Valiente Senior Living

I completed a tour of Valiente Senior Living and Memory Care. It's kind of all wrapped up in one big ball and an all-in-one place. It was very clean and there was no odor. The administrator is a very nice man and seems to be very into his job of making sure that the clients have exactly what they need. I was impressed by that but I don't think that we will end up there for two reasons. Number one, it's quite a bit farther away from our home than I thought it was going to be. It's a 40-minute drive and I can't do that every day of the week. Number two, while it was lovely and had everything that I love, it was quite expensive and beyond my budget. It seemed the staff was lovely and the administrator was super nice. They had their dog in there too and all the clients were in love with the dog. It was very nice but as I said, the distance and the cost were too much for me. I love the tour. I thought the tour was great and I think the place is great. It's really a nice setting, kind of rurally, with lots of trees and living spaces outside as well as inside. I was there for an hour and everybody was on their best behavior. I expect that if you're in there, you will enjoy it. All their clients were happy, clean, and well-fed. I think that the manager was great. I think he had great ideas, he is really determined to give his clients the very best, and he actually cares about these people. My parents have passed, but they were both in a nursing home, and I would have done anything to get them into Valiente Senior Living and Memory Care. It is much better and so much nicer. My parents' nursing home was horrifying so it was really nice to see that there actually could be a better situation than that. The big thing is that they also only have 16 beds so it's like a huge family but it's not 300 people so it's wonderful. I think that a small way to go is just the way to go. It really is more individualized care. You get to know your clients better than you would when there are 300 of them. The administrator told me that the people who were coming there actually stayed. Their family isn't like, "Oh my God, get him out of there". They appreciate it and enjoy it. They have a lot of involvement with the families too. They have many activities where they would have 70 or 80 people there. They get all the family members and have dinners and celebrations. I guess if they are willing to participate, they must love how their loved ones are doing. I didn't eat there but from what the administrator told me, the clients are getting healthy meals. He said they buy all their food at HEB so there's no frozen pizza, frozen burrito, or any crappy kind of fast food thrown at them. A cook was there cooking homemade, vegetable soup when I got there and it smelled really good so I think they're eating very well. The smell is also super important to me, and it smelled like my own house so it was great. It was a little scuffed up, but everybody's house had little spots on the wall too. The wear and tear is a real thing and they got a lot of people in that house but it was still nice. I would say it's certainly not this beautiful Homes and Gardens cover story but it was very nice.