Birchwood Health Care Center

    604 1st St NE, Forest Lake, MN 55025
    • Independent Living
    • Assisted Living
    • Memory Care
    • Skilled Nursing

    Warm caring staff and activities

    I loved my time at Birchwood - the residents and staff are warm and caring. Ashley R and Abby were wonderful and went above and beyond, and Shannon at the desk was thoughtful; the cleaning team kept everything spotless. Activities and outings kept days lively, rehab staff helped quick progress, and the food and roomy rooms made visits comfortable. I recommend Birchwood for professional, compassionate care in a home-like atmosphere.

    Current/former resident
    Jul 2026

    Pricing

    Prices shown are estimates and subject to change. Contact your senior living advisor for current pricing.

    Schedule a Tour

    Date of Tour
    Time Window
    Tour Type

    You selected in-person tour on in the

    Amenities

    Healthcare services

    • Activities of daily living assistance
    • Assistance with bathing
    • Assistance with dressing
    • Assistance with transfers
    • Coordination with health care providers
    • 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 (medical)
    • Transportation arrangement (non-medical)
    • Transportation to doctors appointments

    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

    Reviews

    3.34·(61)

    Overall rating

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

      3.3
    • Staff

      3.9
    • Meals

      2.8
    • Amenities

      3.9
    • Value

      2.3

    Pros

    • Compassionate and friendly frontline staff
    • Effective rehabilitation and therapy services
    • Engaging activities program with regular outings
    • Home-like, smaller community atmosphere
    • Clean interior spaces and well-maintained landscaping
    • Spacious apartments with entertainment hookups
    • Accessible outdoor seating and porch/BBQ area
    • Responsive front-desk and onsite administration
    • Dedicated volunteers and welcoming reception

    Cons

    • Inconsistent clinical-care quality
    • Staffing and responsiveness gaps
    • Inconsistent meal quality and service continuity
    • Sanitation and hand-hygiene lapses in food/clinical areas
    • Medication-administration and timing control weaknesses
    • Gaps in incident response and family communication
    • Billing and administrative-collection practice concerns
    • Accessibility constraints for some scooters and mobility devices
    • Inconsistent housekeeping and laundry processes
    • Transfer- and equipment-safety practice weaknesses
    • Language and communication barriers affecting family interactions

    Summary of reviews

    The reviews present a mixed picture in which strong interpersonal strengths coexist with notable operational weaknesses. Positively, many family members and residents describe a warm, home-like environment supported by staff who are frequently characterized as kind, attentive, and welcoming. Rehabilitation and therapy services are commonly praised for producing measurable progress, and the activities program—movies, bingo, shopping and outing opportunities, porch/BBQ time, and other social options—appears robust and well-attended. Physical amenities that reviewers highlighted include roomy apartments with entertainment hookups, pleasant dining rooms, tidy interior areas, and attractive landscaping and outdoor seating.

    At the same time, there are consistent themes pointing to uneven care processes. Families described variability in clinical care quality, with examples that suggest gaps in medication administration timing, inconsistent bathing and personal-care schedules, and occasional absence of prescribed therapy. Staffing and responsiveness issues recur in narratives about delayed responses to call buzzers, residents left in rooms without scheduled engagement, and difficulties getting timely information from on-call supervisors. Several accounts raise concerns about transfer and equipment safety practices and about sanitation controls in kitchen or clinical areas, including hand-hygiene lapses and infection-control concerns.

    Dining and housekeeping evaluations are split: some praise the food and social dining experience while others describe unappetizing meals, cold service, or infrequent room cleaning. Administrative practices also generate mixed feedback. Front-desk personnel and certain administrators are described as proactive and helpful, and specific staff and volunteers receive repeated commendation; however, there are serious operational concerns around billing, collections communication, and the handling of family complaints. There are also instances of strong family distress about staff conduct and incident handling; these accounts indicate underlying weaknesses in incident response protocols and family communication pathways.

    For prospective residents and families, the facility’s strengths in staff compassion, therapy, activities, and community atmosphere are clear advantages. At the same time, the pattern of inconsistent clinical processes, sanitation and safety-control concerns, meal-service variability, and administrative/billing issues suggests that a thorough, targeted tour and direct conversations about medication safety, infection control, staffing ratios, accessibility accommodations, and billing practices are advisable before making placement decisions. Asking to see recent quality metrics, incident-response procedures, and how the facility documents and communicates corrective actions will help families evaluate whether the facility’s operational practices meet their expectations.

    Reviews written on Mirador

    We have no reviews to show about Birchwood Health Care Center.

    Help other families by writing a review about your experience with this community.

    Medicare Ratings

    2·/ 5
    • Overall

    • Health Inspection

    • Staffing

    • Quality Measures

    Ratings from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (Care Compare). View on Medicare.gov

    Location

    Map showing location of Birchwood Health Care Center

    Birchwood Health Care Center is located at 604 1st St NE, Forest Lake, MN, 55025.

    About Birchwood Health Care Center

    Birchwood Health Care Center sits over in Forest Lake, MN, and has 100 certified beds, though usually about 66 residents live there each day, and as of June 2025, 34 beds are set aside for people who need skilled nursing care for serious medical needs. The place serves as a nonprofit and is part of a Continuing Care Retirement Community, so folks can move between different care levels when their needs change, and stay in the same community. Birchwood takes Medicare and Medicaid and has links to the Lifespark network.

