Opal Home Care

Pros

• The facility is described as a home where love and care are provided to vulnerable elderly residents.
• The staff adhere to health and safety codes to help residents feel comfortable living there.
• The staff communicate with loved ones by providing regular updates on residents' well-being.
• The facility treats residents fairly and shows compassion and understanding toward their needs.
• The facility supports residents with limited finances by offering meals and clothing at no cost.
• People express blessings and note positive experiences with the facility.

Cons

• The manager at Opal Care is described as a tyrant, emotionally volatile, and unprofessional.
• The manager repeatedly texted family members photos of the resident's incontinence, including the resident in the texts.
• The texts were deemed inappropriate and shaming toward a resident who cannot control incontinence.
• The manager defended the texts as "the truth" and implied the family didn't care.
• The manager pressured relatives to pay hundreds of dollars for clothing and undergarments for the resident.
• The manager refused to assist with transportation, instructing relatives to rent a car for the resident.
• The manager is described as lacking compassion toward residents.
• Items belonging to the resident went missing (headphones, iPhone, ATM card) with defensive, unprofessional responses from the manager.
• The manager claimed the missing items weren't in inventory and questioned safeguarding rights based on residency status.
• The facility is described as a dump with unhappy residents, suggesting it should be shut down.

Review

The place described by the families and caregivers presents itself as a true home for vulnerable elders, a setting where love and care are meant to go hand in hand with health and safety standards. According to the accounts, staff strive to keep families informed with updates about how their loved ones are doing, and to treat each resident with fairness and empathy. The facility is portrayed as a place that not only offers care, but also seeks to understand its residents' needs on a human level, aiming to extend warmth and compassion rather than simply meeting clinical requirements. There is a sense that, for many residents, this is a long-term home - some residents have lived there for many years, with mentions of almost two decades in some cases, and the facility is described as periodically cleaning and maintaining the environment to keep it presentable for visitors. The community speaks of providing financial assistance to those who cannot afford care, with indications that meals and basic necessities are made available to those in need, reflecting a mission to support residents who lack resources.

Alongside the aspiration of a loving, supportive home, the narrative also foregrounds serious concerns about management and conduct. A central thread in the accounts is the characterization of the manager as tyrannical and emotionally volatile, described as unprofessional in how she handles interactions with families and residents. In one troubling situation, a family member and their sister have a relative living at the facility who is low-income and disabled, with the relative's only living relative being an adult sibling with dementia in another state. The family's efforts to assist - carrying out errands, providing clothing, and coordinating medications - are met with resistance and defensiveness from the manager. The manager repeatedly sent the sister photographs of incontinence episodes involving the resident, including poopy underwear and wet clothes, and included the resident in the text chains. When the sister expressed that the texts were humiliating and shaming for someone with incontinence, the manager's reply defended the practice as "the truth" and insisted that the family should stay informed because they "care for him." This exchange is presented as emblematic of a broader pattern of uncaring communications and a lack of sensitivity to dignity.

The accounts go on to describe practical and financial strains placed on the family by the facility. The sister and brother claim to have spent hundreds of their own dollars on clothing and undergarments for the resident at the manager's request, following instructions to purchase items the manager said were needed. They recount that a day of medication deliveries and refills - tasks the manager allegedly claimed Opal Care could not handle - was undertaken by the friends outside the facility after the manager's insistence that such errands were not within Opal Care's service. When the family explained their own limitations - no car, a disability, and full-time work - the manager's response offered little compassion and suggested renting a car for the duration of the resident's stay. The tone of this interaction is described as lacking empathy, with the implication that the manager dismissed practical barriers faced by relatives trying to help.

A more disturbing set of concerns centers on missing belongings. The resident's items - a set of three costly personal effects including noise-canceling headphones, a replacement iPhone, and his ATM/credit card - disappeared from the room. The family initially notified the manager and requested an investigation in line with Health and Safety Code requirements, indicating that if the items could not be located, a police report would be necessary. The manager's responses reportedly shifted from denying any inventory to verify to suggesting that the items "weren't in her inventory" and thus could not be verified as if the resident had ever owned them. The manager also suggested that, because the resident had been placed at Opal Care by Kaiser and was not a long-term resident, he was somehow less entitled to protections for his belongings. When the family referenced the resident's status as a legal tenant, and when the narrator identified as a former attorney, the manager accused the narrator of making threats. She reportedly even told the resident that the narrator was accusing her of theft, a claim described as a complete fabrication, and then declared that she would no longer communicate with the family about the resident.

