Overall sentiment across the submitted reviews is mixed and polarized. Many reviewers praise River Heights for its clean, spacious physical environment, welcoming staff, in-house cooking, and an energetic life enrichment program led by a coordinator named Arielle who is repeatedly credited with improving residents’ daily stimulation and quality of life. Several reviewers explicitly note the dining experience as a highlight — pleasant dining hall, varied month-long menu, flexible meal options, and generally good food. Other operational positives mentioned include on-site physical therapy, a capable environmental services director, recent positive hires (residential services manager, culinary director), and signs of improvement following a merger-driven leadership change.
However, these favorable comments sit alongside serious and recurring negative reports that raise significant concerns about resident safety, management responsiveness, and care quality. Multiple reviewers describe theft incidents — including a wallet stolen from a purse and another staff member’s wallet — accompanied by management responses that discouraged police involvement and, in at least one case, refused to search a suspect’s apartment citing a staff member’s claim of having a 'psychic' gift. That specific account (a nurse named Barb allegedly claiming to be a psychic medium and declining to oversee a search) and the reported instruction to avoid police intervention point to distrust in how security incidents are handled. Several reviewers used language such as "suspicious/fishy behavior," and others escalated to police involvement themselves. These accounts indicate a pattern that some families perceive as a breach of safety and trust.
Care quality and clinical oversight are another major area of concern. Reports include alleged lapses in basic medical support (for example, oxygen not provided for four consecutive days), inconsistent delivery of contracted services, and at least one claim that abuse or violent behavior occurred. Reviewers also mention weekend staffing shortages and staff disrespect. Several accounts suggest that the quality of care varies dramatically depending on how assertive a resident’s advocate (family member) is, which implies inconsistent staff training, supervision, or staffing levels. Conversely, other reviewers state that staff are amazing and attentive, underscoring a wide variance in individual experiences.
Management, leadership, and organizational stability are mixed themes. Some reviewers praise recent leadership changes and describe a collaborative team approach from new hires and department heads, crediting merger-driven leadership for improvements. Others report high turnover, an underqualified executive director, and poor management practices — particularly in the handling of critical incidents and in responsiveness to family concerns. This split suggests the facility may be in transition: some improvements are being implemented, but legacy issues and cultural problems reportedly persist.
Amenities and programming present a similarly divided picture. The community is described as quiet, clean, and comfortable with spacious apartments and common areas, but also as having fewer amenities than competitive peers (notably no dedicated art room or exercise room). Activities are praised where the life enrichment coordinator is active, with examples like planting, bingo, game room use, and outdoor activities. Still, some residents and visitors report a lack of observed activities and wish for more consistent or visible programming, indicating variability in how well scheduled activities are executed or communicated.
Operational and logistical pain points come through repeatedly: building navigation challenges due to a large, complex layout; distance and travel burden for families; difficulty locating staff at times and a desire for a receptionist to control entry and handle paperwork; sporadic weekend staffing problems; and comments that some apartments need updating. Financial concerns are also present — reviewers mentioned feeling overcharged or that services billed could not be verified.
In summary, River Heights by Vivie appears to offer many of the positives families seek in a senior living community: clean, spacious facilities; good food; a strong life enrichment leader; and some effective department managers. However, there are red flags that cannot be ignored: documented thefts and unsettling responses from management, at least one highly unusual unprofessional incident involving a staff member claiming psychic ability, reports of serious lapses in clinical care, staffing inconsistencies, and leadership turnover. Experiences vary considerably — some residents and families are very satisfied and see recent improvement, while others report conditions that they consider unsafe or unacceptable. Prospective residents and families should weigh the favorable aspects against the safety and management concerns, verify recent leadership/staffing updates in person, ask specifically about security policies and incident handling, request documentation of clinical staffing and on-call coverage (weekends especially), and consider direct references from current families before making a placement decision.
