Overall sentiment across the reviews for Caraway Assisted Living is highly mixed, with a strong polarization between reviewers who praise the staff and environment and others who report serious safety and quality-of-care failures. Several families and residents describe the staff as kind, compassionate, and responsive — naming specific caregivers and leadership (notably 'Tina') as exemplary. These positive reviews highlight small-community strengths: a homey atmosphere, large rooms with private bathrooms, natural light and porch space, family-style meals, a favorable staff-to-resident ratio reported by one reviewer, and available therapy services. For many, staff went above and beyond, provided excellent communication, and created peace of mind through attentive dementia care and hospice collaboration.
However, a substantial number of reviews describe concerning and potentially dangerous lapses in basic clinical care and facility operations. Medication handling appears to be a recurring and serious problem: multiple reviewers reported medications being left on bedside tables or in cups, medications missed altogether, and at least one very specific allegation that an osteoporosis medication was not administered for six months. There were reports of medication drips and unsecured meds as well. These accounts are not isolated and indicate systemic issues around medication administration protocols, staff training, or supervision.
Closely related are safety and personal-care concerns. Reviewers reported unassisted falls, transfers that caused skin tears, and residents left sleeping in soiled diapers. At least one ER visit and charge for a nurse assessment were mentioned in the context of adverse events. Several reviews also called out the staff being rushed and overburdened — frequently multitasking between cooking, cleaning, and caregiving — which reviewers linked to reduced one-on-one time with residents and potential causes of neglect or errors.
Dining and nutrition are another major area of divergence. Some families praise varied menus, family-style service, and pleasant smells from the kitchen. But an equal or larger group describes the food as terrible, burned, or largely processed/boxed, with a pronounced lack of fresh fruits and vegetables. Multiple reviews claim the facility does not follow the dietician’s menu, raising questions about dietary compliance and oversight, particularly given the vulnerability of an assisted-living population to nutrition-related problems.
Facility condition and housekeeping generate contradictory impressions: several reviewers call the building clean, well-maintained, and homey, while others report unclean rooms, unpleasant odors, and even cats roaming the facility. These opposing descriptions suggest variability in standards or a decline over time tied to management changes. Indeed, many negative reviews attribute declines in food quality, cleanliness, and clinical oversight to ownership or management turnover. Several reviewers explicitly say the facility worsened after a change in ownership.
Activities, quality-of-life programming, and emergency preparedness also receive mixed feedback. Some reviewers note adequate activities and communal areas for visiting family, while others report no meaningful activities and a cold or uninviting dining area. One reviewer specifically noted a lack of evidence for regular fire drills. Financial transparency and billing were occasionally criticized (unexpected nurse assessment charges and overcharging concerns).
A clear pattern is inconsistency: many families express strong confidence in individual caregivers and management members, and praise small-community benefits, while others experienced serious lapses in care that could cause harm. This suggests that experiences may depend heavily on timing (before vs after management change), specific shifts or caregivers on duty, and how well policies are currently enforced.
For prospective families: verify the current management and staffing model, ask for written policies on medication administration and auditing, request recent inspection or incident reports, confirm how dietician menus are implemented, and observe a mealtime and housekeeping conditions during a tour. Ask about staffing ratios across all shifts, training for transfers and fall prevention, scheduled activities, and evidence of emergency drills. Given the serious medication and safety allegations in multiple reviews, these specific checks are warranted before making a placement decision.
In summary, Caraway Assisted Living receives high praise from many families for individualized, compassionate caregiving, a homelike setting, and certain strong staff members. At the same time, there are repeated and serious complaints about medication errors, food quality, cleanliness, staffing levels, and management instability. The overall picture is one of marked variability in quality: some residents appear to thrive, while others experienced neglect and safety issues. The decision to place a loved one here should follow careful, current verification of medication safety practices, staff training, housekeeping standards, and management stability.
