Overall sentiment across the reviews is mixed but leans toward significant concern. Multiple reviews praise individual staff members for being kind, courteous, helpful, and responsive; families report that some staff dress residents nicely, provide refreshments during visits, and check on visitors. A few relatives describe their experience as good or even great, and some residents apparently enjoy living there. These positive comments suggest that there are competent, compassionate employees at the facility who provide meaningful, individualized interactions.
However, the predominant themes are serious operational and care-quality problems. Recurrent complaints point to understaffing and overwhelmed personnel, which reviewers connect to delayed responses to call lights, inadequate supervision, and poor daily care. Several reviewers say staff are too busy to provide consistent attention, requiring family members to visit daily to monitor basic needs. The staffing shortages are implicated in a wide range of failures: inconsistent medication management with reported concerns about impacts on kidney health, limited or nonexistent activities for residents, and reliance on a small number of workers to manage a large facility.
Hygiene and wound care are major red flags in these reviews. Multiple accounts describe a strong, persistent urine odor throughout the facility, dirty clothing left on the floor, and bed sores or open, untreated wounds. One reviewer explicitly reported missing wound reports and untreated wounds, and others described bed sores being 'everywhere.' These reports, combined with claims of residents being strapped into chairs, create a pattern suggesting lapses in skin care, repositioning protocols, continence care, and documentation. Such issues raise safety and regulatory concerns and are the most urgent themes coming from reviewers.
Communication and management practices also draw criticism. At least one reviewer reported that a resident was moved into the Alzheimer's unit without family notification, and some families expressed fear of retaliation if they complained. Reviews mention rude staff in some instances, inconsistent responsiveness to questions, and apparent budget or funding constraints affecting operations. The size of the facility is cited as a negative factor — reviewers suggest the large scale makes adequate oversight and personalized care more difficult.
There is a clear divide in experiences: while some families praise individual caregivers and note pleasant visits, others describe the facility as dangerous and neglectful, even saying they would give zero stars if possible. This inconsistency suggests variability in staff performance, unit-level differences (for example, general care vs. Alzheimer's unit), or fluctuating conditions over time. For prospective residents and families, the most consistent specific concerns are wound and skin care, incontinence and odor problems, understaffing, poor communication about care decisions, and inadequate activity programming.
In summary, while Kirksville Manor Care Center has employees who provide compassionate, attentive care in certain cases, the reviews collectively reveal systemic issues that can severely affect resident safety and quality of life. The most pressing concerns are untreated wounds/pressure ulcers, hygiene problems, understaffing, questionable medication practices, and poor communication — especially regarding transfers to memory-care units. Anyone considering this facility should weigh the positive reports of caring staff against these repeated and serious complaints, consider frequent oversight or daily visits, and seek direct answers from management about staffing levels, wound-care protocols, infection and odor control measures, activity programming, and how family notifications and transfers (particularly into Alzheimer’s care) are handled.
