Seal Beach Health and Rehabilitation Center

I stopped by the facility to visit a family member on Thursday.
Everyone was extremely pleasant, especially Alex who gave me further information about the discharge process and my options after the rehab.

My mother is in here right now and I am not very impressed at all. It seems like a zoo in here. Hopefully, next time she needs rehab, we will do our homework and check out the place before we just end up there. My mother says that she rings the button and nobody comes for over a half of an hour. I have been there to see that this is true. It is sad that you don’t feel confident with this place and have to go and check up to make sure everything is going well with your loved one.

My wonderful father in law is there.
They had a State Inspection and passed.
Prior to the 10 day inspection, the staff were on their toes. Friendly, response to patients needs were pretty quick. Lots of people working.
Now after the inspection is over, it seems very noticeable that they are not staffed all the time. Often have to wait 15 – 30 mins. sometimes longer to get someone in to help my father in law. The maintenance seems to take forever sometimes. My father in law and his roommates hit the nurses call button and sometimes it takes again 15– 30 mins. for response. Their light was out for 4 days on the outside of their room for anyone to notice someone needed help. We do have a hand full that are excellent but they are not there all the time.
All we want is for my father in law and all patients to have the care they need when needed. It is sad to watch people often suffer waiting for a response from a staff member when they need someone. Often many staff members are standing around talking and laughing with other
staff members instead of getting to someone in need.
Everyone should be ready for an inspection everyday and treat each day as that. Don’t let your guard down.
Thank you
Concerned Mother in law and family

Five days in and it just gets BETTER! My aunt looks really good, and her spirits are up, due I’m sure to the excellent treatment she is getting at this facility. She reports the staff treat her gently when helping her move, are quick to help her when she presses her call button, and her room is very, very clean and smells good. In addition to needing help to do every physical thing, her vision is impaired so she needs help even dialing the phone, and they are right there to help her (doesn’t seem like a big deal unless you are the one staying there and can’t call out). The whole place smells good! Big windows, wide hallways, and the employees are always smiling. This place is so, so good.

My Aunt stays here, and I am the only one able to visit regularly. I have watched her, and before her my grandfather, bounce around from home to home for a while and I have to say that this place is the best one I’ve seen. My aunt owns a home in Leisure World and has been going from different convalescent homes to different hopitals and back for over 6 months now. This place is great because it is close to her home.
5 stars for the employees: Tanner (the receptionist) is amazing, he’s always friendly and knows most of the occupants by name. Andres (lvn) is another one I want to mention by name. He always smiles and talks to the occupants like they are people, not just old invalids. He answers all my questions and keeps me informed. Jenna, Robyn, Hazel, and all the other physical therapists are amazing. They hold my aunt accountable and make her want to do better.
5 stars for the actual site: Gardens. Gardens EVERYWHERE!!! This place is beautiful and large. One of the things I have to do with my aunt is make sure she gets sunlight and fresh air and while the back isn’t as nice the front and the sides and the spaces that the residents see regularly are all gorgeous. Flowers and bushes and outside the dining room is a little waterfall that is just beautiful. The rooms are nice and spacious. Flat screen TV, cable, and closets space are all wonderful additions. I love the fact that they get their own wheel chairs for the duration of their stay.
5 stars for the physical therapy area: It’s called Easy Street and wow. They have a little mock grocery store, a stoop with steps and a door that needs to be opened/​unlocked, a garage with a car for them to practice getting in and out of. A mock golf area and so much more. I walked in on another patients pt and she was hitting a ball back to one of the therapists. They give them the band’s to use in their beds so they can do more excercises if they feel up to it. This is truly wonderful.
If I could give them more than 5 stars I would. No place is perfect but if you have to go to a convalescent home than I suggest this one. No chemical smells. The food is good. The people are nice and helpful. It’s the best home I’ve seen and I have seen quite a few of them.

