Overall sentiment about Benedictine Living Community - Red Wing is highly mixed, with a substantial portion of reviewers praising the facility’s cleanliness, home-like atmosphere, compassionate staff, and social/dining environment, while a smaller but influential set of reviewers report very serious care failures, neglect, and communication problems. Many families describe the community as warm and welcoming, with private, spacious rooms that are well maintained and functional (WiFi and television work, storage is plentiful). Positive reviews commonly highlight caring, experienced staff who create a vibrant atmosphere where residents make friends, stay busy, and receive spiritual guidance. Meals are frequently described as delicious, and several families appreciated respectful end-of-life ceremonies and compassionate hospice interactions when they occurred as expected.
Staff quality is a central and recurring theme, but it is highly variable across accounts. Numerous reviewers emphasize that staff are attentive, helpful, and skilled — noting long-tenured employees, friendly greetings, and a positive workplace environment that translates to good resident care. The admissions/sales director and some admission staff receive particular praise for making transitions smooth and helping new residents feel at home. Multiple accounts also describe excellent communication where staff follow up on concerns and provide timely responsiveness, which contributes to a strong sense of trust for those families.
Contrasting sharply with those positive accounts are several serious allegations of neglect and unsafe practices. Some reviewers report that residents were left undressed in bed, denied assistance, or given inappropriate food for their prescribed diet (for example, peanut butter and jelly when the diet required soft foods). A few reviewers explicitly allege that hospice recommendations were not followed and claim that neglect contributed to a shortening of a loved one’s life. These reports also include incidents where staff allegedly denied visitation or shut the door on family members seeking to communicate with on-site social workers. Such accounts raise major safety, dignity, and oversight concerns and represent the most severe negative pattern in the reviews.
Communication and responsiveness emerge as inconsistent: while many families praise staff for being responsive and handling questions well, other reviews call out an unresponsive main phone line, poor communication, and instances where the social worker was perceived as neglectful or dismissive. There are also specific complaints about rude or unfriendly reception/door staff (one individual named), which can negatively impact first impressions and family interactions. Several reviewers mention admission process glitches — most were resolved and did not affect long-term satisfaction, but these issues add to an uneven experience.
Operational and management patterns appear mixed. The facility is repeatedly described as clean and well-organized, with amenities and activities contributing to resident quality of life. Management and some staff are credited with creating a welcoming environment and handling death respectfully in many cases. However, the presence of both glowing and extremely negative narratives suggests variability in staff performance and oversight. Reviews indicate that care quality may depend heavily on which staff members are on duty, the specific social worker involved, and how well hospice instructions are followed in individual cases.
Cost and value perceptions are also split: a few reviewers find the community worth the expense because of the quality of care and services, while others call it expensive and not providing adequate value given their negative experiences. This divide reinforces the broader pattern of inconsistent outcomes. Families considering Benedictine Living Community - Red Wing should weigh the many positive reports about cleanliness, meals, social life, and compassionate staff against the severity of the negative allegations. Prospective residents and families would be well advised to: 1) ask specific questions about staffing ratios and training, 2) request how hospice directives and special diets are handled and documented, 3) seek references from current residents/families, and 4) verify communication protocols and escalation paths for concerns.
In summary, Benedictine Living Community - Red Wing offers many strengths that create a warm, active, and well-maintained living environment for many residents, supported by compassionate staff and good dining/amenity offerings. At the same time, the reviews contain troubling reports of neglect, safety lapses, and inconsistent communication that warrant careful inquiry. The likelihood of a positive experience appears high when units and staff are performing well, but the existence of serious negative incidents means families should perform due diligence and monitor care closely if choosing this community.
