Overall sentiment in the reviews for Menorah House is deeply polarized and highly inconsistent. A substantial portion of reviewers describe excellent, even outstanding, care: compassionate and skilled staff, especially in physical therapy/rehab, clear onboarding and assessment, a bright and clean environment, active engagement programs, and individual staff members who go above and beyond (with multiple families naming front-line employees such as Avi, Trudy, Miss Lili, Natasha, Javi, Jill, Eddie and Lucia). These positive reports frequently emphasize successful rehabilitation outcomes, attentive nursing and aides, well-run admissions processes, and a facility that can feel like a welcoming, home-like environment. When the facility functions well, families report seamless transitions, comprehensive care plans, responsive administration, and meaningful activities including musical programs and kosher dining options.
But an equal or larger cluster of reviews report severe and alarming problems. The dominant negative themes are chronic understaffing and widely reported long response times to call lights and requests, leading to residents being left without timely help. Multiple reviewers recount residents left in soiled diapers or urine/feces for hours, infrequent showers (one report citing no shower for five weeks), and general neglect of basic hygiene that in some cases resulted in infections or hospital transfers. These accounts are not isolated complaints about small lapses — several reviewers describe life-threatening situations including severe weight loss (one report of weight dropping to 84 lbs), diabetic emergencies and low blood sugars in the 60s, metabolic encephalopathy, sepsis, and deaths that families attribute at least in part to failures in care and monitoring.
Medication management and medical oversight emerge repeatedly as critical concerns. Reports include delayed or missing medications (sometimes no meds available overnight), withheld medications for extended periods (e.g., thyroid medication withheld 10 days), overdoses, failure to follow hospital medication instructions, emergency medications stored improperly, and inconsistent use of needed equipment (for example, CPAP not used consistently). Several reviews describe delayed recognition of medical deterioration and slow or absent responses to emergent needs, with ambulance transfers and emergency room visits described as outcomes of the facility’s inattention. These medical and safety lapses are often tied in reviews to inadequate training, inattentive nursing, and a culture of staff distraction (socializing, phone use) rather than patient monitoring.
Dining and nutrition are another frequently cited mixed theme. Many reviews label the food poor: cold, bland, undercooked (pink chicken), or even causing gastrointestinal distress. Families also report meals delayed or skipped, food thrown away, diabetic meal plans not followed, and inconsistent accommodation of dietary needs. Conversely, some families praise the food as plentiful and tasty and note the availability of kosher options. The inconsistency here mirrors the broader pattern: some units and shifts deliver acceptable dining experiences while others fall far short.
Communication, management responsiveness, and administrative systems are recurring pain points. Numerous reviewers described a dysfunctional phone system (calls not reaching staff, no in-room answering machines, operator issues), unreachable administrators, voicemail-only responses, and the perception that ownership is focused more on marketing than on care. Several families specifically called out rude or condescending interactions with social workers or managers and reported being hung up on or denied access during after-hours emergencies. Praise for customer-relation staff like Avi and a few administrators stands in stark contrast to complaints about inaccessible leadership and lack of accountability after serious incidents.
Facility condition and cleanliness are inconsistently reported. Some families praise an immaculate, well-maintained environment with private rooms and pleasant outdoor space; others describe dingy, dark rooms with mildew, overflowing trash, odor issues, and food on beds. Missing or lost personal items (clothing, radios), maintenance delays (broken bed rails, unrepaired toilets), and safety concerns were also mentioned. COVID infection events and infection-control lapses were reported by several families, increasing concerns about clinical oversight and resident safety.
The most important pattern is variability: many reviews indicate a pronounced lack of consistency across shifts, units, and staff. At its best, Menorah House provides excellent rehab, compassionate nursing, and an engaged activities program. At its worst, reviewers describe neglect, abuse, and potentially dangerous medical mismanagement. Given these polarized accounts, the risk profile for a prospective resident appears contingent on unit-level staffing, the specific team on duty, and the responsiveness of managers that day. Families considering Menorah House should prioritize due diligence: meet the director of nursing and unit manager, ask about staffing ratios and how they cover nights/weekends, request recent state inspection and incident reports, ask specifically how medication administration and diabetic care are tracked, verify call-bell functionality and after-hours access policies, and seek references from current families in the unit being considered. The volume and severity of negative reports — particularly those alleging neglect, medical errors, and unresponsiveness — warrant careful scrutiny before placement.
