Life At Carlton

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Why Carlton?

We help residents live their lives with attractive senior housing options, acclaimed services and our legendary “culture of care.”

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Our Mission

We’re a family-founded, family-focused company, and taking care of you and your loved ones is our mission and our passion.

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Service Principles

We aim to love, honor and care for our residents with exceptional service, enthusiasm and integrity.

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Senior Living Surprise

While vacationing in San Francisco I decided to take a quick trip up to Pleasant Hill to see an old dear friend of mine who lives at Carlton Senior Living Downtown Pleasant Hill. I must say you guys do it right! The food was incredible (especially the salad bar!) I was quite impressed with the staff who went out of their way to make me happy. Very clean and the atmosphere was warm and inviting. As I left a fun county band started to play... I wanted to stay but had to leave, hopefully next time I will catch them. Keep up the great work Carlton Senior Living Downtown Pleasant Hill!!!Dr. Wright

Carlton Senior Living Downtown Pleasant Hill Assisted Living Is Truly Special

Special thanks to Lisa Spivey at Carlton Senior Living Downtown Pleasant Hill, on my visit to see my dear friend, you were so warm and welcoming and thanks for the nice chat. You and your whole team are gifts to all the resident that live their. If I retire in Pleasant Hill someday, I wish to call Carlton Senior Living Downtown Pleasant Hill my home. Thanks again and lunch was delightful.S Pelegrino

The Best Senior Living Community

I visited Carlton Senior Living Downtown Pleasant Hill and I was very much impressed with how you guys run this senior community. I live in Florida and what I've seen in my parts is not even close to what you have assembled here. The food, activities and staff are all above board. Very lively place as well. I'm impressed.John B

Assisted Living That Is Like Coming Home

Warm and friendly staff at Carlton Senior Living San Leandro! They make you feel welcome. Very nice apartments, lots of activities and the Sunday Brunch that I was fortunate to attend was OUTSTANDING! Really as good as anything you will find anywhere in the City. Not sure how you do it but I'm sure glad you do. John loves it there.Kathy Oslow

Wonderful Retirement Community

Thank you to the Carlton Senior Living managers and team, for all of the care, patience, time and efforts you put in to helping my father, he was a blessed and happy man until he passed in March. My husband and I appreciate all that you did for him. We really want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for sending us flowers on his funeral. Thanks again!Betty Shrine
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Our Memory Care

“Everyone is helpful and caring. It is such a relief that my mom is taken care of at Carlton’s Memory Care. I never worry about her care or well being and she is happy when I visit. Thank you all!” – Alice C.

From the Carlton Senior Community Blog

"The Story of the Old House" from the Memoirs of James Thompson Sr.

"The Story of the Old House" is just one of the many short stories from the memoirs of James Thompson Sr., a resident of Carlton Senior Living San Jose. Written during the 1970s, Thompson's writings illustrate what life was like as a child growing up in the small town of Dyer, Indiana during the 1930s. Dyer is a town in St. John Township, Lake County, Indiana and is a southeastern suburb of Chicago. According to census records, the population of Dyer was just 672 in 1930 and had increased to 976 by 1940. "The Story of the Old House" by James Thompson Sr. We lived in an old house that rented from the Hilbrich’s. After the war, we had to buy it, because they wanted to sell it. It wasn’t much, an old farmhouse built before the Civil War. It was built before electricity. The electrical wiring was added after the house was built. A single cold water faucet was in the kitchen. There was no hot water unless it was heated on the cookstove. There was originally a barn beside the road but it burned. A chicken house, broody coop, an outhouse, a garage and a woodshed were there. When we moved in, the house had an old outhouse in the back with a brick walkway. The outhouse was in danger of falling down. Uncle Henry built a new outhouse which lasted until a bathroom was built five years later. The bathroom had an old used cast iron tub and was built very cheaply. The outhouse then became a woodshed. Another memory was the bare pine floors in the bedrooms. I got slivers in my feet, unless I wore slippers or shoes. The house had a shallow cellar made with limestone blocks and had a dirt floor. It was fine for me as a child, but the adults had to duck their heads. The cellar finally was made deeper and a cement floor was put in. I found an arrowhead in the dirt that was excavated from the floor. There was no basement under the dining room or the kitchen. The kitchen was added to the original house, lean-to. In the winter, the kitchen faucet could freeze, so the water was left on just a trickle. I used to get my baths in the kitchen sink when I was two or three. To get soft water, rainwater was pumped from the cistern under the front porch and heated on the stove. The drawback was there was soot in the water. The Saturday night bath was more truth than fiction. Uncle Henry worked on the railroad. Before we had inside plumbing, he would take a bucket of water and a wash pan to his room and wash up. He was in the army in France near the front lines during the war (WWII), he said his early years training stood him in good stead. We look forward to sharing more of James' short stories on Carlton Senior Living's blog in the future. Want to read more from our resident writers? Check out these pieces by Elma Blaud and Harriett Burt. Read more

