University Retirement Community

The facilities are nice, but they force you to purchase an expensive unit for six figures, which you don’t own.
This model doesn’t make sense. You pay a huge amount of money for a condo upfront that you can’t even hand down to your relatives or sell if you are unsatisfied with their service. Basically, you’re locked in, and if you leave, you lose your entire investment.
They also do high pressure sales. They tell you that if you don’t buy right now, it won’t be available later. I don’t like that.
The name is also misleading. It has no association with UCD.
Despite their non-​profit status, the management earns good salaries. It’s clearly all about the money. I would recommend looking elsewhere.

I work here for a private client and this place is amazing. Great staff. Beautiful environment. Great gym… I could go on. My client loves living here.

My folks have lived at URC since 2005. The first time I went there, I was so amazed at how beautiful the place is, how well kept it is, and how friendly and amazing the residents who live there are. However, as time has gone on, things have steadily gone downhill. The problem here is not the grounds or the residents. The problem is the management. You are really just treated as a number. Very impersonal with the families too. I echo Jeannie E’s review about management having closed doors and how really once you are not in independent living anymore, the administration does not pay as much attention to you. The general staff is amazing… the front desk girls, all the staff in the dining room (and the food is fabulous by the way) but the way it is run needs to be evaluated. I think it is pretty safe to say that these «not for profit» places are anything but, and I am sure it takes an exorbitant amount of money to run the place and pay the employees, but the MAIN focus needs to be the residents and not lining their pockets with money. My parents worked hard their whole life and deserve nothing but the best, as I am sure most of the residents there have as well. But able bodied or not, EVERYONE deserves to be treated as an equal. It really is a nice place, considering the alternatives, but management needs to take a crash course in people skills.

The good parts of URC are the lovely residents and nice staff (front desk people, food servers, maintenance people, etc.). Unfortunately the administrative staff lack professionalism and do a poor job of working with the families of the residents. My mother died in skilled nursing and it was a horrific experience. The level of care depended entirely on who you got for the shift. If it was one of the difficult nurses, you knew you had 8 hours of fighting, negotiating to just get basic things like meds, etc. Our roommate would call out for regularly for help and no one would come. I regularly had to go to the head nurse on her behalf. Spending many nights there, a man would scream loudly and continuously all night. I finally asked someone to close his door. I was told NO– it violated a rule. I strongly pushed back and said my mother had a right to rest. The door was closed. It is unfortunate that you have to fight for your basic rights. The medicine is also a quagmire. My mom got a horrible rash and it took almost 24 hours to get some cream. Totally unacceptable. She was on hospice and only had 2 days left to live. URC needs to figure out a better system — 24 hours matters when you are dying. If you don’t have a fiercely strong advocate, you will die without dignity at URC’s skilled nursing. I can only hope I can get my father to move.

The facility and the food here are fantastic. And the profit and loss statement and investment in the foundation fund and the ROI for the umbrella organization are impressive. The downside is really only discovered when someone you love lives there. Coming IN, everyone values their privacy and independence. But the real reason you’re there is to be cared for when you decline and to be in an accessible community. All the managers have closed door offices and hardly ever come out to interact with the staff who provide direct services, much less the disable-​bodied residents. The ones who can still talk and walk and be on the Committees get all the attention from the administration. Assisted Living apartments are isolated behind closed doors with only the dining room downstairs as a community area. Skilled Nursing is clean. And isolated. I can’t remember ever seeing the «director of nursing» in my parents’ room. When someone dies there is not even a good bye note, but boy do they keep collecting rent on that apartment. It is weird that the facility is so much like a Ritz Carlton, but there is way less personal involvement. Every executive in that building needs to open up their walled-​in doors and interact with the people there. There are a few great employees who break through the walls to deliver personal care. But the proof is in the pudding. Even in Assisted Living and the health care center, if you want your loved one looked after you will have to hire private duty folks to pay attention to them. The exception is the Rehab Department. They actually get involved and take initiative to help.

I always told myself that I would retire in a nice retirement home– I am no where near the age of retirement, but I happen to visit this campus… I have to say it was very serene, beautiful and peaceful… just the kind of place I would want to retire in. Lots of events were going on too when I was visiting so for those who want a lot of activities, they can find it there too.
I know a lot of people have been looking around for a retirement community and from what I can tell, this place is reasonably priced compared to the ones in the bay area.

My Grandparents lived here for over 10 years before my Grandmother passed. They lived in the independent cottages until my grandmother became ill, then they moved to semi-​assisted living. My Grandfather always says moving here was one of the best decisions they ever made.
We have gone up to visit quite a bit over the years. When I was going to school at UCDavis I was over there almost every weekend to visit. The food in the dining room is actually quite good. The pools are nice. There are LOTS of events and social groups. My Grandparents really enjoyed this. The location isn’t great in terms of proximity to the bay area, but the college makes the town interesting especially performing arts, music, food, etc.
It is very clean and well kept. Never smells, even in the Alzheimer’s unit. It is rather expensive. But, you get what you pay for.

I’ve looked at retirement communities in the area, and this one was our first choice. The place is beautiful and staff/​management is friendly.

We recently had the opportunity to spend a weekend trying out this community. We’re almost 61 and thinking of our options not too far down the road. There is a great deal to be said for making a move sooner than later when it becomes too difficult, and one can maximize their investment into the community by starting at a younger age. I first heard of the notion of a early move from a resident of the Portland branch of this community who was in his early 60s. I believe more baby boomers will consider this option at a younger age and change the concept of a retirement home as a place for people in their 70s and 80s. We are looking for community for our later years and a place where we can be cared for if needed.
University Retirement home is actively seeking to begin serving a younger population and so solicited our feedback with great interest.
Although most of the people there are currently 70 and above, we noted that they were actively engaged in conversation in the dining room. Our host was an active tennis player in his 80s. Clearly this is a vital, caring community.
We especially enjoyed the indoor pool and the special treatment we received as guests. Troy Martin, the marketing director, deserves 5 stars for his attention to our comments and hospitality.

The infrastructure of this facility is beautiful but the staff and management is lacking. There is little flexibility for residents and very little interaction or help for residents or their families.
If you compare with Covell Gardens, they allow much greater flexibility and seem to have greater concern for the residents.

We moved into URC in January 2010 and have nothing but positive things to say for the facility, residents, staff and programs.
One comment posted in February 2010 said that there is a multi-​year waiting list for skilled nursing and assisted living. It was not true then and it is certainly not true now. There is no waiting list for either, or for independent living. You may have to wait for the specific type of independent living unit desired, but if you are willing to move in now and wait for its availability get ready to call the movers.

The University Retirement Community «URC» provides residential living, assisted living and skilled nursing. This community has a significant entrance fee to their Independent Living Residences which affords its community members with priority access to their assisted living and skilled nursing facilities. There is a waiting list of several years or more to access their assisted living/​skilled nursing facilities which is the a significant benefit of retirement in the exclusive Independent Living Residences.
The facility has no connection to the University of California other than some of the retired faculty and employees reside here.