Overall sentiment across the reviews of Autumn Lake Healthcare at Glen Burnie is highly mixed but leans strongly toward concern. A recurring pattern is sharp contrast between pockets of genuinely good care and frequent, serious lapses. Many reviewers praise the rehabilitation teams (physical, occupational, speech therapy), certain nurses, CNAs, and administrative liaisons by name for compassionate, effective, and personalized care that resulted in observable patient improvements. These positive reports cite successful short-term rehab outcomes, attentive therapists, welcoming admissions staff, engaging activities, and individual aides who go above and beyond.
At the same time, negative themes are pervasive and frequently described with urgent language. The most common and serious concerns focus on staffing shortages and responsiveness: nights and weekends are repeatedly identified as problematic, with long call-bell delays (commonly reported as 10–30 minutes and sometimes much longer), minimal night supervision, and agency or temporary staff who appear undertrained or disengaged. Reviewers describe residents being left unattended, in soiled diapers or underwear, without timely pain medication or essential care, and in some cases left in unsafe situations that required family or police intervention.
Medication and clinical care issues appear repeatedly. There are many reports of missing medications, delayed or missed doses (including critical medications such as insulin and blood thinners), medication chart discrepancies, and at least several accounts of medication-related errors or confusing charting. Reviewers also report medical complications coinciding with facility care: significant weight loss, kidney infections, sepsis risk, and other infections. Several reviews describe poor monitoring (infrequent vitals checks), miscommunication that led to delayed hospital transfers, and incidents with serious outcomes including death and disputed handling of postmortem arrangements.
Hygiene, cleanliness, and facility condition are a major source of complaint. Numerous reviewers report persistent urine and fecal odors, dirty bathrooms (including shared bathrooms), overflowing trash, unclean floors, sheets not changed, and black mold or AC issues in some areas. Condition is described as highly variable by unit and floor: some units and rooms are described as spotless and well-maintained while others are characterized as filthy and neglected. Shared bathrooms, peeling paint, torn curtains, broken furniture, and dated decor are recurring observations. Housekeeping is reported as inconsistent, and the facility’s infection-control practices are questioned by multiple reviewers.
Food and nutrition complaints are frequent: many reviewers call the food inedible or insufficient, report meals being taken away if not fully eaten, and describe lack of nutritional follow-up for weight loss. Some families report residents not getting snacks or beverages, and claims that special diets are improperly managed or misrepresented. This combines with reports of poor hydration and inadequate monitoring to create a theme of nutrition-related neglect in several accounts.
Safety, security, and management issues: reviewers raise concerns that access control and possessions handling are problematic — doors locked in ways that limit outside access for residents, some visitors able to enter without sign-in, belongings boxed or stored and not promptly returned, and storage areas not properly secured. Families report lack of transparency and poor communication from administration and social services, including mishandled discharges, failed appeals, billing disputes, and in one case miscommunication with a funeral home. Management responsiveness is described as inconsistent: some administrators and case workers are praised, but many reviewers report dismissive, unavailable, or unaccountable leadership when serious concerns are raised.
Staff behavior and culture show marked variability. Multiple reviewers call out rude, unprofessional, or even abusive behavior (cursing in rooms, yelling at residents, staff on cell phones while ignoring residents). Conversely, many reviewers single out specific staff members and teams for exceptional care, identifying names repeatedly (e.g., therapists and certain CNAs/nurses). This suggests pockets of committed staff working within a system that often leaves them overworked or unsupported. Reported morale issues, heavy paperwork burdens, and low staffing ratios appear to drive burnout and inconsistent care.
Several reviews frame the facility as more appropriate for short-term, motivated rehab patients than for frail long-term or memory-impaired residents. Units with strong rehab orientation and attentive therapy often show good results. However, for residents requiring continuous nursing care, memory care, or vigilant supervision (especially at night), reviewers frequently advise caution or avoiding placement due to safety, neglect, and unpredictability in care quality.
In summary: the facility demonstrates substantial variation in quality. Notable strengths are the therapy teams, several compassionate individual caregivers, a competent admissions process in many cases, and positive social/activities programming. Major and recurring weaknesses are systemic: chronic understaffing (nights/weekends), delayed responses to call bells, medication administration problems, poor hygiene and infection control in multiple areas, inadequate nutrition follow-up, security and possessions issues, inconsistent housekeeping, and uneven management accountability. These patterns have, according to multiple reviewers, resulted in harm to residents in some instances. Families considering this facility should weigh the positive rehabilitation resources and individual staff strengths against the risk of inconsistent nursing care, cleanliness problems, and safety lapses. For short-term rehab with close family involvement and strong therapy needs, some report good outcomes; for long-term, memory-impaired, or higher-acuity residents, many reviewers strongly recommend seeking alternatives until the facility addresses staffing, clinical governance, cleanliness, and communication shortcomings.
