Overall sentiment for Solaris Healthcare Forest Lake is highly polarized, with a clear pattern of strong praise for individual staff members and therapy services contrasted with repeated and serious allegations of neglect, infection control failures, billing mismanagement, and systemic problems. Many reviews describe specific nurses, CNAs, therapists, and discharge planners by name and praise their compassion, clinical skill, advocacy, and responsiveness. Therapy and rehabilitation, when available, receive frequent commendation for helping residents recover and return home. Several families credited hospice and specialized wound care teams for positive outcomes. Maintenance and some housekeeping staff are also specifically thanked in a number of reports.
However, these positive experiences coexist with numerous and often severe negative reports. A large body of reviews alleges chronic understaffing, poor night-shift care, slow or non-existent responses to call bells, and staff with poor attitudes or who appear distracted. Multiple reviewers describe serious clinical lapses including missed turning and toileting, prolonged immobility, development of pressure sores, medication errors (including giving someone else’s medicine), dehydration, and delayed or refused hospital transfers. Several accounts describe grave infection events (E. coli, urinary infections, thrush, gastric tube infections) and claims of inadequate infection control practices. These clinical safety concerns are compounded by repeated mentions of broken or taped call buttons and other malfunctioning equipment that directly affect resident safety.
Facility and operational issues are a recurring theme. The building is described as aging and in need of upgrades — common complaints include nonfunctional thermostats, shower drains, ice machines, TV reception problems, sporadic housekeeping in resident rooms, stained carpets, and inconsistent cleanliness from one unit to another. Some reviewers report the facility as spotless and well cared for, while others describe it as filthy with unsafe care practices (rarely changed gloves, alleged improper injection procedures). Dining services are another mixed area: several reviewers praise meals and consider food better-than-average; others report gross food, incorrect orders, poor nutrition, inadequate portions, and disorganized meal service. Activities and social programming receive positive comments for residents who can participate (bingo, dominoes, crafts, outings), though reviewers note these benefits do not help fully bed-bound residents.
Security, property, and administrative concerns are prominent. Multiple families allege theft of clothing and belongings, and some report suspicious handling of residents’ funds and faulty financial accounting. Visitors also report lax security practices — lack of consistent sign-in, unauthorized access, and threatening or rude front-desk interactions in isolated incidents. Billing and insurance disputes appear frequently: families describe unclear warnings about insurance-covered days, collection notices, and billing errors. Reviewers also claim misrepresentation of the facility’s level of care (advertised as providing 24-hour skilled rehab or certain certifications) leading to families feeling misled about appropriate placement.
Communication and management responsiveness are inconsistent. While specific staff and a few administrators (notably some discharge planners) receive high praise for transparent, timely, and compassionate communication, many reviewers describe unresponsive management, delayed callbacks, ignored family advocacy, and poor coordination of care. This inconsistency contributes to the polarized experiences: when families encounter engaged clinicians or therapists, outcomes and impressions are positive; when leadership, night staff, or support staff fall short, outcomes can be severe and distressing.
Safety and quality of care concerns are frequent and sometimes severe enough that multiple reviewers urged regulatory complaints or closure. Allegations of abuse, berating of patients, and threats are serious red flags reported by several families. Simultaneously, there are numerous accounts of excellent, even outstanding, individual caregiving that strongly influenced positive outcomes for other residents. This mixed picture suggests variability by unit, shift, and individual staff members rather than uniform facility-wide performance.
Given the breadth of praise for specific employees and therapy services and the equally significant number of serious safety, staffing, and administrative complaints, prospective residents and families should approach Solaris Healthcare Forest Lake with careful due diligence. When evaluating the facility in person, important checkpoints include verifying current state inspection reports and complaint history, asking specifically about staffing ratios (day vs. night), inspecting the functionality of call systems and alarms, inquiring about infection control protocols, reviewing recent billing/financial practices, and meeting the actual staff members who will provide daily care. If possible, obtain references from recent families who had residents on the same unit and shift you expect to use. The reviews indicate potential for excellent individualized care, but also reveal systemic vulnerabilities that warrant thorough investigation before placement.