Tracey Ingleman of Carlton Senior Living named Outstanding Executive Director for the 2020 CALA Excellence in Service Awards

Tracey Ingleman of Carlton Senior Living named Outstanding Executive Director for the 2020 CALA Excellence in Service Awards

We are honored to celebrate our very own Tracey Ingleman who has been awarded Outstanding Executive Director for the 2020 California Assisted Living Association Excellence in Service Awards. We recognize Tracey, her commitment to the growing field of Senior Living and her dedication to serve our amazing residents, their families and associates at the Carlton Senior Living Downtown Pleasant Hill community. Tracey is truly an inspiring and exceptional leader who leans in and listens, not only with her ears but with her heart. Congratulations Tracey from all of us, your Carlton Senior Living Family!   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEE_LID3Czk&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR3LbIsMaHQVzfxS5IHrekCfh60UbFtRsIrrfN7voKPIcSKc4VUqHJ_KtOw Read more

Manny Dirar of Carlton Senior Living named Outstanding Department Director for the 2020 CALA Excellence in Service Awards

Manny Dirar of Carlton Senior Living named Outstanding Department Director for the 2020 CALA Excellence in Service Awards

We are honored to celebrate our very own Manny Dirar who has been awarded Outstanding Department Director for the 2020 California Assisted Living Association Excellence in Service Awards. We recognize Manny, his commitment to the growing field of Senior Living and his dedication to serve our amazing residents and associates at the Carlton Senior Living Sacramento and Sacramento Enhanced communities. Manny consistently goes above and beyond in his role as Associate Director providing excellent care to all those he meets. He is truly an exceptional individual whose heart is as big as his smile. Congratulations Manny from all of us, your Carlton Senior Living Family!   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iFTNqPsFx4&feature=youtu.be Read more

Resident Spotlight - Bob Fox

Resident Spotlight - Bob Fox

Meet Carlton Senior Living spotlight resident, Bob Fox - Robert “Bob” Fox was born on December 6, 1943 in Minneapolis, Minnesota to parents Darlene Blumenberg and Henry Fox. He has one brother, Jim. Bob went to high school in Birmingham, Michigan. Bob knew from a young age that he wanted to become an attorney. He attended the University of Minnesota for his bachelor’s and then went to law school at Duke University. He practiced law for a few years before deciding that he wanted to do something different. In 1972 he became a founding faculty member at Metropolitan State University in Minneapolis. Over the next thirty-five years, he helped develop student-centered curriculum and taught courses on a wide range of subjects, including law and education. Bob is an accomplished and internationally renowned table tennis player. He began playing during law school and has since competed all over the world. In 1992 he became the team leader for the U.S. National and Olympic table tennis teams. As team leader, he attended four Olympics, most recently the 2008 games in Beijing, twelve world championships, and the Pan American Games. Bob has lived and traveled all over the U.S. In addition to California and Minnesota, he has lived in South Dakota, North Carolina, and New Mexico. He has fond memories of many family road trips when he was little. He has been married “a few times.” He has two children, Andrew and Brianna, who are both very successful in their chosen fields. He moved to Davis in December 2019 in order to be closer to Andrew. Bob describes himself as intelligent, engaging, and a man of broad interests. He has centered his life around education and learning. He would like to be remembered as someone who was always learning and for his contributions to table tennis. Aside from his passion for table tennis, Bob is a self-described “wine nut.” He had an expansive wine cellar and used to lead tours of wineries and vineyards. Here at Carlton Davis, Bob appreciates that he can relax after living a very active life. He is not a big music person, but he does enjoy Mississippi Delta folk music. He loves Spanish food, like tapas, and all types of seafood and shellfish. His favorite scent is lavender. He enjoys watching videos on activism and politics. He advises others to be accepting of others. He always taught his children about the importance of accepting others’ race, cultures, and beliefs and believes that everyone should strive to do the same. Read more about Bob on the Team USA website. View additional Resident Spotlight articles. Written by Ben Slade, Resident Liaison at Carlton Senior Living Davis   Read more

