The reviews for The Laurels of Pender are highly polarized, producing a mixed but strongly opinionated portrait. A substantial portion of reviewers praise the facility’s rehabilitation program, several named staff members, and certain operational strengths: many families report successful rehab outcomes, compassionate one-on-one nursing and CNA care, attentive admissions and rehab leadership (several reviewers single out directors by name), clean common areas and rooms when housekeeping is praised, and good dining experiences in multiple accounts. These positive reports emphasize a dedicated rehab team, effective therapy that enabled patients to return home, warm interpersonal relationships between staff and residents, and episodes of strong, responsive management — particularly after reported administrative changes and unit-manager interventions.
Counterbalancing that, there is a significant and recurring set of very negative complaints that point to systemic and potentially dangerous problems. Many reviewers describe inconsistent care quality that varies dramatically by shift, wing, or individual staff member. Serious allegations include medication errors (meds given without consent or despite documented allergies), delayed or withheld medications and pain relief, missed lab tests and delayed diagnostics, failure to escalate to physicians promptly, and instances of dehydration, bedsores, and infections such as C. difficile or COVID. Several reports go further to allege gross negligence — delayed red-alert responses, patients left in soiled bedding or lying in urine and stool for hours, and in rare but severe instances, patient death or near-fatal deterioration reportedly tied to care lapses.
Staffing and culture issues are a dominant theme among the negative reviews. Many families attribute poor care to short staffing or high turnover; others complain staff appear apathetic or “there for a paycheck.” Multiple comments describe rude or unprofessional behavior, phone use during shifts, staff not performing duties, and in isolated but serious examples, privacy violations and theft. Reviewers also report inconsistent leadership responses: some account for rapid, effective action by new administrators or unit managers, while others report unresponsive management, billing disputes, alleged chart cover-ups, and excuses when confronted. This variation suggests that care experience is highly dependent on the specific unit, team, or timing of stay.
The facility’s physical environment and services also show mixed feedback. Housekeeping and cleanliness receive frequent praise from many reviewers, yet others report odors, soiled rooms, bedbugs, hot/dirty rooms, and poor hygiene incidents. Dining and food are similarly split: several reviews praise the meals (even singling out items), while others complain of cold food or poor dietary handling. Activities and community involvement get positive marks in multiple accounts, while other reviewers describe residents as under-motivated or caregivers as overburdened in assisted living contexts.
Rehabilitation stands out as the clearest area of consistent strength; numerous families credit the rehab team and its leaders with measurable recovery and good communication during therapy. Conversely, nursing care and medication management are the most frequent sources of serious concern. Communication is another cross-cutting issue — some families praise specific staff for clear, proactive updates, while many more describe poor communication, unanswered calls, hung-up phones, and lack of notification about critical events.
The overall pattern is one of high variability: The Laurels of Pender can deliver excellent rehab and compassionate care in many documented cases, but there are also repeated, severe complaints suggesting lapses in nursing practice, safety, management responsiveness, and consistency. For prospective residents or families this means the facility may offer strong therapy and some genuinely caring staff, but also carries risk of understaffed or negligent care episodes depending on timing, unit, and personnel. Families should be prepared to actively monitor care, verify medication and allergy handling, ask about staffing patterns and incident handling, request named contacts for updates, and review state inspection records and complaint histories before deciding. If choosing The Laurels, insist on clear communication protocols and frequent in-person checks; if a loved one is already there and problems appear, escalate immediately to unit managers, file formal complaints, and document incidents in writing.
