Golden West Management Response to Concerned Neighbor:

We are very concerned about allegations made in this review.

1. People do pass away here. For many, this is the best possible situation to be able to die in their own home.

2. We're sorry you think the staff is "atrocious" we do our very best to be caring, responsible and responsive to all of our residents.

3. Emergency personnel are here as needed. We are not a medical community, and the best possible solution for someone in distress is to get them assessed by professionals.

4. We have not "booted" anyone in our parking lot. The adjacent student housing does boot, and it is clearly marked.

5. We welcome any outside agency to review our building and the welfare of our residents.

Please contact us directly if you have further inquiries.

I have lived next to the Golden West retirement home for over two years now. I honestly am concerned about the well being of the residents at this establishment. The first day I moved in a saw someone's dead body being taken out, the ambulance is here multiple times a day, and the staff is atrocious. Now, as a retirement facility it is normal for people of an older age to have more health concerns but the amount here is above and beyond anything I have ever seen. I see a firetruck and ambulance in front of the building more often than I don't. I watch the kitchen staff sit outside checking out all the students that walk by while they smoke cigarette after cigarette. The parking is terrible and I see lots of people get booted.

One time, I saw a resident sitting in the middle of the sidewalk for a good 30 minutes. It was obvious she was having a hard time getting back to the towers. I had a broken leg at the time so I could not personally help her. I called the staff to ask if they could go out and check on her to make sure she was ok. I was appalled at the response I got. The man acted as if I had asked him to drive to Denver to pick someone up. The resident was not far from the front door. The man I spoke with on the phone actually hung up on me, and then I not once saw anyone check on this woman. I contacted the director to send in a complaint and it has been over a week and still I have gotten no response. My next step will be contacting FPWA (Elderly Welfare) and having them make sure they are not as negligent as I suspect.

Either way, I would in no way suggest having your loved ones move to this facility. There are plenty of Boulder choices, but sadly Golden West is not one of them.

I have lived at Golden West Senior Residence for two years. Although there is a caring staff and wonderful programs, I enjoy most the Community here. When someone moves into Golden West they are family.

I was a patient of this place 9 years ago. As a result of the poor care the "on staff " doctor gave me for my condition (and not wanting to listen to family members) I was placed on so many narcotics that I went into renal failure. I was paralyzed from the neck down and could not feed or drink on my own. When I asked for a drink of water a nurse on staff brought a glass of water placed it on the night stand and left the room closing the door so she wouldn't have to help me if I called out. They had 2 great CNA's on staff unfortunately that is the extent of the good staff this place employes. Place a loved one here only if you want them DEAD in less than 3 mos. It took them less than 6 weeks to put me into kidney failure and had one of their CNA's not called the hospital I would be dead today instead of warning others.

My mother was in independent living for 2 years and assisted living after that. We were thrilled with the loving atmosphere. The staff couldn't have been kinder or more considerate. When she fell and broke her arm and needed a nursing home, we were very sad that she had to move. The accommodations (scholarships, Medicaid rate, etc.) were amazing for low income people. There is a Medically Based Fitness room with individually designed exercise programs, and many daily activities. What a blessing we found Golden West when we did.

Management is unwilling to work with people with special dietary needs. My wife has Celiac's disease & we were assured that they would provide dietary needs. Not so!