"Why I Wait For the Bus in Front of Carlton" by Elma Blaud

"It’s the people, the dear people," says Elma Blaud, a resident of Carlton Senior Living. "I like to sit (and I arrive early so that I can) under the apple tree – oh no, no, that is still another story," Elma, a life-long lover of music says jokingly. "Back to square one. I like to sit under the overhang at the front of the Carlton Senior Living San Jose community. My reason: I wish to be the first person to enter the bus! Why? You ask – because I want to observe all the beauty of San Jose and the surrounding views as we glide to our destination, whether it be Santa Cruz, Half Moon Bay, Watsonville, etc. They are all beautiful and most interesting to visit. I have been quite successful during the past ten years," recalls Elma. "Do you realize the number of very nice people who enter our building and the same number who leave it?" Elma queries. "It is such a wonderful experience to greet these very nice people and to spend a few minutes with them. It is such a great delight to greet these charming people. Life has so many beautiful people and stories, with many entering and leaving the Carlton." "It would be interesting to develop imaginary stories about the families of so many," envisions the friendly observer of people. "We have all lived through so much in our long lives. Some journeys are amazing. Would you care to share yours? What an exciting book!" she concludes with a smile. Read: "The Beautiful Music in Everything" by Elma Blaud Watch this interview with Elma from 2017 and learn more about how music has impacted her life. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=7&v=cR95vV_pi9U&feature=emb_logo   Read more

