Lytton Gardens is one of the biggest senior facility in Palo Alto. When I went there, I realized that it is not just big from the outside but also from the inside. What I'm talking about is it's heart, the staffs and the place itself is full of love.

Located in Palo Alto, this skilled nursing facility is easy to get to, although parking can be an issue, since it's close to the university. It's also located next to the assisted living facility with which it's affiliated, which can be convenient for current residents there who need to transition for more care. This is a large facility"”about 150 beds. It feels a little institutional, and there is a lot of activity going on"”nursing interns, family members waiting to have a tour; it's never really quiet during business hours. There are two receptionists, a lot of staff and many activities on the resident floors. It's a little chaotic, but not to the point of being a safety issue. Some residents, however, do complain about the noise. The caregiving staff is semi-friendly. Family members might have to set an appointment with those on staff if they needed to talk with them. The care is competent"”and there is always a waiting list at the place, which can be a drawback for potential residents who need housing in a hurry. Most of the staff members have been there a long time, with little turnover. The food is average; they don't go out of the way to make anything gourmet or especially interesting, although residents are provided with a few choices every day. There are some activities, but most of the residents are not very high functioning, so are not easy to engage. I must mention the elevator, which is horrible and takes forever"”and there is no easy way to get to the stairs, which are not obvious. Medi-Cal is accepted here; private payors are billed about $5,000 to $6,000 monthly. This may be a good fit for hospice patients and people with chronic illnesses; a lot of the residents will spend the rest of their lives there.

I visited Lytton Gardens to donate gifts during the holidays . I could tell that the staff were very invested in the well being of the residents and the environment was basically immaculate, but it was an enormous facility with a tremendous number of residents, many of whom looked very tired and bored. However, I'm not sure this should reflect on the facility, so much as the fact that the population it served, at least in the section that I visited, was not itself particular vigorous.

A number of years ago, I was sent to Lytton Gardens in Palo Alto, California for additional rehabilitation following surgery at nearby Stanford University Hospital. The surgery, while successful, left me quite a bit more debilitated than expected and I went to Lytton Gardens to regain my strength and receive physical therapy. I was only in my mid-forties at the time and I clearly remember being horrified at the thought of being sent to a "nursing home" to recover after my hospital stay. However, I was pleasantly surprised. Lytton Gardens is a lovely facility in the heart of Palo Alto, California, a small affluent city of quiet, tree-lined streets located in the San Francisco Bay Area. Although it has been in existence for over 50 years, the buildings that comprise the facility have been modernized frequently. Despite its old world charm, Lytton Gardens boasts all of the modern amenities, such as televisions in the resident rooms, a sophisticated staff call system, a ""beauty- parlor"" and an on-site podiatrist. Outside there are shaded patios and beautiful flowering gardens that bloom almost year round in Palo Alto's temperate climate. The physical therapy rooms are clean and well-stocked, and I found the therapists to be friendly yet very professional. They pushed me just hard enough to make sure I made the quickest recovery possible without suffering unnecessary fatigue or pain. The rest of the staff was equally as pleasant and very kind. Due to my "tender" age, they even placed me in a room at the very end of the hall so that I would not be disturbed or upset by the "sundowners"- a colloquial expression for elderly patients with dementia who-for unknown reasons-often become very agitated and vocalize quite loudly during the night. My one negative experience, not surprisingly, was the food, which was bland to the point of being virtually inedible. Each day I would look at what I received on my tray and laugh, it bore so little resemblance to what I had ordered. Luckily, Palo Alto is a lively city that caters heavily to the hundreds of Stanford University students and employees who regularly come to the downtown area for a quick lunch or evening meal. It boasts all sorts of restaurants, from French cuisine to "upscale" fast food, so I was never without a tasty "supplement,"Â that had been hand delivered by one of my faithful friends or family. Although I no longer live in California, if I ever again find myself in need of post-operative rehabilitation or an assisted living facility l would not hesitate to return to Lytton Gardens. I highly recommend it to anyone seeking an assisted living or skilled nursing facility.