Overall sentiment across the reviews for Arrowhead Springs Healthcare Center is highly polarized. Some reviewers describe outstanding, attentive, and professional care—highlighting caring nursing staff, successful physical therapy outcomes, engaged leadership (Director of Nursing and Administrator), and overall high‑quality medical care. Other reviewers, however, report severe and persistent problems, including filthy conditions, understaffing, neglectful care, safety concerns, and poor management. The prevalence of both strong praise and serious complaints suggests wide variability in experiences that may be tied to shifts, units, time periods, or individual staff members.
Care quality: Reviews range from “extraordinary staff” and “very happy with my care” to allegations of neglect so severe that patients were left in urine‑ and feces‑filled diapers, developed bed sores, or required hospital transfer for infections such as UTIs. Some families report successful rehabilitation and plan to place loved ones there for physical therapy, while others say daily grooming and dental care are rarely performed. Specific clinical safety issues were mentioned (e.g., breathing machine not set up, wrong medication, medicine missing from carts), indicating lapses in medication management and equipment setup in some cases.
Staffing and staff behavior: Staffing levels and staff performance are recurring themes. Multiple reports describe nurses as overworked and the facility as understaffed; other reports highlight passionate, attentive nurses who provide compassionate care. Concerning claims include staff sleeping on night shift, long waits for call‑button responses, arguments among staff, and instances where nurses feel unable to speak up for fear of being fired. At least one reviewer filed a state complaint. These mixed reports point to inconsistent staffing practices and variability in staff conduct and morale.
Facilities, supplies, and cleanliness: Several reviewers report serious problems with the physical environment—filthy rooms, strong urine odor, dirty wet beds, and a dirty, hot break room. Infrastructure issues include nonfunctional air conditioning and lack of filtered drinking water. Supply shortages are mentioned explicitly. Conversely, other reviewers describe the facility as wonderful and top notch. The cleanliness, odour control, and maintenance appear to be inconsistent across reports and are a major area of concern for those who had negative experiences.
Safety, security, and belongings: Theft and missing personal belongings were reported (including a $40 item and a stolen wallet), with at least one reviewer stating there was no callback about missing items. Medication errors, missing medicines from carts, and safety lapses such as breathing equipment not being set up have been cited. One reviewer reported an infection that led to hospital transfer. These issues raise red flags about the facility’s security procedures, property handling, and clinical safety protocols.
Communication, management, and culture: Communication problems were described by multiple reviewers — long response times, poor follow‑up on concerns, and staff who are unhelpful or argumentative. Yet some reviews praise leadership for being extremely involved in patient care and culture, and others say they felt like part of the team. This split suggests management practices and culture may vary by department or over time; some families view leadership as proactive, while others perceive poor management and even retaliation against staff who speak up.
Dining and other services: Food quality received at least one negative comment (meals poor/bad tasting), while small positive gestures (e.g., donuts given as thanks) were noted by some. There is little detailed information about activities programming, but physical therapy was singled out positively in several accounts.
Patterns and recommendations: The most frequently mentioned positive theme is the dedication and compassion of many individual nurses and therapists, and successful rehabilitation for some residents. The most frequent and serious negative themes are environmental cleanliness, understaffing/overworked staff, neglect of basic hygiene and grooming, medication and equipment errors, theft of personal items, and inconsistent management. Because of the starkly opposite accounts, prospective residents and families should treat these reviews as indicators of variability rather than as definitive proof of uniformly good or bad care.
If considering this facility, it would be prudent to: (1) tour the unit(s) where the resident would stay at different times (day/night) to assess staffing and cleanliness; (2) ask administration about staffing ratios, turnover, and staff training; (3) request recent state inspection reports and any corrective action plans; (4) inquire about infection control protocols, call‑bell response times, medication management procedures, and property/security measures; and (5) seek references from current families receiving similar services (skilled nursing vs. rehab). The reviews show there are talented, caring staff and positive clinical outcomes for some residents, but also serious and potentially dangerous lapses reported by others — warranting careful, individualized investigation before placing a loved one.
