Berea Alzheimer's Care Center

    49 Sheldon Road, Berea, OH, 44017
    3.4 · 11 reviews
    • Assisted living
    • Memory care
    • Skilled nursing
    AnonymousLoved one of resident
    2.0

    Caring staff but unsafe, unsanitary

    I want to start by saying the staff were warm and loving, the place feels smaller and non-hospital, secure with an interior courtyard, good music/activities and tasty, well-rounded meals - rooms are a comfortable size with privacy curtains and some really caring nurses. However the building is old and often smells, hygiene and safety are serious concerns (smeared feces in halls, residents with wet pants), equipment problems (bed wheels that don't lock, broken call lights, faulty Hoyer sling that led to falls), and my mom lost a lot of weight because feeding needs weren't recognized. Staffing is thin and communication/administration unresponsive - missed BP checks, failure to call family, and at least one incident of harm that wasn't properly addressed. Overall, I appreciate the caring staff and programs, but the safety, cleanliness, staffing, and management issues make me very hesitant to recommend this facility for someone with significant medical or Alzheimer's care needs.

    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

    • 24-hour call system
    • 24-hour supervision

    Meals and dining

    • Diabetes diet
    • Meal preparation and service
    • Restaurant-style dining
    • Special dietary restrictions

    Room

    • Cable
    • Fully furnished
    • Housekeeping and linen services
    • Kitchenettes
    • Telephone
    • Wifi

    Common areas

    • Beauty salon
    • Dining room
    • Garden
    • Outdoor space
    • Small library

    Community services

    • Move-in coordination

    Activities

    • Community-sponsored activities
    • Resident-run activities
    • Scheduled daily activities

    3.36 · 11 reviews

    Overall rating

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

      2.9
    • Staff

      3.3
    • Meals

      4.5
    • Amenities

      3.5
    • Value

      2.0

    Pros

    • Dedicated Alzheimer's care
    • Friendly and loving staff
    • Some skilled and caring nurses
    • Engaging activities including music, arts and crafts
    • Memory and Connections programs
    • Evening activities until 8 pm
    • Tasty, well-rounded meals
    • Smaller, non-hospital feel and secured facility
    • Interior courtyard and freedom to walk
    • Hair salon and free manicure days
    • Comfortable room sizes with privacy curtains
    • Staff who know residents and update families

    Cons

    • Old and outdated facility interior
    • Persistent foul odors
    • Sanitation issues including smeared feces in hallways and residents in wet or soiled clothing
    • Maintenance failures such as nonlocking bed wheels and broken pull-string lights
    • Serious safety incidents including falls and faulty Hoyer lift sling
    • Neglect of feeding needs and significant weight loss (example: 30 pounds in first month)
    • Understaffing (reports of as few as 3-4 aides for ~50 residents, 2 nurses)
    • Inconsistent care quality and occasional physical harm to residents
    • Poor communication and unresponsive administration
    • Staff disrespectful or rude to families, including yelling
    • Failure to report abuse and inconsistent medical history handling
    • Restricted or changed visiting hours without explanation
    • Concerns about government-funded status affecting care
    • Shared rooms (two patients per room) which may limit privacy
    • Location may be too far for some families

    Summary review

    Overall sentiment across the reviews is mixed and polarized. Multiple reviewers praise the facility for its focus on Alzheimer care, warm and engaged staff, and meaningful activity programs, but an equally strong set of reviews raise serious safety, sanitation, staffing, and management concerns. The result is a facility that can provide compassionate, dementia-specific programming and social engagement for some residents, while simultaneously presenting real risks and lapses in basic care for others.

    Care quality is a central and conflicted theme. Positive comments emphasize dementia expertise, loving and caring staff, individualized attention from nurses and aides, and a range of programs designed to engage memory and connections. Several reviewers explicitly state that the staff are experts in dementia care and provide excellent emotional support. At the same time, there are multiple reports of neglect and dangerous incidents: failure to recognize or meet feeding needs leading to severe weight loss (one cited example is 30 pounds lost in the first month), missed blood pressure monitoring, falls attributed to equipment failure, and at least one report of physical harm. These serious safety and health concerns indicate inconsistent performance in clinical and hands-on care.

