I love Friends House, and especially love their residents. So many interesting, engaged, socially conscious elders. My mother is in skilled nursing, and I have found the care to be excellent, the workers compassionate and respectful. I live very far away, and look forward to my visits as I always make some new friends. After a recent visit, my daughter said she felt as if she'd gained many "grandparents" there :) I'm a musician I always try to find a moment to share in that way when I'm there, as that's my way of connecting. The sense of community between the workers and residents alike is evident. I'm very grateful to say that my mother is at home there. The grounds are beautiful, I love to take my mom out for a stroll to enjoy the landscaping, as well as the residents' own individual gardens. It's a happy place. read more

My father in law was a generally pleased occupant. I visited he and his wife many times in their last 3-5 years or so. I shared many meals with them and although they were pleased, I was very disappointed by the quality of the food--really horrible. Also, the limitations on the space allowed are profound. No one person allowed to live in a 2-bedroom apt, no matter their willingness or ability to pay. I have heard good things about their newer assisted living premises, but reviews do not seem to support that impression. I am an old Quaker and AFSC employer and am way disappointed by the above concerns. read more

My mother lived at Friends House in the assisted living building until she passed in 2020. Although my mom enjoyed the social activities available to her in the beginning of her stay, she was sadly neglected more and more as she grew more dependent. The staff, for the most part, was insensitive to her needs (often short with her) and one aide grabbed her and caused bruises on her arm. If your parent or loved one is living here be aware and involved with their care (daily visits). Exception...Miguel is a sweetheart and is the one bright light of care and compassion! I want to add that, although we had problems with some staff and admin.... the people who live here are wonderful and the activities are plentiful!!! read more

My mother has lived at Friends House for about 14 years now. It is lovely Quaker founded, and the people living there are diverse and interesting. Mom lived in her own small apartment for years, and enjoyed her small garden and the community of people helping each other with so many things. When she became disabled and needing Skilled Nursing her move into the full care facility was right there for her, so she could be still in the community that she had connected with so well. She has now lived in the Skilled Nursing wing for 3 years, and is still very happy and connected, still is involved in the community activities, still can get out, in her motorized wheelchair, to go around the lovely grounds and meet with her friends, and watch the weekly movie; almost everything she did before becoming so severely disabled. She raves about the care she is now given, and appreciates the workers, both management and medical and aides. Sometimes she does have to wait a bit when she pushes her button to call a CNA, but she knows that is because there is someone with higher need than her at that moment. A bit of patience on her part and the CNA always get to her. Friends House has been a wonderful place and community for my mom to live in and have a full community for the last years of her life. Our memories of this place and of her friends will forever be in our hears. (She is still living there happily, I just get nostalgic when looking forward and backward in time....) read more

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My parents moved into Friends late last year and it has been a wonderful experience. The communication was clear, they were given some flexibility on their unit selection, they had the place remodeled, and they are thrilled. They have a lovely, relaxing patio that opens onto a shared courtyard, which makes meeting new people really easy. They have felt welcomed by all the residents, and they are raving about all their new friends. There are so many activities (athletic, intellectual, artistic, etc.) that it's hard to free time with me! They're busier in retirement than they ever were before and loving every minute. read more

Friends House - The kitchen in my parent's unit. - Retirement Homes Near Me - Santa Rosa, California

My aunt has lived here for over a decade and loves the place. Interesting residents, lots of interesting activities and a great location.

I really found all the staff very friendly and helpful .the rehab staff worked to help me walk again I can't thank them enough. l WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND THEM . Janlce read more

My husband recently was in Friend's House for rehab after a hospital stay. We were very pleased with the kind and concerned staff and their care and concern for the patients. It is in a lovely setting and it is possible for patients to go outside and enjoy nature, a real plus. I would recommend Friend's house to anyone seeking a good environment for their loved ones. read more

A friend ended up here for several months in the rehab/skilled nursing facility. I was not impressed. If you have special needs, they will not be answered well, if at all. It was clear from the start that staff convenience & their previous schedule was more important than patients' needs. The facility is noisy, with too many people coming & going, talking in loud voices. The facility is not scent-free even though they claim to be. The CNA staff was truly exceptional, for the most part; they were the ones who paid close attention to what my friend needed and tried to accommodate the needs. I especially want to commend Juddie, Bertha, Lucia, Olivia; they were gentle and supportive over and over. The therapy folks were awesome too. Unfortunately, the facility seemed chronically under-staffed, especially on the weekends. I found it interesting that nearly all the CNAs were people of color and immigrants. Made me wonder what will happen if this presidential administration continues with its deportation on steroids campaign. I can't say the same for the director of nursing. She was disrespectful, arrogant, and dismissive towards my friend and the family. She couldn't even be bothered to address my friend by her name. When the family tried to explain what & why my friend's needs were important, the director of nursing made them "wrong" and would not accept responsibility for her behavior. She made fun of the patient's needs, in front of her, with two aides, who laughed about those needs. Ironic coming from a woman with her own special needs, being confined to a wheelchair herself. Room alarms were very loud and often went unanswered for up to 45 minutes, while staff chatted at the nurses station. The food was atrocious- mainly processed food and sugary stuff. I don't know how anyone can heal eating unhealthy food. The kitchen staff was open, at first, to making food that my friend could eat, but gave up after awhile and we had to start bringing in food ourselves. I know that it's true that most hospitals seldom use organic produce and foods; Friends House is no exception. Again, how can people heal when they are eating chemical filled, pesticide laden food? Communication was a challenge throughout. We would ask for things and put it in writing on the wall of my friend's room, which was ignored a lot of the time. My friend had roommates part of the time and nearly all of them had their TVs on constantly, which affected my friend negatively because of her brain damage. One nurse actually told us that patients were entitled to their TVs as if it was an important part of their treatment. We pushed for headphones for the roommates; that didn't happen until 3/4 of the way into my friend's stay there. Turned out they had had them for a couple of years. The windows are hardly ever left open for fresh air and the residents are not encouraged to go outside, even though there are outdoor spaces where wheelchairs and walkers were accommodated. The whole place often smelled like feces and urine with an overlay of harsh chemicals. I would never want any of my loved ones to have to go there. In comparison to the skilled nursing facility where my mother was, which was a 10 in every way possible, this place is a two. read more

