St. Ann's Community

    1500 Portland Ave, Rochester, NY, 14621
    4.0 · 7 reviews
    • Assisted living
    • Memory care
    • Skilled nursing
    AnonymousLoved one of resident
    2.0

    Lovely chapel but poor management

    I chose this place for the beautiful Catholic chapel, its location across from Rochester General, and the ninth-floor rehab/multiple care levels (independent, assisted, skilled) - Life Enrichment and many nurses/medical staff have been wonderful and made it a good home for my parents. That said, administration is dishonest and unresponsive: operators disconnect calls, it's hard to reach the floor, and relatives are often left on their own despite occasional helpful nurses. Too many front-line staff are rude, lazy or abusive and management seems to tolerate them while scolding residents. I have serious overall care and communication concerns.

    Pricing

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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

    4.00 · 7 reviews

    Overall rating

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

      1.5
    • Staff

      1.5
    • Meals

      4.0
    • Amenities

      5.0
    • Value

      4.0

    Pros

    • Beautiful Catholic chapel
    • Convenient location across from Rochester General Hospital
    • Offers multiple levels of care (independent living, assisted living, skilled nursing)
    • On-site ninth-floor rehabilitation unit
    • Good nurses and medical staff
    • Life Enrichment department highly praised
    • Reported as a wonderful home for some residents/families

    Cons

    • Dishonest administration
    • Administration scolds residents
    • Abusive staff behavior reported
    • Rude and lazy staff on some units
    • Management retains problematic staff ('keeps the bad apples')
    • Overall care concerns
    • Staff unresponsive to calls for help
    • Communication failures (operator disconnects, difficulty reaching the nursing floor)
    • Relative/resident left alone after delays in assistance

    Summary review

    Overall impression: The reviews present a mixed but concerning picture. Several concrete positives recur: attractive spiritual facilities, a convenient medical-adjacent location, a full continuum of care, a strong Life Enrichment (activities) program, and praise for many nurses and medical staff. However, these positives are counterbalanced by repeated and serious criticisms of management behavior, staff conduct, communication breakdowns, and inconsistent caregiving. The result is an overall sentiment that, while the facility has many structural advantages and some strong departments, there are systemic problems that significantly undermine trust and perceived safety for some residents and families.

    Facilities and services: Reviewers note clear facility strengths. The on-site Catholic chapel is described as beautiful, and the facility’s location directly across from Rochester General Hospital is viewed as highly convenient for medical access. The availability of multiple care levels — independent living with services, assisted living, skilled nursing — and an on-site ninth-floor rehabilitation unit are important positives for families seeking continuity of care. The Life Enrichment department receives explicit praise, indicating a strong activity/programming component that supports resident engagement. There were no specific comments about dining in these summaries, so no conclusion can be drawn about food service quality from the provided reviews.

    Care quality and staff: Opinions about caregiving are mixed and polarized in these summaries. Several comments commend the nurses and medical staff as being good, which suggests pockets of competent clinical care. At the same time, many serious allegations appear: reports of abusive behavior, staff described as rude and lazy, and broader "overall care concerns." The coexistence of both praise for nurses and allegations of abuse or neglect suggests inconsistent staff performance across shifts or units — some staff and departments may deliver good clinical care while other individuals or teams fall short of expected standards.

    Communication and responsiveness: A prominent theme is poor communication and responsiveness. Reviewers report that operators disconnect calls, that it is difficult or impossible to reach the floor by phone, and that staff are unresponsive when help is needed. One review mentions a nurse ultimately providing a phone to a relative after initial contact problems, but that the relative (or resident) was nevertheless left alone, which exemplifies delayed or incomplete responses to emergent needs. These failures in basic communication and timely assistance are significant because they directly affect resident safety and family confidence.

