Lantern Park Specialty Care

    2200 Oakdale Rd, Coralville, IA, 52241
    3.9 · 33 reviews
    • Assisted living
    • Memory care
    • Skilled nursing
    AnonymousLoved one of resident
    3.0

    Caring staff but inconsistent, concerning

    I found the facility clean, homey, and well-maintained with very caring, friendly staff, excellent food/portions, active PT/OT/ST services, timely meals and plenty of activities - residents often felt treated like family. However, my experience also revealed inconsistent staffing, poor communication, delayed or missed orders, and a few serious lapses in care and management that worried me. I'd recommend touring, asking specific staffing/incident-reporting questions, and staying involved if you choose this place.

    Pricing

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    Amenities

    Healthcare services

    • Activities of daily living assistance
    • Assistance with bathing
    • Assistance with dressing
    • Assistance with transfers
    • Medication management
    • Mental wellness program

    Healthcare staffing

    • 12-16 hour nursing
    • 24-hour call system
    • 24-hour supervision

    Meals and dining

    • Diabetes diet
    • Meal preparation and service
    • Restaurant-style dining
    • Special dietary restrictions

    Room

    • Air-conditioning
    • Cable
    • Fully furnished
    • Housekeeping and linen services
    • Kitchenettes
    • Private bathrooms
    • Telephone
    • Wifi

    Transportation

    • Community operated transportation
    • Transportation arrangement
    • Transportation arrangement (non-medical)

    Common areas

    • Beauty salon
    • Computer center
    • Dining room
    • Fitness room
    • Gaming room
    • Garden
    • Outdoor space
    • Small library
    • Wellness center

    Community services

    • Concierge services
    • Fitness programs
    • Move-in coordination

    Activities

    • Community-sponsored activities
    • Planned day trips
    • Resident-run activities
    • Scheduled daily activities

    3.91 · 33 reviews

    Overall rating

    1. 5
    2. 4
    3. 3
    4. 2
    5. 1
    • Care

      4.0
    • Staff

      4.1
    • Meals

      4.0
    • Amenities

      3.8
    • Value

      1.0

    Pros

    • Compassionate nurses
    • Friendly, caring CNAs
    • Welcoming/frontline staff
    • Strong teamwork across departments
    • Clean and well-maintained facility
    • Spacious rooms with large bathrooms
    • Privacy in rooms
    • New cherry wood furniture
    • Two call buttons per room
    • Good food with ample portions and diet-appropriate snacks
    • High-quality physical, occupational, and speech therapy
    • Large therapy/PT area
    • Plentiful activities and celebrations
    • Prompt communication in some cases (med updates, injury calls)
    • Helpful and involved administrator reported
    • Assisted home transition support
    • Skilled end-of-life care
    • Recommended by many families and some employees

    Cons

    • Inconsistent staff quality and frequent variability in care
    • Delayed incident reporting and lack of timely family notification
    • Poor communication between staff and families at times
    • Allegations of bruising, injuries, and care-related harm
    • Delays in bathroom/toileting assistance and in executing care orders
    • Smell of urine reported in some areas/rooms
    • Compression socks applied too tightly leaving indentations
    • Staff sometimes defensive or upset when concerns are raised
    • Unlicensed staff reportedly filling nursing roles
    • Physician orders not executed, completed, or charted for weeks
    • Care ignored or not provided in certain cases
    • Extreme nurse-to-resident ratios at night and weekend staffing shortages
    • Serious neglect allegations in some reports (malnutrition, dehydration)
    • Sweltering-hot rooms and reported lack of water access
    • Missing or stolen personal belongings and clothing
    • Some residents required ambulance evacuation
    • Reported decline in care quality over time
    • High cost to families despite reported issues
    • Mixed facility appearance: some rooms small despite large common areas
    • State inspection suggested by reviewers in response to problems

    Summary review

    Overall impression: Reviews for Lantern Park Specialty Care are strongly mixed, with a wide gulf between highly positive experiences and very serious negative allegations. Many reviewers praise compassionate staff, skilled therapy services, cleanliness, and the physical environment; these accounts describe staff who go "above and beyond," effective PT/OT/ST programs, tasty meals, and a welcoming atmosphere. Conversely, a substantial set of reviews document inconsistent care quality, delayed or missing clinical actions, communication failures, and even allegations of neglect and harm. The result is a polarized picture in which the facility can provide excellent, family-like care in some situations but has also been reported to fail residents in dangerous and distressing ways in others.

    Care quality and clinical performance: Positive reports frequently highlight attentive, loving care, strong end-of-life support, and skilled rehabilitation therapy that helped residents recover or transition home. Multiple reviewers singled out therapists as "fun-loving," conscientious, and effective. However, contrasting reviews describe very serious clinical lapses: physician orders not being executed or charted for weeks, unlicensed staff filling nursing roles, residents left dehydrated or malnourished, bruising and injuries, and delays in basic assistance such as bathroom help. Nighttime staffing ratios were described as extremely high, and weekend shortages were mentioned as a recurring problem. These clinical concerns—particularly when combined with reports of delayed incident reporting and a lack of family notification—create a pattern that could represent lapses in supervision, training, or resource allocation at certain times.

