Overall sentiment across the reviews is highly mixed and polarized. Many reviewers deeply appreciate the clinical strengths of Somerset Woods — especially the rehabilitation teams (physical and occupational therapy), certain nurses, and the social work staff — and praise the facility’s clean, modern environment and welcoming communal areas. At the same time a substantial and recurring set of criticisms centers on staffing shortfalls, inconsistent caregiver behavior (particularly among CNAs/aides), food and housekeeping problems, and serious safety or neglect incidents reported by multiple families. The result is a pattern in which experiences range from “exceptional” to “unacceptable,” often depending on the unit, shift, or which specific staff members are on duty.
Care quality and clinical services: Rehabilitation services are one of the clearest strong points. PT/OT are repeatedly described as excellent, proactive, and instrumental to recovery; reviewers commonly note quick starts to therapy and measurable progress. Many nurses also receive strong praise for competence, clinical monitoring (including wound care), and communication. However, there is notable variability: some nurses are described as inattentive or rude, and temporary staff or weekend coverage create medication confusion and lapses. Crucially, aides/CNAs are the most frequently cited source of inconsistency — reviewers report both caring, patient aides and aides who are impatient, don’t change diapers often enough, or do not assist with feeding and bathing. These aide-related issues, combined with understaffing, are linked directly to reports of neglect (e.g., residents left in urine/feces for hours, infrequent diaper changes, and not being dressed or cleaned properly).
Staffing, response times, and safety: A dominant theme is chronic understaffing, especially at night and on weekends. This correlates with slow or inconsistent call-bell responses, long waits for bathroom or feeding assistance, delayed bed rails or safety adjustments, and lapses in hygiene or supervision. Several reviews mention serious safety incidents — falls, pressure ulcers, and untreated infections — and some allege neglect or abusive behavior. While many families report prompt, attentive care and quick resolution of issues when staff are available, the recurring reports of long waits, missed medications, and occasional lack of supervision are significant and recurring red flags that affect resident safety and family trust.
Facilities and housekeeping: The physical facility is consistently praised: new, bright, modern, well-decorated, and generally clean. Common areas, therapy spaces, and décor receive many positive comments. That said, housekeeping and in-room cleanliness are inconsistent. Numerous reports describe rooms not being cleaned for days, trash or tissues left on the floor, food spills not cleaned promptly, intermittent urine odor on some units, and slower housekeeping coverage on weekends. There are also a few isolated but serious sanitation reports (e.g., scabies, gross shower floors) which, although not universal, are noteworthy because they affect infection control perceptions.
Dining and dietary services: Dining is another polarized area. Many families and residents enjoy the meals and praise dietary staff for accommodating preferences, culturally appropriate options, and healthy menu choices. Conversely, a large portion of reviews complain about cold meals, bland or hospital-style food, poor variety, incorrect orders, delayed substituted meals, and promised dietary accommodations not being followed. Several reviewers said they had to supply supplemental food from home due to dislike or unpalatability. Timeliness (late breakfasts or dinners) and presentation are recurring issues.
Communication and management: Communication gets mixed reviews. The social work team is frequently named and highly praised for proactive, caring, and informative communication. Several nurses and therapists also keep families well-informed. However, many families report poor follow-through from administration, unreturned calls, and inconsistent updates — especially when the regular point-person is not present. Some reviewers describe administrators and unit managers as unresponsive or dismissive when concerns are raised. Several comments also highlight differences between weekdays and weekends or between day and night shifts in terms of responsiveness and oversight.
Behavioral and staff conduct concerns: While many reviews describe compassionate, family-like care, there are repeated descriptions of unacceptable staff conduct in a minority of accounts: aides or nurses cursing at residents, making threats, or otherwise acting in a cruel or uncaring manner. There are also reports of staff smoking on premises or inappropriate behavior in parking areas. These are not the majority view, but such allegations are serious and surfaced multiple times.
Patterns and variability: A clear pattern is variability — by floor, shift, and individual staff members. Some floors or the first floor are frequently described as providing excellent, consistent care, whereas other floors or night shifts draw much more criticism. Likewise, reviewers often single out individual staff members (e.g., social worker, certain nurses, certain aides) as exceptional, suggesting that resident experience depends heavily on personnel. Weekend staffing, temporary agency staff, and holiday coverage are repeatedly cited as times when care quality and communication drop.
Summary judgment and implications: Based on the volume and nature of comments, Somerset Woods offers strong rehabilitation services, a clean and attractive physical environment, and several staff members and teams who provide compassionate, high-quality care and good communication. At the same time, frequent reports of understaffing, inconsistent aide performance, delayed responses to calls, food and housekeeping deficiencies, medication or documentation lapses, and a minority of serious safety/neglect allegations create considerable variability in family satisfaction and resident experience. Prospective residents and families should weigh the facility’s strong rehab and nursing pockets against the recurrent operational concerns. When considering this facility, it would be prudent to verify current staffing levels (nurse-to-patient and aide-to-patient ratios), ask about weekend/night coverage and agency staffing, review recent inspection/Medicare reports, confirm dietary accommodations and meal timeliness, and request direct contact information for the social worker and unit manager responsible for the resident’s unit. These steps can help determine whether the strengths cited in many reviews will be consistently available for a particular resident and identify whether management has addressed the recurring issues highlighted by other families.
