Runnells Center for Rehabilitation and Healthcare

    40 Watchung Way, Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922
    • Assisted Living
    • Memory Care
    • Skilled Nursing

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    Amenities

    Healthcare services

    • Activities of daily living assistance
    • Assistance with bathing
    • Assistance with dressing
    • Assistance with transfers
    • 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 (non-medical)

    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

    3.62·(105)

    Overall rating

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

      3.3
    • Staff

      3.5
    • Meals

      2.6
    • Amenities

      3.7
    • Value

      2.5

    Pros

    • Compassionate nursing and caregiving staff
    • Strong physical and occupational therapy services
    • Specialized wound-care expertise and wound-vac proficiency
    • Modern, recently renovated building and private rooms
    • Clean, well-maintained units in many areas
    • Therapeutic programs focused on symptom management and reintegration
    • Responsive rehabilitation team with personalized treatment plans
    • Helpful reception and admissions support
    • Nutritious, well-prepared meal options
    • Convenient location
    • Active social and recreational programming
    • Efficient discharge planning and community-transition focus

    Cons

    • Inconsistent nursing responsiveness and variable clinical staffing
    • Medication-management and patient-identification control gaps
    • Inconsistent personal-care delivery and ADL assistance
    • Sanitation and housekeeping variability with odor concerns in areas
    • Unreliable meal-service continuity and limited menu options at times
    • Communication and family-notification process weaknesses
    • Administrative coordination and front-desk responsiveness issues
    • High staff turnover and staff-morale challenges
    • Safety-practice gaps related to fall prevention and equipment policy
    • Inconsistent wound-dressing follow-through and care continuity
    • Physical-plant operation problems (entry doors, windows, parking)
    • Admission and paperwork-process inconsistencies
    • Language and certification inconsistencies among some aides
    • Billing, benefits, and charge-clarity concerns

    Summary of reviews

    Overview Review content for Runnells Center for Rehabilitation and Healthcare is strongly polarized: a substantial number of families and patients describe high-quality rehabilitation, attentive clinicians, and a modern facility, while other accounts raise operational and safety concerns. The facility demonstrates clear strengths in therapy services and specialized clinical care in many cases, but reviewers also describe variability in day-to-day nursing and housekeeping practices that affect overall experience.

    Care quality and clinical staff Many reviewers praise the therapy departments (PT/OT) for rapid progress, individualized plans, and staff willingness to accommodate needs. Several accounts highlight strong wound-care capability, including competent wound-vac management and knowledgeable wound specialists. At the same time, there are consistent themes about uneven nursing responsiveness across shifts and units: delayed responses to call signals, missed or late medication doses, and inconsistent assistance with activities of daily living (bathing, oral care, repositioning). There are also isolated but serious concerns following a resident's death and multiple reports describing medication-management issues and documentation lapses that warrant attention.

    Staff behavior, training, and morale Many reviewers describe caring, compassionate nurses, CNAs and therapists; others report variability in aide skill level, language ability, and professionalism. High staff turnover and internal morale issues are noted and appear connected to inconsistent performance. Families describe helpful, communicative therapists and reception staff in some instances, while others experienced poor coordination between clinical teams, limited family notification, and occasional privacy breaches.

    Dining and housekeeping Dining experiences range from positive—nutritious, well-presented meals and accommodating staff—to problematic, with examples of undercooked or outdated items, limited menu choice (especially on weekends), and interruptions in meal-service continuity. Housekeeping and sanitation practices are uneven: several reviewers describe clean, hotel-like units, whereas other accounts indicate sanitation concerns, supply shortages (towels/washcloths/tissues), and odor concerns in some areas. These differences often appear to correlate with unit, shift, or staffing levels.

    Facilities, safety, and operations The facility is frequently described as modern and recently renovated, with many private rooms and an inviting campus feel. Operational issues reported include entry/door malfunctions, windows that do not open (limited natural ventilation), occasional unplowed parking, and changes to phone or visitation systems without clear family notification. Safety-practice concerns include bed-rail and equipment policy changes that families perceive as increasing fall risk, and inconsistent follow-through on wound dressings and pressure-area care in some cases.

    Management, communication, and financial concerns Several reviewers praised individual administrators and specific staff members for responsiveness and leadership. However, recurrent themes include inconsistent front-desk responsiveness, admission paperwork/process confusion, unclear billing or benefits-coverage communication, and uneven coordination between administration and front-line clinical staff. These administrative gaps amplify clinical and operational problems when they occur.

    Notable patterns and guidance for families The overall picture is one of strong clinical and rehabilitative capability available at the center, paired with operational variability that appears linked to staffing levels, shift differences, and unit-specific practices. Prospective residents and families may benefit from targeted questions during a tour: ask about nurse-to-patient ratios on the intended unit and shifts, medication-administration safeguards, wound-care protocols and continuity, housekeeping schedules and supply availability, weekend kitchen coverage, and how the facility communicates with families about clinical incidents and billing. Visiting multiple units and speaking directly with therapy, nursing, and admissions staff can help assess the consistency of care for a given placement.

    Bottom line Runnells Center offers substantial rehabilitation resources and examples of compassionate, effective clinical care, particularly in therapy and wound management; however, reviewers also identify recurring operational weaknesses—most notably inconsistent nursing responsiveness, sanitation and housekeeping variability, communication gaps, and administrative coordination issues—that can materially affect resident experience. Families should weigh the facility's clinical strengths against these operational patterns and confirm unit-level staffing and process safeguards before placement.

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    Medicare Ratings

    4·/ 5
    • Overall

    • Health Inspection

    • Staffing

    • Quality Measures

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

    Location

    Runnells Center for Rehabilitation and Healthcare is located at 40 Watchung Way, Berkeley Heights, NJ, 07922.

    About Runnells Center for Rehabilitation and Healthcare

    Runnells Center for Rehabilitation and Healthcare sits on a 35-acre campus in Berkeley Heights, NJ, where you'll find a mix of skilled nursing care, long-term care, sub-acute rehabilitation, respite care, and hospice services. The center's teams include specialized staff like a Doctor of Physical Therapy, Director of MDS, Certified Occupational Therapy Assistants, and an Assistant Director of Nursing, all trained in different parts of rehabilitation and healthcare. They provide a range of therapies, including physical, occupational, and speech therapy, and the facility has specialized care units for people coming in for rehab, as well as a memory care program for people with Alzheimer's and Dementia, offering support in a safe setting. The staff delivers care with a patient-centered approach, focusing on helping people recover, stay comfortable, and maintain their independence as much as possible.

    The building has modern amenities, scenic outdoor gardens, and rooms with flat screen cable TVs and WiFi, so people can feel at home during their stay, and some suites are set up especially for orthopedic patients. There's a state-of-the-art therapy gym in the fitness center and on-site beauty services for convenience. Recreational programs are available for physical, mental, and social well-being, and the campus is designed with outdoor spaces and gardens for relaxation. The Center's long-standing commitment to quality care is backed up by awards and accreditations recognizing its high standards. Runnells Center runs as a privately held company and has served the local community for many years, focusing on compassionate service, recovery, and creating a warm place to heal or live, whether someone needs short-term rehabilitation, ongoing nursing care, respite for caregivers, or specialty services for memory and chronic conditions.

    People often ask...

    Runnells Center for Rehabilitation and Healthcare offers assisted living, memory care, and skilled nursing.

    There are 34 photos of Runnells Center for Rehabilitation and Healthcare on Mirador.

    The full address for this community is 40 Watchung Way, Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922.

    No, Runnells Center for Rehabilitation and Healthcare 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.

    Disclaimer

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

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