Merrill Gardens At Santa Maria is a residential care home for the elderly (RCFE) in Santa Maria, Santa Barbara County, California — state license #425850140, licensed for 330 residents, listed as licensed in the CDSS record we retrieved August 2, 2026. It does not appear on the DHCS Assisted Living Waiver participant list checked August 9, 2026 — that list covers the state waiver only, not a home's own payment arrangements. California has 14 dated inspection and complaint documents on file for this home going back to 2021, the most recent dated September 17, 2025 — published below in full, verbatim and unscored.
No photo of this home is on file — we show real, attributed images only, never a stock photo of someone else’s building.
Since 2021, the state has visited this home 15 times and filed 14 documents. The most recent is a facility evaluation report, dated September 17, 2025.
The state's published file for this home includes 5 documents with transcribed findings, dated May 12, 2022 to September 10, 2025. 5 of the 5 carry the state's recorded outcome word: “Substantiated” (3), “Unsubstantiated” (2). 5 include the transcribed allegation the state investigated, word for word.
Summary composed by computer from the 5 documents below — every count derives from them, and the documents themselves are the state's records, verbatim. We never grade, score, or color a record.
What the state’s words mean
Sep 17, 2025Report on file
Report on file with the state — no findings text was published for this visit. The complete document is on the state’s site.
Sep 10, 2025Unsubstantiated
Allegation investigated: Staff threatened resident with eviction.
At 9:00am, on 9/10/2025, Licensing Program Analyst (LPA) Haner-Tomasko arrived at the facility unannounced to investigate the allegation of this complaint. LPA met with Health Services Director Debra Gonzales, announced who he was and the reason for the visit. During the visit from 9:50am to 12:08pm LPA interviewed resident, staff, administrator, and collected documentation. On allegation, staff threatened resident with eviction. It was alleged that Resident #1 (R1) and the Administrator Michael Easbey had a conversation on 9/3/2025 and later that day the administrator came to R1’s apartment and told R1 “I want you outta here”. R1 understood this as an eviction notice, R1 did not receive a written eviction notice. (Continued on LIC9099-C) Unsubstantiatedthe state’s words, verbatim · CDSS document, Sep 10, 2025 · control 29-AS-20250904140440
May 7, 2025Unsubstantiated
Allegation investigated: Facility did not meet resident's needs Facility did not seek timely medical attention for resident
On 05/07/2025 at 10:30 a.m. Licensing Program Analyst (LPA) Rankin conducted a 10-day complaint visit to the facility above. LPA met with Michael Easbey, Administrator and explained the purpose of the visit. During the investigation, LPA Rankin observed the facility, toured Resident 1’s (R1) room, collected relevant documentation, interviewed administrator, staff, residents, and spoke with a responsible party for R1. On the allegations: Facility did not meet resident's needs and facility did not seek timely medical attention for resident. It was alleged on 05/01/2025 the facility failed to provide checks to R1. Allegations stated that R1 was found in their room lying in bodily fluid, they were unresponsive to questions, and that there was discharge coming from residents’ eyes. It was stated the concerns were that staff was unaware of when R1 was last checked and that R1 was laying in their bed in the condition noted above for many hours without staff check ins. Continued on 9099-C Unsuthe state’s words, verbatim · CDSS document, May 7, 2025 · control 29-AS-20250506094736
Sep 5, 2024Report on file
Report on file with the state — no findings text was published for this visit. The complete document is on the state’s site.
Aug 27, 2024Report on file
Report on file with the state — no findings text was published for this visit. The complete document is on the state’s site.
Jan 25, 2024Substantiated
Allegation investigated: Facility is in disrepair.
Licensing Program Analysts (LPAs) Erika Miler and Jenny Olson conducted an unannounced 10-day complaint visit and to issue final findings on the allegation above. During the investigation, LPAs toured the facility and interviewed Administrator, staff, and residents on January 25, 2024 from 10:30 am to 2:00 pm. LPAs also obtained and reviewed relevant documents. LPAs met with Audie Sherberg and explained the purpose of the visit. On the allegation: Facility is in Disrepair Reporting party (RP) advised that the handicap door entry button in building 1350, has not been working for about six to eight weeks. A sign was left on the door that states the door will be repaired "tomorrow". RP stated that maintenance has been contacted and has advised that a part is on order. The door is almost impossible for some people on walkers or in mobile wheelchairs to open and enter the door without assistance from others. In addition, there is water leaking for the top of the door frame, so facility addethe state’s words, verbatim · CDSS document, Jan 25, 2024 · control 29-AS-20240118165915
Nov 13, 2023Report on file
Report on file with the state — no findings text was published for this visit. The complete document is on the state’s site.
Oct 4, 2023Report on file
Report on file with the state — no findings text was published for this visit. The complete document is on the state’s site.
Aug 23, 2023Report on file
Report on file with the state — no findings text was published for this visit. The complete document is on the state’s site.
