suggest that the family be HEAVILY involved. Beware the smarmy in-house Social Service people! They are NOT advocates for the patients - or the families.