    Management and culture: Management/administration is a major area of concern in the reviews. Accusations include dishonesty and active mistreatment of residents (administration scolding residents). Reviewers also allege that administration tolerates or retains problematic employees — "keeps the bad apples on the floor" — rather than addressing performance and behavior issues. This pattern points to cultural and leadership problems: when leadership is perceived as dishonest or unwilling to correct staff misconduct, it undermines residents’ welfare and family trust even if some clinical staff perform well.

    Patterns and implications: Taken together, the reviews suggest a facility with valuable assets (location, continuum of care, rehab services, strong activities programming, and many competent nurses) but also clear and recurring operational and cultural deficiencies. The most serious and recurring issues are administration behavior, staff abuse/rudeness/laziness, and communication failures that impede timely assistance. These problems create a risk that residents will experience inconsistent care and that families will struggle to get accurate information or timely help.

    Bottom line: For families, the facility may be attractive for its location, spiritual amenities, care-level continuity, rehab capabilities, and activity programming. However, the repeated and serious allegations concerning administration conduct, staff behavior, and communication responsiveness are red flags. Prospective residents and families should weigh the facility’s structural strengths against these reports of cultural and operational problems, and consider asking targeted questions about staffing oversight, complaint resolution processes, incident reporting, and how the facility ensures consistent, respectful care across all shifts and units.

    Location

    Map showing location of St. Ann's Community

    About St. Ann's Community

    St. Ann's Community sits at 1500 Portland Avenue in Rochester, with more campuses in Irondequoit and Webster, and has been caring for seniors in the Rochester area for over 140 years, offering a range of living and care options that go from independent retirement living, assisted living, and memory care, to skilled nursing and short-term transitional rehab, as well as hospice and palliative care, and even adult day programs for those who need support during the day but still live at home. People talk about St. Ann's kind and joyful staff, and there's always someone ready to help, which makes residents feel supported, whether they're in independent apartments like at Chapel Oaks or Cherry Ridge, active communities such as Durand Senior Apartments, or getting more hands-on support in the Wegman Care Center, Special Care Unit, or in care home services where live-in caregivers lend a hand with daily things like bathing and dressing. The place has both private and shared rooms and offers things like walk-in closets, emergency call systems, and accessible bathrooms in adult day care with roll-in showers and safety bars, and everywhere you look there are nice common areas with big windows and comfortable chairs, and a welcoming entrance with colorful mums and pretty shrubs, which many find peaceful.

    The Leo Center for Caring provides end-of-life support in gentle surroundings, and there's a focus on person-centered care with special programs for memory care, so people with Alzheimer's or other dementia get routines and therapies aimed at comfort and safety, and families talk about the dedicated memory care services. People get recreation and worship programs, events like "Dude Night," spiritual support with chapel services, and plenty of outings, plus amenities including a beauty/barber salon, fitness center, library, lounge, walking paths, and a Bistro where families can visit for a meal. Meals are nutritious and cooked to meet dietary needs, and snacks or fresh fruit are available through kitchenettes, with coffee makers and microwaves in the communal areas.

    St. Ann's runs a range of healthcare and rehab services, and the Rochester General Wound Healing Center onsite helps with things like diabetic ulcers, pressure sores, non-healing surgical wounds, and other chronic skin problems, offering specialized treatments such as debridement, compression therapy, and negative-pressure wound therapy, and features free parking and easy access. Their wound teams work with doctors, therapists, home care, and nutritionists, so care gets coordinated, and families appreciate the staff's attention to detail and communication. Skilled nurses, aides, and therapists help with rehab after illness or injury, including physical, occupational, and speech therapy, and there are palliative and hospice care options for those needing symptom support.

    Administrative support covers billing, electronic records, and revenue cycle help for other healthcare providers, and there's also staff education and certifications, though residents mainly notice how tasks seem organized and things run smoothly. Transportation services help people get to appointments, and those who live in the community's different buildings get access to social activities and spiritual care if they wish. St. Ann's offers online bill pay and accepts charitable donations for those who want to help, and the team, from chefs to technicians to pastoral care, tries to make every day decent and the environment as friendly as possible, focusing on what older adults really need for comfort and ongoing care.

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