Overall impression: The reviews for Autumn Care of Shallotte are strongly mixed, with polarized experiences that range from high praise for specific staff and therapy outcomes to serious safety, management, and operational concerns. A recurring theme is that the facility can deliver excellent rehabilitative services and show moments of compassionate, resident-centered care, but simultaneously struggle with systemic problems—principally understaffing, inconsistent nursing, cleanliness lapses, poor food, and managerial breakdowns—that negatively impact residents’ safety and family trust.
Care quality and rehabilitation: Physical and occupational therapy receive the most consistent, positive feedback. Multiple reviewers singled out therapists by name (for example Dwayne Smith, Tony, Channing and others) and praised the therapy teams for restoring mobility, improving independence, and delivering a strong rehab experience that was often covered by Medicare/insurance. These therapy successes are cited as a principal reason families recommend the facility or report significant clinical improvement.
Nursing and day-to-day caregiving: In contrast to therapy, nursing and routine caregiving are described as inconsistent. Several reviews report attentive, professional nurses and CNAs who go above and beyond, while numerous others describe understaffed shifts, long call-bell wait times, missed assistance (including missed baths), poor communication from nurses, and staff simply being too busy to respond to family calls. There are direct reports of wound infections, improper clothing changes, and variable wound care outcomes—some reviewers applaud a top-notch wound-care team while others report infection and poor handling.
Safety and clinical concerns: Serious safety incidents appear in the review set. There are reports of unwitnessed falls with delayed notification to family, delays in diagnostic imaging (CT) after falls, lack of bed rails for fall-risk residents, and equipment failures. One reviewer reported a brain bleed after a fall and criticized the facility’s timeliness and responsiveness. Additional safety concerns include lost valuables and reports of residents being “dumped” back to hospitals or discharged early. These accounts suggest lapses in clinical monitoring, documentation, and escalation procedures for urgent events.
Facility, cleanliness, and maintenance: Opinions about the physical environment vary widely. Many reviewers describe rooms as large and well-furnished, and several families compliment cleanliness and a pleasant smell. Contrastingly, a substantial number of reviews describe dingy, depressing, or “prison-like” aspects, grimy bed controls, urine smells, shared bathrooms (including one report of a bathroom shared by four men where standing in urine was reported), and poor housekeeping. Equipment maintenance issues and failures were also mentioned. This split suggests inconsistent housekeeping and environmental oversight across units or shifts.
Dining and nutrition: Dining is a prominent negative theme. Multiple reviewers call the food inedible, foul, or served in tiny portions; others say the food looks fine. There is a history of dissatisfaction severe enough for at least one family to give the facility a “failing grade” for food. Dietary staff receive occasional praise by name in some reviews, indicating variable kitchen performance.
Activities and social engagement: Activity offerings are mixed. A number of reviewers appreciated activities (weekly singing, family involvement, and therapy-led engagement), while others say there is little beyond therapy, mention the absence of an activities director, or describe very limited programming. Pandemic-era visitation restrictions were also cited, which affected social contact at times.
Administration and communication: Management and administrative performance are a major area of conflict in the reviews. Several families praise admissions staff and some administrators as helpful, open, and reassuring (named staff like Lisa in admitting and some administrators were positively mentioned). At the same time, there are multiple complaints about rude or unhelpful staff (Harriet and Pam named), harassing robocalls (even notes that they might not be associated with the facility), poor responsiveness, alleged dishonesty to patients or families, and heavy emphasis on cost/throughput over individualized care. Paperwork issues and poor record-keeping were also reported.
Staffing and culture: Many reviewers point to understaffing, low pay, and high turnover as root causes that degrade care quality, reduce consistency, and increase family anxiety. Some reviewers said recent management changes led to a nosedive in quality. Conversely, when stable, the staff is described as warm, kind, and willing to go the extra mile—indicating that the facility’s human resources and leadership practices likely drive much of the variability.
Communication and access: Families commonly described difficulty getting timely phone responses, limited patient-accessible phone options, and the need to constantly monitor care. Some reviewers say nurses were too busy to answer calls; others praised good communication and coordination of care. This again highlights inconsistency in staff availability and administrative follow-through.
Conclusions and takeaways: Autumn Care of Shallotte appears capable of providing high-quality rehabilitation and has individual staff members and teams who deliver compassionate, effective care. However, recurring systemic issues—understaffing, inconsistent nursing and housekeeping, food quality problems, safety lapses (including falls and medication/pain management concerns), and uneven management responsiveness—create a real risk for negative outcomes and family frustration. Prospective residents and families should weigh the facility’s strong therapy reputation and some standout staff against the documented variability in day-to-day nursing care, cleanliness, safety procedures, and administrative reliability. If considering this facility, ask specific, up-to-date questions about nurse-to-resident ratios, fall-prevention policies (bed rails and monitoring), housekeeping schedules, dining menus/portions, how urgent events are escalated, and meet the therapy and nursing teams directly. Regular family involvement and clear communication plans will likely be important to ensure consistent care given the uneven patterns reflected in these reviews.
