Overall sentiment across the reviews of BRIA of Columbia is highly mixed, ranging from glowing endorsements of the facility's rehabilitation, clinical capabilities, caring staff, and beautiful environment to severe criticisms alleging neglect, poor hygiene, and unsafe care. There is a clear polarization in experiences: many reviewers describe a warm, well-managed, clinically competent facility with excellent therapy outcomes and attentive staff, while a significant minority report alarming care failures, safety concerns, and unacceptable living conditions. These divergent accounts suggest substantial variability in resident experience that depends on unit, shift, management period, or specific staff members.
Care quality and clinical services: Several reviews praise BRIA's clinical focus and improvements: additions of specialty services (pulmonology, cardiology, geriatrics), presence of a dedicated wound nurse with documented successes, regular clinical rounds, weekly weigh-ins, and measurable therapy outcomes driving successful 'rehab-to-home' discharges. Therapy and clinical teams receive repeated positive mentions for achieving rehabilitation goals and providing supportive care. Conversely, other reviewers allege serious clinical lapses — missed or discontinued medications (including an account of a resident going four days without needed meds), delayed administration causing infections, canceled specialty appointments, and insufficient physician presence. A few reviews explicitly call for state-level scrutiny, and some families reported hospital transfers believed to stem from inadequate in-facility care.
Staffing, training and behavior: Staff competence and attitude are recurring themes with starkly different portrayals. Many families highlight compassionate, dedicated CNAs, nurses, admissions staff, and housekeeping/maintenance personnel who treat residents like family and provide personalized attention. Multiple reviews single out named employees for exemplary care and note long-tenured managers who contribute to stability. At the same time, frequent criticisms include understaffing, high turnover, reliance on agency staff or new hires, undertrained LPNs, and inconsistent care quality across shifts. Reports of staff being on phones, hiding, giggling on breaks, or even verbally abusive (cussing or verbal assault) are particularly concerning. There are also claims of staff theft and smells of smoke/weed during staff breaks. This suggests operational inconsistencies, where positive staff culture exists in some teams or shifts but not universally.
Facilities, cleanliness and maintenance: Many reviewers praise the physical plant: renovated rooms, attractive courtyard and outdoor areas, spotless floors, and an overall beautiful, welcoming environment. The facility aesthetic and outdoor spaces are frequently cited as strengths that support resident well-being. However, numerous other reports describe severe cleanliness issues — urine and feces odors pervasive in parts of the building, soiled bedding, dirty bathrooms and floors, tiny gnats, and slow or inadequate maintenance response (broken showers, leaks, blinds not replaced). These opposing perspectives point to variability in housekeeping and infection-control practices, with some units or time periods maintained to a high standard while others fall short.
Dining and activities: Activities and events (holiday meals, Halloween, balloon art, courtyard bird feeders, outdoor activities) are frequently mentioned as positive contributors to quality of life. Several reviews applaud the activity schedule and social engagement opportunities. Dining receives mixed remarks: a number of families praise specific meals and hospitality, while others decry horrible food, insufficient portions, and poor dining service. This again indicates unevenness that prospective families should probe when touring.
Management and communication: Management receives both criticism and praise. Some reviews describe incompetent, disorganized administration that failed to communicate, mismanaged discharges, or ignored family concerns. Others report a welcome change under new leadership, specifically naming administrator Wade Cies, with improved family communication, hands-on advocacy, weekly care meetings, essential caregiver programs, and an overall stronger management team. Admissions and discharge coordination are cited as particularly smooth and hospitable in multiple positive accounts. Taken together, these comments suggest recent management changes may be addressing long-standing issues, but not all reviewers experienced the improvements.
Patterns and notable concerns: A recurring pattern is inconsistency — excellent care and facilities reported alongside allegations of serious neglect, hygiene failures, and abusive staff behavior. Several specific high-severity issues appear repeatedly: missed or delayed medications, persistent urine/feces odors, infrequent bathing, lost laundry, theft, and shift-to-shift variability in quality. Pandemic-era understaffing and increased use of temporary staff were mentioned as contributing factors. Families also reported differences in experience between units and shifts, indicating that quality may be dependent on particular teams or times of day.
Conclusion and implications for families: The reviews paint a complex picture. BRIA of Columbia has demonstrable strengths — a strong therapy program, some excellent clinical staff and managers, a renovated facility with attractive outdoor spaces, and instances of compassionate, family-centered care. At the same time, multiple reports of hygiene failures, medication lapses, staff misconduct, and administrative disorganization are serious and cannot be ignored. For prospective residents and family members, the reviews suggest it is essential to: (1) tour multiple units and observe cleanliness and odors in person, (2) ask about staffing patterns by shift and use of agency staff, (3) inquire about medication administration protocols and incident reporting, (4) request details about recent management changes and clinical quality metrics (readmission rates, wound-care outcomes, therapy progress data), and (5) speak with current families about consistency of care across shifts. Monitoring during the first weeks of admission, establishing clear communication channels with management, and confirming participation in caregiver/family programs (like the essential caregiver program and care plan meetings) may help detect and address problems early.
Overall, BRIA of Columbia appears capable of providing high-quality rehab and long-term care in many cases, but reports of serious lapses and variability in standards mean due diligence and ongoing oversight by families are advisable before and after placement.