"At Home in the World of Animals and of People" by Harriett Burt

“There’s nothing more daunting than taking a blood sample from a lion,” Carlton Senior Living Pleasant Hill-Martinez resident and retired veterinarian Denny Bohlke observes. He ought to know because his Yakima office was close enough to a retired circus animal ranch to hear them roaring and to make a ‘home visit’ from time to time. Oh, by the way, how do you take the sample? From its tail, he says. Denny was born in 1931 and grew up on a 12-acre farm near Yakima. His dad was a fruit inspector in Washington’s largest fruit growing area. It was the beginning of the Great Depression so keeping the wolf from the door meant everybody in the family worked. His two sisters had their tasks. His mother and he would get 500 chickens and butcher them for sale to folks who came from miles around. Occasionally they sold a cow. Denny got up each morning before school to milk them. They also had pigs. Two they ate over a year’s time. The rest of the piglets were sold. “I wanted to be a vet since 5th grade,” he says. He made pocket money during World War II by raising rabbits and selling them to area customers for meat. After the war ended and while he was still in high school, he continued raising them for sale to French restaurants which often featured rabbit on their menus. Graduating from high school in 1948, Denny attended Washington State in Pullman for both his Bachelor of Science degree and his veterinary degree. He stood out in his vet school class as the only student who entered the program only to be thrown from a horse on the first day because he had never ridden one before. When he graduated with his veterinary degree and certification in 1956, he was drafted by the Army for two years of service between the Korean and Vietnam wars. He feels a bit guilty now that he did not serve in either of those wars. But he did help feed the troops when he and another veterinarian graduate were posted in Seattle during their entire service as army meat inspectors for troops stationed in Alaska. It was a good posting. “We got meat to taste and whatever we said went. The officers always took our word for it. We saved the Army lots of money as there was $60,000 (in 1956 dollars) worth of meat in each shipment. I think we did a good job. We didn’t reject any good food and we didn’t accept any bad.” Besides Denny’s military duties, he could always get a job on the side as a night or emergency vet.  When he left the army in 1958, he worked for a Seattle veterinarian and lived at the clinic. He handled emergency night calls and other tasks. The owner later hired him to manage another clinic which gave him valuable experience in the business side of the profession and no doubt encouraged him to move back to Yakima to establish his own clinic in 1960. A nurse from Minnesota was living in Yakima with friends all of whom were working there. The vet met the nurse and the rest was a slow move to history. “I was slow to propose,” Danny admits. “But when she told me she was moving back to Minnesota, I said “No, you can’t because we are getting married!” “I always owned part of my own business and I always had great partners.” His first partner, a Yakima Indian, stayed for 32 years before retiring and the second worked there for ten or 15 years becoming a partner when the first one retired. He bought Denny out when he retired. They still talk frequently 30 years later. At first, the business took in any animal that came along such as the retired lions but as time went on, they would focus only on the smaller animals with Denny working on the occasional wild eagles and hawks. As a good businessman, Denny felt it would be smart to have some type of specialty no other veterinary business provided which would increase profits and financial stability. In the 1940s  a University of Washington veterinarian and a physician had developed a new way of setting broken limbs in humans and animals by putting steel pins in the bones rather than using splints. Denny was one of the few in Washington State to use that technique in his veterinary practice. Soon, other vets in the surrounding area were referring their bone business customers to Denny. “Putting a splint on a dog is not easy. Most dogs would jump over the fence (after the process) to get rid of it. The new method was time-consuming surgery, but I loved it.” “I always liked the way we got on with our employees, nearly all of whom stayed for a long time.” Denny likes people as well as animals and appreciated his clientele who took good care of their pets.  He did have to tell a doctor’s wife who always insisted on being taken first even if she was fourth in line and was always rude to staff,  “you mistreat our help. We’re going to send you to another vet because you are too much to deal with.” But most were fine people. He and Joyce owned a 10-acre farm like the one he grew up on. A contractor friend built a beautiful house for them. Their three children and Denny kept the lawn groomed. Denny planted 10 redwoods that thrived as well as fruit trees and a few cattle. But as time went on, Denny’s health faltered. He says he knew from his own education that he had symptoms that could result in a heart attack, so he sold his part of the practice two months before it actually happened.  “For our area, we were a very successful business. Veterinarians don’t get rich, but we usually are comfortable. When he recovered, Denny became a relief veterinarian working a month or so at a time to cover vacations and such. “I really enjoyed it. You work with different people and clients.” Joyce had been skeptical about buying a trailer, even a nice one, but she soon grew to like it. They traveled around not just Washington but as far away as San Diego, working at many clinics and meeting lots of people through that and eating out. Soon they were being invited to local events including a family wedding, by people they had just met. They even took a trailer trip across the US once working along the way. As the children grew up and left home, Denny realized taking care of the lawn etc. would become his job. Joyce suggested that they move to Concord where they could help one of their daughters who was married and starting a family. They bought a house there, once again making lots of friends while Denny still served as a relief vet and also worked in five area vaccination clinics getting to meet a variety of people from all parts of the East Bay. He loved that job. Joyce died eight years ago after 52 years of marriage, a blow which took time to adjust to. By coming to Carlton and developing a very good relationship with a close friend of Joyce’s in Concord, he regained his equilibrium. Now 89, Denny recalls that once when he was much younger, he thought about going into research because, as he says, “I like science.”  So, the family lived in a trailer in Seattle with the children while he went to a three-week class on research animals.  “I didn’t like it,” he recalls so he happily returned to where there were plenty of people and animals. Joyce may have been relieved Denny admits because as he says, “of course, she carried all the water. She bought the food, cooked the meals, and chased after three young children in an RV park.” Looking back, “I have had a good life,” he volunteers. “I never got tired of animals and I never got tired of treating animals.”  And talking with him shows he has never gotten tired of people either to which he agrees. Written by Harriett Burt, Carlton Senior Living Pleasant Hill-Martinez Resident Read additional pieces by Harriett Burt Read more

Carlton University Meets the Changing Needs of Residents and Associates

Carlton University Meets the Changing Needs of Residents and Associates

Our ongoing live training through Carlton University focuses on the skills associates need to care for our residents successfully in a world that's ever-changing. And because change is inevitable, our Carlton University programs have adapted based on social distancing guidelines to meet the needs of residents and associates while prioritizing the health and safety of all. Learn more about Carlton's hands-on training: https://bit.ly/3cSr5P4 Read more

Breakfast is Served!

Breakfast is Served!

This eggs-quisite breakfast from Carlton Senior Living San Leandro is an egg-cellent way to celebrate National Egg Day - Wednesday, June 3. Whether you prefer your eggs scrambled, fried, or over easy, we recommend approaching each day sunny side up. During the Shelter-in-Place Order we've been delivering freshly prepared meals for residents to enjoy in their apartments. Read more

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