    Nurses at Birchwood provide care somewhere between 12 to 16 hours each day, with a 24-hour call system to help in case anything comes up, although they've had some trouble keeping enough licensed nursing staff on each shift, have 3.41 nurse hours per resident per day, which is less than the state average, and their nurse turnover sits at 34.3%, which happens to be lower than average for the state. Inspection reports show 36 total deficiencies over time, including issues with pressure ulcer care, not forming a quality assessment group, and some staffing problems, plus three noted infection-related deficiencies. Residents and families can join regularly held councils to talk about problems or suggest improvements.

    There's a long list of services available, like medication management, help with bathing, dressing, getting around, meal preparation, diabetes and allergy diets, psychiatric care, rehab, dental, optical, podiatry, and hospice care. Residents can get nutrition counseling, family caregiving support, and guidance for long-term care. Each room comes furnished and has a private bathroom, kitchenette, cable TV, phone, air conditioning, and Wi-Fi.

    Daily living at Birchwood offers housecleaning, laundry, dining all day with chef-prepared meals, and move-in help. The center aims to keep life interesting, with indoors and outdoors activities like movie nights, book readings, gardening, music, fitness, arts, cooking, and outings. Amenities include a library, fitness room, spa room, game room, movie theater, gardens, walking paths, outdoor spaces, and activity rooms. Families often visit and join in community events. Ratings on review sites average 2.4 from 19 reviews. Residents are encouraged to keep independence and have some say in their daily schedules, but they also get steady support from staff for whatever's needed, and the community does its best to keep things lively and welcoming, even though some state inspections have pointed out areas to fix.

    People often ask...

    Birchwood Health Care Center offers competitive pricing, with rates starting at a cost of $4,613 per month.

    Birchwood Health Care Center offers independent living, assisted living, memory care, and skilled nursing.

    Yes, Birchwood Health Care Center allows residents to age in place and adjust their level of care as needed.

    The full address for this community is 604 1st St NE, Forest Lake, MN 55025.

    No, Birchwood Health Care Center does not offer respite care. Respite care in assisted living communities provides temporary, short-term relief for primary caregivers by offering professional care for their loved ones. It allows individuals to stay in an assisted living community for a limited time, giving caregivers a break while ensuring residents receive necessary support and assistance with daily activities.

    Safety & Compliance

    In Minnesota, the Department of Health licenses assisted living facilities, publishing the findings of its surveys and complaint investigations.

    License number30232
    Facility typeAssisted Living

    Inspection Reports

    3

    Reports

    15

    Citations

    1

    Complaints

    4

    Years

    06 Feb 2025Inspection
    Identified multiple state correction orders for TB control, fire safety, relocation notices, staff supervision, service planning, and medication practices.
    • 144G.42 Subd. 9Tuberculosis prevention and control
    • 144G.45 Subd. 2 (a) (1)Fire protection and SS=F physical environment
    • 144G.45 Subd. 2 (a) (4)Fire protection and SS=F physical environment
    • 144G.52 Subd. 9Emergency relocation
    • 144G.62 Subd. 4Supervision of staff providing delegated nursing tasks
    • 144G.70 Subd. 2 (c-e)Initial reviews, assessments, and monitoring
    • 144G.70 Subd. 4 (a-e)Service plan, implementation and revisions
    • 144G.71 Subd. 18Medications provided by resident or family
    23 Nov 2022Complaint
    Investigated neglect after a resident's recurring left foot pain was not assessed for weeks, leading to a wound and infection.
    • 144G.91 Subd. 8Freedom from maltreatment
    03 Aug 2022Inspection
    Identified several deficiencies across resident rights, food safety, fire safety training, and medication management.
    • 144G.40 Subd. 2Uniform checklist disclosure of services
    • 144G.41 Subd. 1 (13) (i) (B)Minnesota Food Code compliance
    • 144G.45 Subd. 2 (b)-(f)Fire safety and evacuation training
    • 144G.70 Subd. 2 (c-e)Resident reassessment and monitoring
    • 144G.71 Subd. 22Disposition of medications on discharge
    • 144G.90 Subd. 1Assisted living Bill of Rights and complaint notice

    Disclaimer

    Mirador Living is not affiliated with the owner or operator(s) of Birchwood Health Care Center. The information above has not been verified or approved by the owner or operator. For exact information, please contact Birchwood Health Care Center directly. There is no cost for this service. We are compensated by the community you select.

    Are you an owner or operator of this community?

    Claim this listing to receive messages from prospective customers and manage your community page.

    Nearby Communities

    Assisted Living in Nearby Cities

    1. 28 facilities$6,075/mo
    2. 21 facilities$6,335/mo
    3. 26 facilities$6,152/mo
    4. 18 facilities$5,493/mo
    5. 5 facilities$4,692/mo
    6. 24 facilities$6,374/mo
    7. 3 facilities
    8. 54 facilities$5,904/mo
    9. 51 facilities$5,987/mo
    10. 14 facilities$5,317/mo
    11. 37 facilities$6,495/mo
    12. 15 facilities$5,311/mo
    © 2026 Mirador Living