Insight Memory Care Choices

Sandra is a kind & knowledgable person. She helped us navigate our way while trying to find a home for my grandmother who had late stage dementia. Sadly, my grandmother passed away before we could move her. Sandra recommended 2 homes that were lovely. I didn’t know that smaller home environments existed for people with dementia. Not only did Sandra give us great options but she helped me understand my grandmothers condition. She put me at ease with the information she shared. Prior to talking to her, I had anxiety about how the future would pan out for my grandmother. She always answered the phone and spent so much time and care to talk me through the process. It’s a really tough thing to go through for the family and Sandra eased the stress and worry. She has invaluable knowledge and I highly recommend her to anyone looking for a quality home for their loved ones.

I highly recommend Sandra Wallace. She really listened to me and quickly figured out what my father needed. She found a home that was built so that residents could walk endlessly in loops without encountering a closed door. This new home caused my father to go from being a «behavior problem» (on 12 strong drugs) to being the «favorite resident» (taken off 11 of the drugs). She has the experience to really be able to understand what your loved one needs, plus she has the knowledge of what is available. I never would have found this home on my own.

I ditto Dick G.‘s review, as he summed up Sandra Wallace to a T! She’s fantastic and has perfect work ethics. She found a fantastic memory care center for my mom and dad. She’s also been great at following up with them. I can’t begin to express how important she’s been in our lives and so very much appreciated! I’m grateful for her services, as she is the best :-)

I needed to find a memory care facility for my mother. I was not looking forward to calling all the facilities in the Bay Area and one by one checking them out to find the best one for my mom. I thought, this is going to take forever. My husband started the search on the internet, found Sandra’s website and gave her a call. He talked to her briefly and then told me about her services, that she can help people narrow down their search because of her knowledge of the many facilities in the area. She had been a director at a memory care facility in Belmont and had experience moving her own mom. I made an appointment to see her. We met and I told her my situation and what I desired in the memory care facility. She immediately recommended a facility and we made an appointment to go for a tour. I loved the place and after a couple of months, moved my mom there. Sandra never pressured me to make a decision, did not bombard me with emails or phone calls. She was very helpful in giving us an idea of what moving day would be like, gave us a ‘packing list’ so we wouldn’t forget anything, and other tips to help make the transition before and during moving day go smoother. She followed up with us later to find out how my mom was doing. It was a very stressful time — when events start to happen and you realize your loved one can no longer live alone. I knew this day would come, and thankfully earlier I had prepared for it (power of attorney, health care directives, etc). It was still a relief to have someone who understood what I was going through, who listened to my concerns, helped answer my questions, reassured me I was making the right decision, and helped me find a place.
If you are having to make the decision to move your loved one to an assisted living or memory care facility, give Sandra a call and at least meet with her and decide for yourself if she is the type of person you can trust and can help you. I personally could not have done it without her. She was terrific.

My relationship with Sandra Wallace in placing my beloved mother in a care facility was the most professional, caring and compassionate, care and guidance that I could ever ask for. My situation was most difficult and rushed with my mothers placement. Sandra was at my beck and call. She is so calming and caring and it comes from the heart. I do not know what I would of done without her expertise care she gave to me and my mother. I have other friends that have used her Placement Services, and they all praise her.
Sandra brought dignity to the end of my mothers life. I will never forget her and I will always recommend anyone that needs help in placing there loved one in a facility.
She is the absolute best in my book !
Sincerely,
Monica Meehan

Sandra Wallace has been the best dementia placement specialist that I have ever encountered and has been extraordinarily helpful in finding a place for my brother, who has complicated issues — a mental disorder mixed in with early stage dementia.
It is not easy to find a fit for a family member with complex issues. I spent a lot of time on the phone trying to find a new place for my brother after he fell at his previous carefacility and broke his leg in January. He then spent a month at a skilled nursing facility and a month at a small board and care facility that did not fit his special needs.
It was then that I was given Sandra’s name as a referral and I feel as if my brother’s and my luck changed for the better. Because he is on medication for his mental disorder, many places are not appropriate for him. Sandra was tireless in her efforts to find a good place for him — a place that both he and I would like, and a place that would be kind and caring and safe for him.
Sandra and I were on the phone constantly. She met my brother, told me the particular questions to ask in my interviewing process of various facilities and went with me so I was not alone. It was important for the facilities to get all the information they could regarding my brother so they could assess if he would be a good fit and they would be able to care for all of his needs.
I am a family therapist, and it has been so wonderful to rely on Sandra to be the professional with the expertise in this very complicated field. It is not easy to place family members and it has brought up so many issues. Sandra has been right there the whole time, supporting me in this process.
We found a place for my brother and he has been there three months and is getting along really well. Sandra calls to check in, to see how things are going, and to answer or advise me in any questions or concerns I might have. Sandra is our guardian angel and I am so profoundly grateful she is in our lives.
Annie C, LMFT

At first, Sandra Wallace will be a professional person. She will be caring, understanding and forthcoming with information to assist you. This was the experience I had with her. My father has Alzheimer’s and needed a facility that would cater to his needs. He needed a level of care that only a few facilities can provide. Due to my fathers psychiatric complications originating from Alzheimer’s, he wasn’t able to sustain residency at any facility. Instead of getting additional assistance from Sandra Wallace, we started getting weekly calls with aggressive tones. She would say, «You need to place him NOW. This is what is best for him. Let’s place him as soon as we can so that he can be in a better place.»
That’s how it started. Little aggressive and rushed like a dirty car salesman, but I understood that she WAS, in fact, in sales, so I let it slide.
Next came the bi-​weekly emails in addition to the phone calls. It was getting a bit much. Especially since the choices we currently had were not sufficient. My father returned home after staying in a couple facilities for a short time. Sandra and I didn’t talk for 2 weeks or so. This is when I started hearing from a family friend that she is considering talking to Adult Protective Services. I was shocked, appalled and disgusted. Apparently, this is solely from the fact that I temporarily stopped pursuing facilities for my father to stay in. Let me remind you that caregivers actually have other things in their lives that they have to do! Less than a week later, a nurse told me that Sandra was also talking to her and asking questions and was interested in pursuing APS. Each of these people took my side and said that calling in APS was an absurd idea. There was no evidence of any questionable behavior on my part. I don’t even scream at my father (at least, not since I was 18!). I just couldn’t believe that she had the audacity to go this far for what seemed to be trying to get a sale.
Long story short, we stopped talking and my father stayed at home with me for 2 months and I simply ignored Sandra’s attempts for communication. I thought that was the end. Soon after, a family friend had located a facility that seemed quite a good fit for my father and I ended up moving my father in. I was upfront about the conditions that my father had and the staff reassured me that my father was in good hands. Within one month of my father being placed at this facility, Sandra, after somehow learning of his new location, walks in and starts talking with the administrator. She tells her of all the previous behavioral issues at prior facilities. Mind you, this is not something that people in her line of work are supposed to bring up. She has no business connection with my father or I anymore and doesn’t even have any business at this facility!!! So to go out of her way and tell personal details was extremely unprofessional.
Apparently, this event of barging in, spooked the administrator to the point that Sandra was no longer welcome at her facility. Administrators at other dementia care facilities have also been notified of her behavior and are cautious of her presence.
Needless to say, don’t get suckered in by her first-​impression charm. She is a dirty car salesman who is out to get your money. If she doesn’t get it, she will pursue you whatever way she can.
Thank you for reading!
BTW…
She gets paid half of first months rent once your loved one is admitted to a facility and is a resident for a month.