The reviews for HEARTSWORTH NURSING AND REHABILITATION present a strongly mixed picture with recurring themes of both genuine compassionate care and troubling lapses in safety, communication, and management. Many families and reviewers praise individual caregivers, hospice nurses, and support staff — describing them as gentle, goal-oriented, and willing to go beyond their duties. Several accounts note that patients thrived, were happy, and received excellent end-of-life care; outside hospice partners (Compassus) and a Medicaid liaison are mentioned positively, and the facility accepts VA residents. The campus atmosphere and activities are frequently cited as strengths: clean grounds, lack of offensive odors, on-site pets (cat and bird cage), frequent community events such as block parties and Halloween trick-or-treat, and occasional treats from local businesses contribute to a warm, home-like environment for many residents.
Counterbalancing these positives are numerous, specific reports of care coordination and safety failures. Multiple reviews document poor communication between nursing shifts and staff who could not answer questions about a resident’s condition. There are serious medication administration issues — missed, delayed, or withheld meds and failures to follow physician orders — which reviewers flagged as creating tangible risks to residents. Critical examples include breathing treatments not given in a timely manner for a dementia patient who could not request them, and an upsetting incident where a family reports that a grandmother’s head was shaved. Equipment and resource shortages (families supplying chairs), claims that rehab services were misrepresented, and reports that staff dropped a patient further underscore safety and quality concerns. These incidents are strong contributors to several one-star reviews and statements that the facility is "worse than other nursing facilities."
Opinions about the physical facility and dining are similarly split. Many reviewers say the grounds are well-kept and the building lacks odd smells, but several describe the building as dated, old, rundown, hot, or in need of major overhaul. Dining experiences range from "okay" or "poor" to "good meals on time" depending on the reviewer; one note about being charged $5 for cold meals and complaints about food quality appear alongside positive comments about meals and snacks. Staffing reliability and workplace culture are another source of divergence: while some reviewers describe staff as lovely, personable, and family-like, others report rude, entitled, or hostile employees, off-the-clock staff behavior, and administrative drama that creates an uncomfortable environment.
Administratively the facility shows both strengths and weaknesses. Positive mentions include helpful office staff, appointment coordination, VA acceptance, Medicaid assistance, and supportive communication in many cases. Conversely, reviewers cite management problems such as rent increases, charging for cold meals, and perceived lack of oversight leading to variable staff performance. COVID-era challenges are mentioned as an influencing factor in some experiences, though reviewers differ on how much blame this should carry.
Overall, the dominant pattern is high variability: some residents and families report excellent, compassionate care, active programming, and meaningful support, while others experience serious lapses in nursing communication, medication safety, and basic resource availability. For prospective residents and families this suggests the facility has real strengths in hospice care, activities, and certain dedicated staff, but also raises red flags about consistency, safety protocols, and facility condition. If considering HEARTSWORTH, reviewers’ accounts indicate it would be prudent to directly assess medication administration procedures, observe staff responsiveness and shift handoffs, tour rooms (including the oldest areas), verify rehab program specifics, and ask management about recent incidents and corrective actions to ensure the particular unit and staff caring for a prospective resident meet expected standards.
