The reviews present a strongly mixed set of experiences with Lemon Grove Care And Rehabilitation Center, with several clear patterns emerging. On the positive side, multiple reviewers praise individual staff members as dedicated, caring, and responsive; physical therapy receives consistent compliments; and the facility’s physical environment is often described as clean, inviting, and odor-free with decent rooms, attractive patios, and pleasant dining areas. Several reviewers also note a robust activities program (bingo and other events), student engagement with residents, up-to-date medical equipment, and recommend the facility based on their positive experiences.
However, an almost equal number of reviews raise serious concerns about basic standards of care and safety. Multiple accounts describe missed or improper basic care tasks — patients reportedly not bathed for days, bedding not changed for long periods, bandages secured with tape, and overflowing trash cans — which points to lapses in daily hygiene and nursing oversight. Medication handling problems were explicitly reported (pills left in a cup next to a bed; medications forgotten or left out), which is a critical safety issue. Food quality is another recurring negative theme: while some call the food decent, others describe it as disgusting or causing illness.
Staffing and staff behavior are major themes producing widely divergent impressions. Several reviewers emphasize that the facility is short-staffed and that staff are working hard but stretched thin; these same reviews note slow responsiveness and occasional missed tasks that they attribute to staffing levels. Other reviews, however, describe staff as indifferent, rude, unhelpful, or lacking empathy. Communication and management practices are also criticized: families report difficulty getting information (phones not answered, poor updates on resident status), perceptions of untrustworthiness or shady management, and an overall sense of indifference from leadership in some accounts.
Safety and security concerns appear in multiple summaries. Some reviewers report a lack of security and incidents involving psychiatric or disruptive patients leading to frequent screaming, fights, and the impression that residents could be at risk. At least one family removed their loved one within a month because of these issues. These specific safety complaints elevate the severity of the negative feedback beyond dissatisfaction with amenities and into potential harm and quality-of-care risk.
A notable pattern is the inconsistency across reviewers: some families describe exemplary care, strong therapy programs, and clean, attractive surroundings, while others report severe lapses in hygiene, medication management, food safety, security, and communication. This variability suggests that resident experience may depend heavily on timing, staff on duty, or specific wings/units within the facility. It also suggests that systemic issues (such as staffing shortages and management communication practices) may lead to fluctuating levels of care.
In summary, Lemon Grove Care And Rehabilitation Center shows clear strengths in therapy services, certain caregiving staff, and the physical environment, but it is simultaneously criticized for inconsistent care quality, safety and medication management issues, food problems, and poor communication from management. Prospective families should weigh the facility’s praised services (PT, activities, outdoor spaces) against the documented risks (medication handling, hygiene lapses, security incidents, and inconsistent staff behavior). If considering this facility, visitors should seek direct, current information about staffing ratios, medication and hygiene protocols, security measures, and family communication procedures; meet the care team who will be responsible for their loved one; and, if possible, speak with multiple current families to better gauge consistency of care across units and shifts.