As, MediCARE web site affirms, the food at this facility is of poor quality, and often sickens my mother. She often has to go to the ER due to this. The care and nursing staff are caring, compassionate and competent, but the administrators like Elizabeth, director, LOL, social services is elitist, evasive and unprofessional.
I have taken some concerns to her and her staff and NO ONE has returned my calls.
Due to this, I will be reporting her and the elitist administrators to MediCARE. MediCAL and ombudsman.
Joann and Taylor are for more capable of trouble shooting than the inept administrators. I have encouraged them to apply at Universal care or other health plan. It is a health plan that treats their patients and employees well.

My Mom is a treasure to me. We searched for a place that would care for her as we would. Out of many choices we feel Seal Beach Rehabilitation Center is a gem. These are people with hearts and truly care about their patients. Yes it’s an older facility but with that comes large rooms with big windows, 4 outside areas with large trees. There is an activity center, a hub that they congregate to with a large TV. George is part of the activity staff that sings and plays guitar as well as engaging with the seniors. An alternate menu is always available for those who don’t like the meal choice that they’ve selected. We have come to the facility everyday for the past month, if there was neglect, slacking attitudes, cleaning issues we would know it. The staff is terrific and we couldn’t be happier. The building is just a shell, it’s the people inside that makes the difference.
Thank you station 3 for taking the best care of my Mom! You are the most loving and caring staff and I couldn’t be happier! I appreciate everyday that I made such a great decision of choosing your care facility.

I encourage you to be an active participant in looking for a facility when a family member is discharged to a «Rehabilitation: My mother was discharged from the hospital to a «Rehabilitation Center». I had a few choices and quickly went on the internet and started making phone calls. In just a few phone calls I realized that I must go canvass these places because the rating isn’t matching up with my experiences in researching on the phone.
While I agree that Seal Beach Healthcare and Rehab center was the most organized, cleanest, and well staffed of what I saw and what was available according to my mother’s insurance plan… once she was placed there it was a whole different issue.
I spoke with the case manager who was very helpful and very knowledgeable about the facility and she even showed me the physical therapy room and the room where my mother would be placed and how she would have a phone available, and a t.v., etc.
I assured my mother that this was a place that if the tables were turned, she would be okay with placing me there should the need arise. My mom was satisfied with my recommendation and said okay she would go there.
Once she was there, it was a whole different experience… and not a good one. My mom was not in the room I was shown, she did not have a phone, and nothing was explained to her. She did not receive her medicine on her regular schedule… and the list goes on from there.
I had to go to the facility and talk to the case manager who was very apologetic of course but nevertheless it was upsetting to me not to have the things that were discussed and very upsetting to my mother who felt like she was transported like a thief in the night.
My mom finally got a phone but you could only dial within the hospital. She only could get a shower on the designated day (2 times a week) There were many times when her nurse’s call button did not work which frustrated her more and caused her feel like she was all alone there.
In good conscience I do not recommend this facility and there is a reason for the «poor» rating as evidenced from my experience.

Should not even give it 1 star. My mother had a urinery tract infection and colon infection They would throw a tray of food down and she couldn’t even feed herself yet not one fed her. they say the have cameras but not in the rooms, so they could be abusing your loved one. Someone stole my mothers ring off her finger while they supposedly bathed her. She could not remember who did it and the facility was no
help. They had nerve to send us a bill for $ 6,900.00. Really no cameras in the rooms but in the hall. The doctor was a quack and they gave my mother laxatives which she didn’t need and then complained that she had loose bowle movements
She was there from July to December and they were supposedly getting ready for
her to go home. She was in and out of the hospitals with infections. Finally we brought her home in hospice care which was wonderful and she passed away five days later. They are crooks and thieves.

Staff is wonderful here, has nothing to do with the ONE star! The doctor that shouldn’t even GET a star goes as follows:
If your loved one is under DR. JARED PIETY care in one of his hospitals, forget about EVER speaking to or seeing this guy. I spoke to him ONE time, after repeated requests for updates on my Mother only to get YELLED at, YES. YELLED at, as to why was I calling him. (I was given his pager #) Complete jerk. My Mom has been under his care for a year now and he has NEVER called me ONCE, after SEVERAL requests to do so. He keeps bouncing her around to different hospitals and doesn’t contact the family to let them know or give any sort of update. HORRIBLE person. Doesn’t deserve ONE star. There is more, but I MAY just throw up having to tell the stories again and again. OH and my Mother has been under his care for just about a year now. After repeatedly asking for another doctor.
Now, I’m reading posts how he smells of alcohol when he does his rounds etc. Man, would I love to get this guy into a room and give him a lashing. What a piece of trash. Probably got in by Nepotism, which is the worst of the worst.
Avoid this guy like the plague.

