Overall sentiment in the reviews for CareOne at The Highlands is highly mixed, with a distinct split between consistently praised rehabilitation services and repeatedly criticized nursing, housekeeping, and administrative practices. The most consistently positive and numerous comments focus on the therapy team: physical and occupational therapy are repeatedly described as excellent, compassionate, knowledgeable, and effective. Multiple families credit the therapy staff with marked mobility improvements, independence gains, and meaningful short-term rehabilitation outcomes. Several reviewers explicitly state they would recommend the facility for short-term rehab because the therapy department is a clear strength and often offsets shortcomings in other areas.
However, this strong therapy profile is contrasted by substantial and recurring complaints about nursing care, staffing levels, and basic day-to-day resident care. A large portion of reviewers report slow or unresponsive nurses and CNAs, long waits for assistance, missed call lights, and residents being left in urine-soaked sheets or unattended for hours. Staffing appears inconsistent: some nurses and aides receive high praise for compassion and attentiveness, while others are characterized as uncaring, short-tempered, or inattentive. Weekend and night coverage are specifically flagged as problematic by multiple reviewers, though several reviewers do call out third-shift staff as excellent, indicating uneven performance across shifts.
Medication and clinical-safety concerns recur throughout the reviews. There are many specific incidents: medication errors (including a patient receiving another patient's meds), missed or late intravenous antibiotics (notably vancomycin due to line leakage), insulin management issues leading to dangerous sugar drops, and alleged mismanagement of wounds and central lines. Reports of bedsores left untreated for long periods, delayed infection recognition, and incorrect colostomy care point to gaps in clinical surveillance and wound-care competence for some patients. A small but significant number of reviewers report severe outcomes including hospitalizations and deaths; these serious adverse events raise important safety red flags in the aggregate even if they are not uniformly reported.
Cleanliness and facility maintenance are another common fault line. While some reviewers describe spotless, renovated rooms and a pleasant atmosphere, many others report urine odor, dirty floors, grimy bathrooms, scattered medical supplies and gloves, pest sightings, and general deferred maintenance (holes in outside walls, painting needed, drainage issues). These opposite impressions suggest variability by wing/room or by time—some areas may be well-maintained while others are neglected. Quick maintenance fixes are praised in some cases, but recurring environmental and infection-control concerns (e.g., supplies left around, c-diff risk mentioned) imply systemic housekeeping or oversight inconsistencies.
Dining and nutrition receive mixed feedback. Several reviews applaud food quality and individualized nutritional adjustments (including a named staff member who made beneficial changes), but others describe cold, dried-out meals, limited menu variety (especially limited fish options and meat-centric menus), and diabetic dietary needs not being respected (sugar-heavy meals causing management issues). Families caring for residents who require assistance at mealtimes also reported inconsistent help from staff—some residents were left without feeding assistance despite need.
Communication, administration, and transport are recurrent problem areas. Numerous families cite poor communication from clinicians, social workers, and administration—missed calls, unreturned messages, delayed discharge coordination, and billing/insurance disputes are reported repeatedly. Conversely, some families found the administrative staff and social workers very helpful and communicative, reinforcing the theme of inconsistency. Transportation services are described as proactive and accommodating in some situations, yet others report broken-down vehicles, missed or delayed pickups, and a general lack of reliable outpatient transportation.
Safety, theft, and accountability issues appear in multiple accounts. Allegations of stolen items (watches, wallets, dentures), room changes without notice, and insufficient supervision during vulnerable moments were noted. There are also reports of falls, bed alarms being disconnected, and rough handling by staff. Taken together with medication errors and infection reports, these issues suggest potential vulnerabilities in protocols, staff training, supervision, and internal accountability mechanisms.
Patterns and practical takeaways: - Therapy is a major strength; the facility is likely to be a good choice for short-term, intensive rehab needs where PT/OT goals are primary. - Nursing and basic caregiving quality are uneven; prospective residents and families should ask specifically about nurse staffing ratios, weekend and night coverage, wound-care and IV competence, and protocols for medication administration and monitoring. - Confirm infection-control policies, recent health inspection outcomes, and how the facility handles central lines, colostomy care, and wound treatment. - Because communication and administration are inconsistent, families should seek direct points of contact (names, escalation chain) and clarify transportation, billing, and discharge planning expectations before admission. - Visit in person at different times of day (including evenings/weekends) to assess staffing responsiveness, cleanliness in multiple wings, and mealtime assistance.
In summary, CareOne at The Highlands presents a polarized picture: a high-performing therapy program and many genuinely compassionate individual staff members, contrasted with frequent and sometimes severe shortcomings in nursing, hygiene, safety, and management/communication. The facility may be well suited to those seeking short-term rehab due to the strong therapy reputation, but families considering longer-term placement should conduct focused due diligence on staffing, clinical competency, infection control, security of personal belongings, and administrative responsiveness. The volume and severity of negative incidents reported by many families warrant careful, specific questioning and verification prior to placement.
