Overall sentiment in the reviews is deeply polarized: multiple reviewers describe Axiom Healthcare of Harrisburg as a small, family-like facility with warm, attentive staff and a recently improved look and administration, while other reviewers describe severe neglect, unsanitary conditions, theft, and abusive behavior. The most common positive themes emphasize individualized attention in a small, home-like setting, named CNAs who are praised by families, and visible updates to the physical environment and leadership. The strongest negative themes are acute safety and hygiene failures, missing basic utilities or supplies, missing personal care (no showers), theft of personal belongings, and instances of poor communication or confrontational staff behavior.
Care quality and staff: Reviews frequently praise direct-care staff as friendly, loving, and treating residents like family; several reviews singled out CNAs Brenda, Eva, April, and Jennifer as exemplary. Multiple reviewers said the staff demonstrated prompt responses to concerns and provided great medical care. At the same time, other reviewers reported neglectful or abusive staff behavior, alleging poor treatment of residents and even aggressive behavior toward family members (including a report of being left waiting outside for 45 minutes and being threatened with police). This suggests substantial inconsistency in staff performance—some shifts or individuals appear to provide excellent care, while others have been reported as neglectful or abusive.
Facilities and cleanliness: Several reviews state the facility is very clean and that recent painting and color updates brightened the home. However, there are also alarming reports of severe sanitation problems: at least one reviewer described no running water in a room, no toilet paper in restrooms, reliance on a public hallway restroom, and a toilet seat soiled with feces. Such reports point to serious lapses in basic facility maintenance and infection-control practices. Other reviewers praised the cleanliness, indicating that conditions may vary over time or by area/shift. The conflicting reports highlight a risk of intermittently inadequate housekeeping or infrastructure issues that have not been consistently resolved.
Dining and personal care: Several reviews noted limited meal variety, with complaints that meals are repetitive (mostly oatmeal and potatoes), though others mentioned some enjoyable options. Separate but related personal-care concerns include reports of residents not receiving showers for extended periods (one report of three weeks without a shower). Food quality and personal hygiene services appear to be areas where family expectations are not always met.
Management and improvements: A few reviewers mentioned positive changes under a new Administrator, Tara, and expressed being impressed with her leadership. Other comments indicated that concerns were handled promptly in some instances. Still, reports of poor communication, confrontational responses to families, and unresolved serious incidents (theft, sanitation failures) indicate management has not uniformly addressed all problems. The presence of named positive leaders and improvements suggests progress in some areas, but the persistence of severe negative incidents implies gaps in oversight, staff training, or resource allocation.
Patterns and reliability: The reviews show a bifurcated pattern: some families describe an outstanding, small, caring facility with trustworthy staff and clean, brightened spaces; others describe what they call a "horrible" or even "worst on earth" experience involving safety and dignity violations. This divergence could reflect variability across shifts, changes over time (improvement under new administration), or selective reporting of extreme experiences. The presence of both specific positive identifiers (named staff and administrator) and specific negative incidents (running water outages, soiled toilets, theft, lack of showers) makes it difficult to assume consistent quality.
Implications and considerations: For prospective residents and families, these reviews suggest you should perform a thorough, on-site evaluation: ask about staffing levels and turnover, observe multiple shifts if possible, request documentation of recent inspections and corrective actions, inquire specifically about laundry, bathing schedules, and meal plans, and ask how management handles reports of theft, sanitation failures, and staff misconduct. For facility leadership, priorities should include addressing infrastructure and sanitation problems immediately, standardizing staff training and supervision to reduce variability in care quality, improving transparency and communication with families, and demonstrating consistent follow-through on complaints to rebuild trust.
In summary, Axiom Healthcare of Harrisburg elicits strong positive experiences centered on compassionate CNAs, a small home-like environment, cleaning and cosmetic updates, and encouraging new administrative leadership. However, serious negative reports about hygiene, personal care neglect, theft, and confrontational communication are red flags that warrant careful scrutiny. The overall picture is one of significant variability: excellent care in many reports, but a minority of reports describe unacceptable and potentially hazardous conditions. Prospective families should investigate current conditions thoroughly and seek specific assurances and documentation about how the facility prevents and addresses the severe problems reported.