    Staffing and communication are another area of contrast. Many reviewers describe staff as friendly, respectful, and good about notifying families when a resident is having a bad day. Activity staff are noted as knowing residents and families and maintaining relationships. Conversely, other reviewers report understaffing, with examples such as only three or four aides for roughly fifty residents and just two nurses on duty. Reports of rude or disrespectful behavior by some staff members, yelling at family members, unresponsive administration, failure to report abuse, and inconsistent handling of medical histories point to management and communication problems that undermine family trust.

    Facility condition and maintenance emerge as prominent concerns. Positive notes mention a smaller, non-hospital layout, secure grounds, an interior courtyard, and comfortable room sizes with privacy curtains. However, many reviews cite an old and outdated interior, persistent foul odors, and alarming sanitation problems including smeared feces in hallways and residents left in wet clothing. Maintenance failures are also described, such as bed wheels that do not lock, broken pull-string lights, and a faulty Hoyer lift sling that allegedly contributed to falls. These issues combine to form a picture of inadequate upkeep and infection control in some instances.

    Dining and activities are generally viewed more favorably. Multiple reviewers praise the meals as tasty and well-rounded. Activity programming receives positive comments for being meaningful and purposeful, offering music, arts and crafts, and evening activities that extend social engagement later into the day. The facility also provides amenities like a hair salon, free manicure days, and programs specifically aimed at memory support. These offerings are consistently cited as strengths and a key reason families feel their loved ones have meaningful daily life.

    Management and policy-related themes include complaints about poor responsiveness from administration, reports that concerns are not appropriately escalated or documented, and changes to visiting hours without explanation. Some reviewers express worry about the implications of the facility s funding model, citing concerns tied to it being government-funded. The combination of reported administrative defensiveness and occasional restrictions on family access raises red flags for relatives who want transparency and partnership in care.

    In summary, Berea Alzheimer's Care Center appears to deliver strong dementia-focused programming and compassionate care from some staff members, with notable positives in activities, food, and the smaller secured environment. However, recurring and serious negative reports about sanitation, maintenance, understaffing, neglect of basic needs, safety incidents, and inconsistent communication are major concerns. The reviews suggest highly variable experiences among residents. Families considering this facility should weigh the clear strengths in Alzheimer s programming and personable staff against the documented risks related to safety, hygiene, and management responsiveness. The pattern in the reviews indicates that while some residents thrive under the care provided, others have experienced significant lapses that could have serious consequences.

    Location

    Map showing location of Berea Alzheimer's Care Center

    About Berea Alzheimer's Care Center

    Berea Alzheimer's Care Center sits at 49 Sheldon Rd in Berea, Ohio, and takes care of people with Alzheimer's and other memory problems, and the place is part of the family-run CommuniCare group, known for long-term care and memory support, so you'll get a team that really knows how to help those with dementia. The center has Medicare and Medicaid certification, and accepts some insurances, with financing help available. There's a big focus on a safe, nurturing environment, with staff there around the clock, an emergency alert system, a 24-hour call system, and nurses who can handle medication management, wound care, rehab, medical post-surgical care, and the daily needs with bathing, dressing, and moving around. Staff speak English, and the provider reports some may know other languages.

    Residents get to join Montessori-based activities that help keep them busy and thinking, special programs just for memory support, and life enrichment programs to encourage hobbies and recreation. They offer arts and crafts, movies, live entertainment, games, organized community events like family nights and an annual car show, even therapy dog visits and spa days. There's a furnished dining room for all-day meals, and they're careful about special diets, like allergies and diabetes-plus there's a barber or salon onsite for grooming. Residents and families can work together on care plans. The care center arranges family support, counseling, psychosocial support, and ways to honor personal history so people still feel like themselves. Housekeeping and laundry services come standard, and the facility helps new residents settle in with move-in coordination. The main focus remains on Alzheimer's and dementia care, so the place is well-suited for those needing specialized help. They update their info at least once a month online, but for now, they're not accepting new residents.

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