    Staffing, communication, and culture: Many families praise individual staff members (nurses, CNAs, administrators) as caring, communicative, and team-oriented. At the same time, other reviewers report defensive staff responses when concerns are raised, inconsistent staff quality, and poor communication about incidents and orders. This suggests variability in staff training, leadership, or morale: some shifts or teams operate well and keep families informed, while others may be undertrained, overworked, or poorly supervised. The presence of reports that unlicensed personnel are asked to replace nurses and that physician orders go unexecuted further point to systemic staffing and administrative issues rather than isolated personality problems.

    Facilities, cleanliness, and environment: Many reviewers praise the facility’s physical plant: clean common areas, large day rooms, spacious bathrooms, privacy, and new cherry wood furniture. Therapy spaces and activity areas were described as large and well-equipped. Nevertheless, some practical concerns were reported—an odor of urine in some areas, sweltering rooms without accessible water, and the occasional small-feeling bedroom. The contrast indicates that while common and therapy areas may be well maintained, resident-room conditions and day-to-day maintenance can vary.

    Dining and activities: The dining program receives consistent positive mentions: "amazing" food, good portions, and diet-appropriate snacks. Residents reportedly have options to eat in-room or in dining areas. Activities and celebrations (including recognition when residents come out of isolation) are noted as strengths, which supports a social and engaging environment for many residents.

    Safety, belongings, and incident handling: Several reviewers raised serious safety and dignity concerns—missing or stolen belongings, ignored birthdays, ambulance evacuations, and lack of timely incident reporting or family notification. Complaints about compression socks being applied too tightly and leaving indentations, delays in toileting assistance, and bruises suggest lapses in routine care and monitoring. Some reviewers explicitly called for state inspection based on their observations, indicating that problems reported were severe enough to warrant regulatory attention in their view.

    Patterns and likely explanations: The reviews reveal a recurring pattern of inconsistent experience that appears to correlate with staffing levels and possibly with specific shifts (nights/weekends) or periods of care. Many positive comments come from families or residents who experienced attentive staff, strong therapy outcomes, and proactive administrators. Many negative comments center on times when staffing seemed inadequate, orders were overlooked, or communication failed—resulting in neglect-level consequences for some residents. This variability suggests that Lantern Park may deliver high-quality care under well-staffed conditions but struggles when staffing, training, or management oversight is insufficient.

    Practical considerations for prospective families: Given the polarized feedback, prospective residents and families should consider deeper due diligence if considering Lantern Park. Important questions to ask include: current nurse-to-resident ratios by shift (nights/weekends), how physician orders and medication changes are tracked and verified, incident reporting and family notification policies, procedures for safeguarding personal belongings, and how the facility addresses heat/air concerns and hydration. Requesting recent state inspection reports, speaking with current families about recent experiences (including weekends), and touring resident rooms at different times of day can help reveal consistency of care.

    Bottom line: Lantern Park Specialty Care shows clear strengths—compassionate staff in many cases, strong therapy services, clean common areas, good dining, and robust activities—but also has concerning reports of inconsistent care, serious clinical lapses, and safety/dignity issues. Reviewers’ experiences appear highly dependent on staffing, specific teams, and timing. Families who prioritize rehabilitation, therapy, and social programming may find excellent services here, but those deeply concerned about consistent nursing oversight, reliable communication, and safeguarding of possessions should investigate thoroughly and monitor care closely if choosing this facility.

    Location

    Map showing location of Lantern Park Specialty Care

    About Lantern Park Specialty Care

    Lantern Park Specialty Care sits at 2200 Oakdale Rd in Coralville, Iowa, and has room for up to 90 residents, with skilled nursing staff on hand around the clock, and though it has a star rating of 3.7 from 13 reviews, people still find a lot to appreciate about the care there, especially since they help with both short-term and long-term needs for folks dealing with chronic diseases or medical conditions that make daily life tough. The place is part of Care Initiatives, the largest nonprofit provider of skilled nursing, hospice, and memory care services in Iowa, and the staff includes experienced registered nurses, licensed nurses, certified nursing assistants, therapists, and more than 100 dedicated team members, focusing on keeping everyone as comfortable as possible and making sure care is personal to each resident, whether someone's there for a short stay or the long haul. Hospice care, wound care, tube feeding, intravenous therapy, and bariatric care are all offered, which isn't something you see everywhere, and when someone needs therapy, their physical, occupational, and speech therapists work right on site.

    Lantern Park has private rooms, screening porches, sidewalks, and a courtyard with a fishpond, which gives folks a bit of peace and some fresh air, and you can find a beauty and barber shop right inside to keep up with haircuts and grooming. Meals get some attention too, with a menu that offers choices for residents, including specialized options for people who need tailored bariatric accommodations. There's always a push to keep people engaged, so the team runs daily activities, social get-togethers, and educational events meant to help both physical health and mental engagement, and language assistance in several languages is available if anyone needs help communicating.

    The building is licensed but doesn't hold any special certification or telehealth options, it does, however, offer long-term care resources, caregiving support, and guidance about Long-term Care Insurance, so families trying to figure all this out get some help. Office hours run Monday through Friday from 8 AM to 5 PM, and even though Lantern Park doesn't pretend to be fancy or perfect, it's known for having a solid leadership team and a focus on treating each person's needs with respect, so residents and families know what to expect in terms of honest care and available support.

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