Aug 22, 2023Substantiated
Allegation investigated: Facility didn’t meet the residents needs after a new diagnosis of dementia
Licensing Program Analyst (LPA) Olson conducted an unannounced subsequent complaint visit to issue final findings on the allegation above. LPA interviewed staff, Administrator and Resident 1 (R1) on 7/11/23 and R1’s Nurse Practitioner on 7/14/23. LPA met with Administrator and explained the purpose of the visit. On the allegation: Facility didn’t meet the residents needs after a new diagnosis of dementia. It was alleged that the facility “pick and choose” which dementia regulations to follow and didn’t allow R1 to leave the facility unassisted, unplugged their stove, put R1 on medication management, didn’t allow the resident to leave independently and installed a door alarm but allowed R1 to keep their personal cleaning supplies including ajax and bleach in their room. Interviews with staff revealed that R1 was diagnosed with dementia on 6/1/23 at a Skilled Nursing Facility. Continued on 9099-C Substantiatedthe state’s words, verbatim · CDSS document, Aug 22, 2023 · control 29-AS-20230706143740
Aug 22, 2023Report on file
Report on file with the state — no findings text was published for this visit. The complete document is on the state’s site.
Year-by-year trend
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Is Merrill Gardens At Santa Maria licensed?
Yes — Merrill Gardens At Santa Maria is a licensed residential care home for the elderly (RCFE) in Santa Maria (Santa Barbara County): California license #425850140, shown as licensed in the CDSS state record checked August 2, 2026, licensed for 330 residents. State records list 14 inspection and complaint documents since 2021; the most recent, a facility evaluation report dated September 17, 2025, appears in the inspection record on this page.
Can Merrill Gardens At Santa Maria care for dementia, hospice, bedridden, or non-ambulatory residents?
From the CDSS license record, checked August 2, 2026.
The CDSS license record checked August 2, 2026 lists Merrill Gardens At Santa Maria with clearances for wheelchair / non-ambulatory, hospice care, and bedridden; it does not list dementia / memory care. A clearance that is not on file is not a “no” — it may simply be unrecorded, so if your family needs one of these, ask the home directly and confirm its current scope on a tour.
From the California state record. Some approvals are bed- or room-specific — always confirm current scope with the facility.
What the state record says, word for word
Verbatim, from the CDSS license recordAGE RANGE 60 AND OVER. APPROVED FOR 330 NON-AMBULATORY, OF WHICH 20 MAY BE BEDRIDDEN. HOSPICE WAIVER APPROVED FOR 20 RESIDENTS.
How much does Merrill Gardens At Santa Maria cost?
California's public licensing record does not include Merrill Gardens At Santa Maria's monthly price, so we never show or estimate one for a specific home. As county-level context only, assisted living in Santa Barbara County typically runs $6,000–$9,000/mo and small board-and-care homes $5,000–$8,000/mo (market research compiled June 2026 — ranges, not quotes; California's 2026 SSI/SSP board-and-care payment standard is $1,626.07/month, of which $1,444.07 is the room-and-board portion paid to the home). Ask the home for its own rate sheet and what the base rate includes — or use the cost section at the top of this page.
Does Merrill Gardens At Santa Maria accept Medi-Cal or the Assisted Living Waiver?
Merrill Gardens At Santa Maria is not in the DHCS Assisted Living Waiver participant record we checked August 9, 2026 — that list covers only the state's ALW program, not a home's own payment policies, so ask the home directly about private Medi-Cal arrangements. The waiver pays for assisted-living care services (not room and board) at participating homes; every DHCS-listed home appears on our statewide Medi-Cal page.
Assisted living on Medi-Cal in California →See the DHCS list →
193 of 330 beds occupied (58%) when the state visited on September 10, 2025. Availability changes constantly — confirm a current opening with the home.
What do state inspections show for Merrill Gardens At Santa Maria?
Verbatim from CDSS complaint-investigation reports — the state's own words, never summarized by us. Record checked August 2, 2026.
The CDSS state record checked August 2, 2026 lists 15 state visits and 14 dated documents since 2021 for Merrill Gardens At Santa Maria; 5 complaint-investigation narratives are transcribed verbatim below. The most recent, dated September 10, 2025, records an allegation the state marked “Unsubstantiated”. Open any entry to read the state's full finding, word for word.
Most licensed homes receive some findings over 36 months; what matters is what was found and whether it was corrected. Counts here are shown compared with homes of similar size, and the state's own words appear in full below.
2025
2024
2023
Transcribed from CDSS complaint-investigation reports · record checked August 2, 2026.
What the state has logged
California has logged 15 state visits for this home as of August 2, 2026. These are the home's own counts, straight from that record — shown beside the statewide median for larger communities (16+ beds), computed across all 1,244 licensed homes of that size, because larger and longer-licensed homes naturally accumulate more visits and reports. They are facts, not a grade — a citation may be minor and since corrected, and an “unsubstantiated” complaint is not a finding of wrongdoing.
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(805) 928-2662Resident reviews, the exact monthly price, and the languages staff speak aren't part of California's public licensing record, so we don't show them here. Ask the home directly — the tour questions above are a good start.
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