Overall sentiment about Northbrook Healthcare And Rehabilitation Center is highly mixed, with strong positive experiences described by many families and residents alongside severe negative allegations from others. Several reviewers emphasize that the facility is older but well maintained: common positive remarks include cleanliness, absence of unpleasant odors, and clear hallways. Many families praise the staff as kind, patient, courteous, well-trained, and generally happy, noting round-the-clock nursing coverage and supportive nurses who communicate well with families. Multiple reviewers report concrete improvements in residents’ well-being — weight gain, improved mood, and increased laughter — and express satisfaction with choosing Northbrook. Social programming receives frequent positive mentions: weekly events, happy hours, daily exercise, live entertainment, bingo, and newspaper-reading groups contribute to an active atmosphere for many residents.
Staff performance is a central and polarized theme. On the positive side, reviewers describe compassionate, professional, and attentive staff and administrators who create a safe and healing environment; some families recount exceptionally caring gestures from nurses and high praise for leadership and team dedication. Conversely, a number of reviews raise serious concerns: understaffing, slow responses to fall alarms, multiple falls, rude or negative attitudes by certain employees, and reports of inconsistent care quality. This split suggests variability in staff performance and possible staffing-level fluctuations that materially affect resident experience.
Facility and safety issues also show a stark contrast in reviewer experience. Several comments describe a tidy, well-kept facility, but other reviews allege severe sanitation and neglect problems — including reports of feces and urine in rooms and staff refusal to change diapers — which, if accurate, are critical and alarming. There are also reports of theft (e.g., a stolen jacket) and broader safety concerns. The presence of both positive cleanliness claims and extreme sanitation allegations points to highly inconsistent conditions across different units, shifts, or time periods.
Management and administrative matters are another area of division. Some reviewers single out a caring, attentive administrator and praise strong leadership and progressive changes. Others criticize management harshly for delayed payments, reportedly poor business practices (such as not honoring late fees), and call the management “horrible” or advise others to avoid the facility. Financial and administrative pain points include mention of Medicare claim issues and an extra furniture fee ($5/day) for outdated furnishings — practical matters that affect resident families directly.
Patterns and overall impression: the reviews depict a facility capable of providing high-quality, compassionate care and meaningful activities when staffed and managed well, but also vulnerable to episodes of neglect, poor administration, and safety lapses. The divergence between glowing family testimonials and severe negative allegations suggests inconsistency in service delivery—either across different times or different parts of the facility. For prospective residents and families, this means due diligence is important: ask specific questions about current staffing levels, fall response protocols, sanitation practices, recent regulatory inspections, handling of complaints, security measures for personal items, and billing/Medicare support. In summary, Northbrook demonstrates strengths in social programming, some strong caregiving teams, and an active community environment, but reviewers also report serious, sometimes alarming failures in care, management, and safety that warrant careful investigation before choosing the facility.