The last month of her life, my mother bounced from Country Villa to the hospital. She had two stays at this place, each stay lasting approximately a week.
The staff here were courteous and respectful that I saw, and my mom had minimal complaints. It seems like the people prepping and/​or serving the meals need to be reminded if your loved one has special dietary needs though. My mom was lactose intolerant, and a few times she was brought cow’s milk or served something with cow’s cheese on it.
The morale of her fellow patients seem relatively high. The ones that are able to roll around in wheelchairs seemed to be able to go wherever and socialize with others, while the ones confined to beds seemed cheery enough, if their condition allowed it.
This facility has Parakeets and a Cockatiel to sing and delight the patients (though I personally don’t like cages for anyone) and a Parrot that seemed to be there occasionally. Why they have birds, who are some of the noisiest and messiest animals, in a facility like this, I don’t know. However, the folks staying there appeared to enjoy them.
This place also allowed us to bring in our leashed Chihuahua to visit Mom, as long as she stayed on her leash. Just Holly being able to visit my mom brightened her day.
A few notes: The call buttons here are corded to the wall, so make sure your loved one can reach it whenever you visit. If they drop it, it might swing out of their reach. Also, if you visit after 6:00 p.m. you have to use an alternate entrance, noted on the door of their main entrance.
Overall, this is a pretty good place from my and my family’s experience. My mom was happy enough to return here after her first stint, and she was a huge critic of care.
To the staff: Thank you for caring for my Mom in her last weeks; it is appreciated, and your helping her maintain her dignity meant a lot.

This follows on the heels of the updated review of Lakewood Regional Medical Center, since my mother has been transferred to Country Villa in Seal Beach for the rehabilitation phase of her treatment, after getting knee replacement surgery.
I’m very glad that my mother decided on this facility after her nightmarish experience at Woodruff Convalescent in Bellflower. When I first visited her this past Monday, I was impressed how this place didn’t have any nursing home «aroma» and that the general environment and facility itself were SO much nicer and pleasant compared to Woodruff Convalescent. (See separate review on Woodruff Convalescent.)
The staff here are very nice and caring. The food they feed to the residents/​patients is actually quite decent, according to my mother. This facility also holds different kinds of activities onsite, such as Bingo and movie nights.
My mother’s bed is next to a window that faces a courtyard with a couple of picnic tables with umbrellas. There is a tree next to the window as well and I was told by my mother that she occasionally sees a squirrel going up and down the tree. About the only complaint my mother has is that the restroom is shared with the patient in the room next door, so it’s not completely private.
According to my mother, the staff have been treating her very well, and that she gets to participate in her physical therapy on a daily basis. She actually enjoys staying here, so that really eases my mind a lot. :-)

Soon after you or your loved one checks in here, go directly to a funeral home and pick out a casket, headstone, and plot. You will need to after a few days of this place.

Well my mom came home from here. Several weeks later my Father had a stroke and I placed him here for rehab etc.
They have 3 sections here. Stations 1 – 3 one being for people that they judge will rotate home rapidly. And 3 being for the most serious cases. My dad was on station 3. Care there is pretty good. But you must be involved with meds, doctors visits and letting them know that you are involved on a regular basis. Because for your loved one that cannot speak for themselves they are the ones to suffer the most neglect and not on purpose by the caregivers. E.g.: if you don’t tell them to take him to the dining room to eat… then they will continue to get meals in there room and miss the mental stimulation /​socializing that they get in the dining room. They will always take the ezier route in most cases etc. I down graded my rating of Country Villa slightly because I think for the money we were paying per day $ 200.00 that the care in station 3 could of been 1 step better. It was better for my mom because she could communicate for herself where my father could not.