I cannot tell you how disappointed we were with Friends House. In years past we had heard wonderful things about it so when our friend was able to be transferred there from Memorial Hospital two weeks ago, we had high expectations. We visited her (she is 94 and an energetic and charming woman) the day after she checked in. Disaster! She had not been given any of her meds or oxygen as directed by her doctor. Because of her age we were terribly concerned but could find no one to help us. She checked out as soon as she could, needless to say. We learned that Friends had been sold to a large corporation and it certainly isn't the same Friends House we had heard good things about before. read more

I have known of Friends House for many years because I am a Quaker. It is not what it used to be. It is now run by a corporation called Pacific Retirement Services. The Skilled Nursing Facility does not run well at all. My mother stayed here and the Director of Nursing did not get to know our family. She didn't come to the meetings to talk about my mother's care (and it is a very small facility so I'm sure she had the time). Also, the Director of the entire community doesn't seem to be someone that cares about the elderly, he seems to only care about money. It is a Quaker run facility that is now run by a corporation. read more

We had a very good experience at Friends House with my relative who stayed for a short time before he was discharged home. There were small hick ups, especially at the beginning but the staff seemed to take care of those issues quickly... other than that, everything went just fine. I can't compare this place to the others in the area since we have not had any experience with the other locations but if we needed to, we wouldn't mind using Friends House again. read more

As a gerontologist and as a family member of someone living at Friends House, I only have positive reviews of the community. I was originally invited to give a guest talk on age-friendly communities and I was taken at how engaged the residents were and how interested they were in actively shaping their own environment. I was welcomed and embraced during my visit and have since returned to discuss future challenges and opportunities of the community with a group of the residents. One of the great things about my visits is the learning I have done while there; from understanding the initial concepts that drove the community's design to long-range planning of service provisions and development. It is valuable to have such engaged residents. On the personal side, I am so happy that my grandmother has found a place that she can call home, including new friendships and a supportive community. I have even visited Friends House when she was away traveling and had a very nice stay. More than anything, I am struck by the sense of community that exists and the ability to meet new people who seem to care about each other. I'm so grateful that community was spared during the fires last year. read more

My grandmother lived at Friends House for 5+ years. She always received excellent care. They were patient with her dementia and we felt confident that her needs were being met with kindness and skill. read more

I spent three months in the Health Care Unit last year, for therapy; and returned 12/8/13, to be monitored for another condition. I had not been in a long-term facility before, but had heard that FriendsHouse was "the best in town". Except for minor oversights and inconveniences, I can't fault the care I have received here. The therapists and nurses are highly professional, and the aides, housekeeping and maintenance people are attentive and helpful. I don't understand why Yelp recommended a review by a family member, largely criticizing the FH management -- but brushed off one that is closer to my own experience. I would give the FH HCU a 90/95% rating, because I have only some acute care facilities to compare it with. I'm giving it a full five stars here, because four (80%) is too few. read more

Words cannot describe the care my mother was given at "Friend's House". I would highly recommend this facility.....great staff, clean, good food and superior rehab program. If you need to be in this type of home, I recommend this one read more

My Father was in Friends House a little over a year ago. He was sent there after being hospitalized because he was weak after a short illness in the hospital and needed to go to a rehab facility to get his strength up to be able to go home. I went to visit him the first day and I found him in bed, when I asked why he wasn't sitting up in a chair they informed me my Dad asked to be in bed. I said well he is here to get his strength back and I don't believe lying in bed is going to help. I said to my Dad "let's go for a walk" they informed me I could not take him for a walk in the hallway, that they had to. So they got him up and walked him, let's just say it wasn't worth getting him up for. They did not have my Dad's correct meds and they also had him on a wrong diet. They said they had to thicken his liquids because he had issues with swallowing, never before did he ever have issues. Took them forever to clear it up. My fathers Dr., Dr. Madeline is an owner in this facility, and I have as much faith in him as I do the house. We had to transfer my father out of this facility as well. If we didn't he may never have been able to come home. I would not recommend this place at all. read more