Care quality and staffing: The dominant negative theme is staffing — many reviews report an inadequate staff-to-resident ratio, frequent turnover, and new or inexperienced staff. These staffing problems are linked to concrete care deficits: delayed alarm/pull-cord responses (especially in memory care), late or missed diaper changes, and intermittent checks on residents. While some aides and nurses are singled out for excellent care, the variability is substantial: a number of reviewers describe episodes where tasks were not done, where diapers were found wet or improperly disposed of, or where pills were left on the floor. Several reviewers reported no weekend nurse coverage and staff coming to work ill, which heightens concerns about reliability and clinical oversight.
Memory care and safety: Multiple reviews specifically call out the memory care unit as ill-equipped for residents with dementia-related behaviors. Reported incidents include slow alarm responses, insufficient one-on-one care, residents being returned to hospital quickly after admission, and families feeling the unit "was not the right environment." Safety and privacy issues also appear repeatedly: shared rooms with partial dividers that do not prevent noise or privacy breaches, the ability for residents to access other residents’ rooms, and concerns about sign-in/security procedures. These observations suggest that while general assisted living may meet expectations for some residents, the memory care program requires careful vetting by families of persons with moderate to advanced cognitive impairment.
Management, communication, and organization: Reviews point to inconsistent leadership and organizational changes (ownership/sale and a new manager who is a CNA) contributing to disorganized care. Families frequently report poor communication, long response times, ignored concerns, and ambiguous explanations of services and billing. Several reviewers expressed frustration with misrepresented services and nontransparent billing, including strict financial prerequisites (requiring 12 months of financial security) and limited acceptance of government aid. Scheduling changes, shift-change disruptions during care, and a sense that complaints are not consistently addressed further undermine trust for some families.
Facility, dining, and activities: Many reviewers compliment the facility’s cleanliness, homelike atmosphere, lakefront setting, and pleasant common areas. Meals receive mixed but often positive feedback — several residents reportedly enjoy the meals and find them nutritious and delicious — however others report repetitive menus, canned desserts, poor food smells, and insufficient meal-assistance leading to risk of dehydration for diners needing help. The activities program and social director receive praise from several families for being energetic and engaging, though some reviewers felt activities were limited or that outings were infrequent given the facility’s small size. Accessibility items such as lack of resident parking at the tour, small apartment sizes, or inadequate kitchenettes were noted by some.
Patterns and recommendations: The overall pattern is of a community with strong individual caregivers and appealing physical features but ongoing systemic problems around staffing, consistency of care, and management responsiveness. Positive experiences tend to come from families whose loved ones have moderate needs and can benefit from social programming and attentive aides; negative experiences cluster where higher clinical needs, dementia behaviors, or expectations for timely nursing responses are present. For prospective families: verify current staffing ratios and clinical coverage (including weekend nurse availability), inspect memory care staffing and alarm response protocols, ask specifically about policies for financial requirements and billing transparency, and request recent references or observations related to hygiene and medication safety. Touring in person and observing shift changes, mealtimes, and the memory care unit in operation will help determine whether Encore at Maplewood’s strengths outweigh the documented operational concerns for a particular resident.
