Overall impression: Reviews for The Avalon of New Albany are highly polarized. A large number of reviewers describe an exceptional experience characterized by compassionate staff, robust amenities, outstanding dining, and engaging activities. At the same time, a subset of reviews contain severe and specific allegations of neglect, safety lapses, and operational failure. The result is a community with many strong positive attributes for some families and troubling, potentially dangerous problems for others. Prospective residents and families should weigh both the frequent praise and the serious negative reports when deciding whether this community is a fit.
Staff and caregiving: The dominant positive theme is staff quality. Many reviewers name individual employees (Sharon, Nicole, Rob, Sandra, Valerie, Kenneth, Jacque and others) and describe them as compassionate, attentive, proactive, and personally invested in residents. Several accounts praise personalized care, frequent check-ins, direct communication (including direct cell numbers), and hands-on assistance that gives families peace of mind. Multiple reviews mention effective transition support (quick hospital-to-community moves), strong hospice collaboration, and situations where staff went above and beyond to help families. Conversely, a distinct and concerning set of reviews reports untrained aides, lack of STNA credentials, staff absenteeism, yelling, and ineffective leadership. Several reviews allege that basic care tasks were missed (help with eating, bathing, toileting) and that some nurses or aides failed to respond timely, particularly during weekends or nights. Staffing shortages and turnover are mentioned repeatedly as contributing factors to inconsistent care.
Care quality and safety: There is a sharp divide in reported safety and clinical quality. Many families say the facility provides 24/7 nursing coverage and hands-on clinical care. However, other reviews raise grave safety concerns: repeated patient falls, unsecured rooms or access-control problems, oxygen equipment not functioning or not being monitored, portable oxygen units and concentrators being off, and alleged failure to contact technicians or management about malfunctioning equipment. Several reviewers recount long periods where soiled clothes, diapers, and bedding were left unattended for hours, and they report poor incident reporting or emergency response. A few reviews explicitly allege that neglect contributed to a resident death and use strong language (e.g., "hell hole"); these claims, if true, are particularly serious and warrant independent investigation by regulators.
Facilities, cleanliness, and maintenance: Many reviewers praise the campus: well-kept grounds, a beautiful courtyard, greenhouse, multiple dining rooms, café, chapel, movie theater, salon, craft rooms, exercise facilities, and a spa-like environment. Housekeeping and maintenance are described as fast and effective in many accounts, with quick room readiness and a pristine appearance. However, other reviewers report inconsistent cleanliness — dirty laundry, soiled beds, unvacuumed rooms, dirty bathroom floors, and residue on commodes — and note that housekeeping can be understaffed (particularly on weekends), leading to variable conditions between floors and units. Equipment issues (e.g., a clothes washer smoking) were reported and criticized for the facility's lack of timely technical response.
Dining and nutrition: Dining is a frequent strength in reviews. Numerous people praise the executive chef, restaurant-style dining, menu variety, weekly specials (happy hour, popcorn machine, large family dinners), and chef-prepared meals. Some reviewers specifically describe outstanding dishes and enthusiastic culinary staff. At the same time, complaints about nutrition appear: some reviewers say meals were starch-heavy, lacked vegetables, or that certain residents receiving meals in-room did not receive full or hot trays. A few request more heart-healthy/diabetic options or more adventurous weekly choices. Overall, dining is widely cited as a plus but with pockets of inconsistency in room service and special-diet accommodation.
Activities and social life: Programming and activities receive strong praise for variety and engagement: music therapy, bingo, theater productions, trivia, corn roasts, fish fries, hog roasts, exercise classes, gardening, and memory-stimulation programs that use music and technology. Staff such as activities directors are often described as energetic and effective. Some reviews, however, criticize the memory care unit for limited engagement or television-focused programming and say activity offerings there are less robust. Several reviewers also note that weekend activity levels can be lower, which ties back to staffing patterns.
Management, communication, and administration: Many families praise management for being approachable, problem-solving, and hands-on; they credit administration with excellent onboarding, direct communication, and follow-through on issues. Yet other reviews highlight serious management problems: an unprofessional Director of Nursing (DON) named by some, inconsistent follow-up after critical incidents (including poor communication after a resident's death), billing disputes (continued invoices after a resident’s death and lack of refund), and at least one report that access was restricted after a complaint. Marketing or admission representations are called into question by some families who felt misled. These conflicting impressions suggest variable leadership performance over time or differences in unit-level management.
Patterns and frequency: The most frequent positive patterns are high staff engagement, excellent dining, extensive amenity offerings, and strong transition/onboarding experiences. The most significant negative patterns include staffing shortages and turnover, missed basic care (bathing, toileting, feeding), inconsistent housekeeping, equipment and oxygen safety concerns, and poor incident reporting. While many positive reviews describe a warm, hotel-like environment and strong clinical support, the negative reviews contain specific, actionable allegations (missed meals, soiled linens left for hours, oxygen not working, patients falling, equipment smoking) that indicate possible systemic lapses in training, staffing, and emergency procedures in at least some instances.
Recommendation for prospective families: Given the polarizing feedback, prospective residents and families should perform thorough due diligence. Visit multiple times (including evenings and weekends), tour both assisted living and memory care units, ask to see staff credentials (STNA, nursing licenses), inquire about staffing ratios and weekend coverage, request documentation of incident response protocols and oxygen/equipment maintenance logs, ask how the community handles missed-care incidents and family complaints, and verify billing/contractual terms and refund policies. Speak directly with current residents and families about recent experiences, and verify whether named praised staff remain employed and whether leadership has changed. When safety concerns are raised during a visit, insist on clear written responses and timelines for resolution before making decisions.
Bottom line: The Avalon of New Albany clearly provides an outstanding experience for many residents — top-tier dining, abundant amenities, warm and dedicated staff, and lively programming. However, a subset of reviews raises serious and specific allegations about neglect, safety, and inconsistent operations. These conflicting reports make it essential that families validate current staffing, safety practices, and leadership stability in person and seek documented assurances before committing to care here.
