The Havens at Antelope Valley

I would like to recognize and commend Christine Ellis at the Havens of Antelope Valley for the exceptional care, professionalism, and warmth she has shown our family. From the very first time we met Christine to our most recent interaction more than two years later, she has been an absolute joy to be around. She brings a genuine brightness to the facility, and it is easy to see why she is so successful in her role as Sales Director. Her positive attitude, compassion, and welcoming personality make a lasting impression on everyone she meets. Moving a loved one into an assisted living facility is an emotional and often scary experience. You are placing the care of someone you love into the hands of others, which can be both stressful and overwhelming. From the beginning, Christine provided a level of comfort, confidence, and reassurance that brought our family tremendous peace during an emotionally charged transition for our dad. Throughout our time at the Havens, she has consistently greeted us with a warm smile, kindness, and sincere concern for our family's well-being. Her ability to make people feel valued, heard, and supported is truly remarkable. Christine's dedication and caring nature have made a meaningful difference in our experience, and we are deeply grateful for everything she has done. Thank you, Christine, for always greeting us with your bright smile and positive spirit. Your compassion, professionalism, and commitment to the residents and their families does not go unnoticed. You are a tremendous asset to the Havens of Antelope Valley, and our family sincerely appreciates all that you do. Christine sets an outstanding example of what compassionate service and resident-focused care should look like. Her level of commitment, passion, and genuine concern for residents and their families is exceptional. In many ways, she embodies the values that families hope to see throughout an organization, and I believe her approach serves as a model that others within The Havens management team could benefit from and should be emulating.

Our dad was a resident at The Havens assisted living facility for approximately 2½ years. When he first moved in we were very happy with the staff, the quality of care, meals, and overall value for the level of assistance he required. Unfortunately, the positive experience did not last. Over the last year or so, the quality of care and staff professionalism has declined dramatically. Communication became inconsistent, follow-though on important matters was often lacking, and our confidence in the management, and medical staff steadily eroded. One of our biggest concerns was the implementation of a new fee structure that appeared designed to maximize charges rather than serve residents. Services were broken into multiple billable items, creating what felt like a constant stream of additional fees and it seemed as though the residents were being charged multiple times for essentially the same services. Even more troubling were repeated issues involving our dad's medical care/needs. On multiple occasions, we were given information by either the management or medical staff that proved to be inaccurate regarding medical care and services that were suppose to have been provided, however were not completed. As family members entrusting a loved one's well-being to a facility, this was unacceptable and deeply concerning. After witnessing the continued decline in care, accountability, and transparency, we ultimately made the decision to remove our dad from The Havens. What began as a place we felt comfortable in recommending became a place where we no longer felt confident that our dad was receiving the level of care and he deserved and was paying for. Based on our personal experience, we would strongly encourage anyone to carefully evaluate this facility's care standards, medical oversight, and billing practices before placing a loved one here.

I am very pleased with the care and support provided at this assisted living community. The staff are attentive, compassionate, and always willing to go the extra mile to ensure residents feel safe, comfortable, and respected. Communication with families is consistent and reassuring, which gives great peace of mind.

My 98-yr old Mom has been a resident of the Havens since Sept 24. She first lived in a beautiful apartment in the Assisted Living, which she loved, and then after a few months moved to the Memory Care due to worsening dementia. Dementia is an awful, constantly changing and progressive disease, and I cannot express my gratitude for the care she has received in the Havens memory care over the last year. The most important factor for me is the incredible kindness, patience, and love that is shown by the staff to her everyday, especially the wonderful caregivers and nurses. I spend a lot of time visiting several times per week, and see firsthand how the staff operates. Last week, I was resting in her room while she slept, and they didn't know I was there. A caregiver came in every 15 minutes or so just to check on her. They often stroke her hair, tell her they love her, help her get dressed pretty, the kinds of personal touch and attention that dementia patients crave and would probably not get at other facilities. ALL the caregivers they hire here are very dedicated, some with years of experience and some young but very wise beyond their years. They are obviously very knowledgeable about dementia care and have helped me a lot by talking to them and observing how they handle situations. I would like to mention all the names but am afraid I would forget someone. The nurses are also very proactive and check in on the patients several times per day, and the med techs help me keep track of medication side effects and information I need to work with her primary care doctor. They have also arranged some outside care agencies to help with some of the medical and skilled nursing tasks. Of course there are always minor communications or other issues that come up, but the staff are always willing to work with you and fix things quickly. Some families rarely visit, I know it is difficult with these types of patients. However, I have found it rewarding to hang out there for meals and activities, and am growing quite fond of this little group and even more in awe of how hard the caregivers have to work (think nursery school/"herding cats"/"it's always something"). The caregivers have what we pilots call "good situational awareness" for all the things going on that require their attention. For some of the google commenters, I would say that unfortunately, Assisted Living is not the right arrangement for someone with dementia. They need to be in memory care where the facility is set up to provide the security and level of care that they need. The staff also take the Memory Care residents (that are able) to the music and holiday activities over in the main Assisted Living area, and the activity leaders have almost constant activities such as crafts, word games, singing, etc. designed for memory patients. My Mom enjoyed many of these in her first months, but is no longer able to take part as much, but the higher-functioning residents really enjoy the activities and the frequent musical guests. I highly recommend the Havens memory care for the expert and compassionate care they provide!