Four stars simply due to the rehab section of this facility. It has a mock grocery store, resident porch with a few stairs and front door, a small car inside the room to exercise getting in and out of a car, mock ATM, kitchen and living room along with the standard exercise equipment. As with any human enterprise some of the staff is lousy but most are pretty helpful. None of these places are enjoyable and watching a family member suffer the affects of an aggressive cancer is never fun.
My Father’s arm was swelling up to the point where there was no discernible pores or wrinkles left and the nurses came and went taking vitals and administering medications. Not much concern for his arm and the doctor came and went once or twice a week to ask a few questions but didn’t do much else. If you’re in a car accident for rehab, great. If you’re terminally ill or old, then this is where you wait to die.

My 93 year old, diabetic Grandma was transferred here after a minor back procedure for physical therapy. She was transferred on Monday and on Wednesday we got a call at 12.00pm that her blood sugar was 415! They were supposed to call the Dr. because they did not have the orders to give her insulin. When I went at 6.00pm she still had not seen a Dr. and they said he would not be there until the next day. She looked like she was lying in her death bed. We had her transferred back to the hospital where they discovered a horrible UTI which I am sure resulted from inproper care and less than 24 hours later she was up and walking. This place should be shut down — I am convinced that my Grandma would not have surrvived another week there.

Interesting when I read Erik B’s review. My father in law was transferred here after a stay in the hospital. After 2 weeks in here, he had a urinary tract infection and digestive infection, which reveled itself by low white blood cell count. They tried to say the infection was contagious and caused by the sick people there. He had to be transferred to the ER b/​c he was so sick. The ER said his digestive infection was from being given the wrong antibiotics. After several weeks in the hospital, he has now been transferred back to the Country Villa to ‘rehab’! The sooner we can get him out of this place, the better. It is full of folks collecting a paycheck and the doctors, quacks. You’ll get a different story on health updates depending on who you talk to b/​c they seldom look at the chart when you ask for updates. The rehab center contains literally one treadmill/​walk and one very old (looks like it’s from the 70s) home gym. Oh, and did I mention they will leave your loved one on a catheter their entire stay and try to send them home with it? This place is a mess and should be shut down. AVOID IF YOUR INSURANCE GIVES YOU A CHOICE!

I wouldn’t send a rabid pit bull to this place. Disorganized to the point of dangerous and abusive. Every week the social worker came in to discharge me before my recovery was over. Tried to talk me into a walker, wheelchair and physical therapy even though it was not relevent to my condition. Staff always trying to short me on pain pills. When I was to be sent home I asked who will removed my stitches. The head nurse asked what happened to me. She never looked at my chart. Staff lied about bowel movements. Food was awful. Lost 8 pounds in two weeks when I should ahve been getting stronger. Some food looked like vomit. Except for mother’s day when they put on a big front for visitors with decent food. Only send someone there when you want them to die.

Do not subject yourself to the misery of having your loved one stay here under any circumstance. My Mother was here for a full month of sidestepping, confusion and outright lying by the entire staff of this place.
Whether it is called for or not, your parent or family member will be here for the full time their insurance will pay (and probably more). If your experience is like ours, your family member’s health will decline during their stay here from the staff & «doctors’» very poor and ill advised care planning. («Doctors» is in quotes because the one who saw my Mom here was a cardboard cutout Doc who only works mornings a couple of days per week.) Over our whole family’s vehement protest, not to mention my Mothers’, these idiots put her on a fluid restriction after she had required IV hydration for months. My poor dear Mother wound up with a urinary tract infection, a bowel obstruction, a stay in the ER, etc., etc.
To say they are incompetent would be paying them a HUGE compliment. They are much more WILLFULLY DESTRUCTIVE of your loved one’s health, chance of rehabilitation, mental state, comfort, emotional health, etc.
BTW, this joint is a member in the equally horrible St Mary’s IPA, which is one of the co-​conspirators that keeps these crooks in business.
Avoid like the PLAGUE.