The overall impression from these accounts is a facility with a dual reputation: on one hand, a place that some see as capable of delivering love and basic care, with visible efforts to maintain cleanliness and to update families; on the other hand, a place where management behavior, communication style, and handling of personal belongings and sensitive situations raise serious red flags. The narrative includes a stark declaration - that the facility is "a DUMP" and that prospective families should run away from it. The reviewer emphasizes the abrupt and shocking contrast between their initial, unvetted impression of the facility during a walk-through and the harsh reality they encountered once the resident began living there. The sentiment is reinforced by a vivid depiction of staff appearing to rush to clean during visits, coupled with concerns about whether residents' needs are truly being met beyond surface-level appearances.

Throughout the accounts, there is at least one dissenting note suggesting that there could be positive experiences within the facility, with a closing line that reads "Good experience." However, this lone line is overwhelmed by a cascade of detailed, strongly negative experiences involving the manager's conduct, the treatment of a vulnerable resident, and the mishandling of personal belongings. Taken together, these narratives paint a complex picture of a home that tries to balance compassion with procedural missteps, but where the most troubling episodes involve perceived humiliation, inadequate dignity in communications, and a troubling lack of accountability from leadership.

For anyone considering Opal Care, these reflections underscore the importance of clear communication channels, vigilant oversight, and explicit policies regarding resident dignity, privacy, and protection of personal property. They highlight the potential risks of inconsistent staff conduct and the critical need for families to be able to participate in care planning and decision-making without feeling dismissed or publicly humiliated. Ultimately, the accounts serve as a stark reminder that the quality of life for residents hinges not only on clinical care, but also on the character and responsiveness of the people who manage and staff the facility.

This part of Oakland, California, offers a convenient and diverse array of amenities for seniors looking to live in the area. With several hospitals nearby including Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center and Sutter Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, residents have access to top-notch medical care. Additionally, there are numerous parks such as Mosswood Park and Temescal Regional Park for outdoor recreation. The variety of pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens make accessing medication easy. A range of dining options including Cato's Ale House and Fentons Creamery provide delicious meal choices. Public transportation is also readily available with BART stations like MacArthur and Lake Merritt nearby. Furthermore, there is a selection of cafes like Blue Bottle Coffee for socializing or enjoying a cup of coffee. Overall, this neighborhood provides a welcoming environment for seniors with its mix of healthcare facilities, recreational spaces, dining options, transportation services, and cultural attractions such as the AMC Bay Street 16 theater and places of worship like the Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley located within close proximity.

Hospitals

• Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center (0.2 miles)
• Kaiser OB-GYN (0.3 miles)
• Sutter Alta Bates Summit Medical Center: Summit Camps (0.5 miles)
• Highland Hospital (2.5 miles)

Parks

• Mosswood Park & Recreation Center (0.3 miles)
• Morcom Rose Garden (0.9 miles)
• Temescal Creek Park (1.2 miles)
• Snow Park (1.4 miles)
• Alco Park (1.9 miles)
• Temescal Regional Park (2.1 miles)
• Grove Park (2.1 miles)

Pharmacies

• Kaiser Permanente Pharmacy - Main Building (0.3 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (0.3 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (0.7 miles)
• Walgreens (0.7 miles)
• Blüm Oakland (1.2 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (1.3 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (1.7 miles)

Restaurants

• Cato's Ale House (0.3 miles)
• Dona Tomas (0.3 miles)
• McDonald's (0.5 miles)
• Fentons Creamery (0.5 miles)
• Bakesale Betty (0.7 miles)
• Drake's Dealership (1.1 miles)
• Seawolf (2.3 miles)

Physicians

• Kaiser Permanente Medical Center - Mosswood Building (0.3 miles)
• One Medical (1 miles)
• Sutter Urgent Care: Sutter East Bay Medical Foundation (2.5 miles)
• Berkeley Pediatrics (3.4 miles)
• Kiwi Pediatrics Medical Group (4.3 miles)
• Sutter East Bay Medical Center (5.4 miles)
• Urology: Sutter East Bay Medical Foundation (5.5 miles)

Cafes

• Blue Bottle Coffee (0.4 miles)
• Highwire Coffee Roasters (1.2 miles)
• Bicycle Coffee (2.4 miles)
• Caffe Strada (2.9 miles)
• Hal's Office (4.8 miles)

Transportation

• MacArthur BART Station (0.4 miles)
• Emeryville Amtrak (1.9 miles)
• Lake Merritt BART Station (2.1 miles)
• West Oakland BART Station (2.5 miles)
• 20/21 Bus Stop (3.2 miles)
• Fruitvale BART Station (4.1 miles)
• El Cerrito Plaza BART Station (5.6 miles)

Theaters

• AMC Bay Street 16 (1.8 miles)

Places of Worship

• Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley (6.4 miles)