Good Shepherd Home - Raker Center

    601 St John St, Allentown, PA 18103
    • Assisted Living
    • Memory Care
    • Skilled Nursing

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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

    • 12-16 hour nursing
    • 24-hour call system
    • 24-hour supervision

    Meals and dining

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

    Room

    • Air-conditioning
    • Cable
    • Fully furnished
    • Housekeeping and linen services
    • Kitchenettes
    • Private bathrooms
    • Telephone
    • Wifi

    Transportation

    • Community operated transportation
    • Transportation arrangement
    • Transportation arrangement (non-medical)

    Common areas

    • Beauty salon
    • Computer center
    • Dining room
    • Fitness room
    • Gaming room
    • Garden
    • Outdoor space
    • Small library
    • Wellness center

    Community services

    • Concierge services
    • Fitness programs
    • Move-in coordination

    Activities

    • Community-sponsored activities
    • Planned day trips
    • Resident-run activities
    • Scheduled daily activities

    Reviews

    4.64·(14)

    Overall rating

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

      4.3
    • Staff

      4.6
    • Meals

      4.0
    • Amenities

      4.0
    • Value

      4.6

    Pros

    • friendly, attentive staff
    • dedicated caregiving team
    • engaging activity program
    • high-quality dining with accurate meal service
    • comfortable, well-sized resident rooms
    • warm, community atmosphere
    • longstanding facility with institutional pride
    • positive workplace culture and staff morale

    Cons

    • variable frontline staff attentiveness
    • caregiver personal-device distraction during shifts

    Summary of reviews

    Overall impression: Good Shepherd Home - Raker Center presents as a long-established, resident-focused facility with consistent praise for its staff, activities, and dining. Reviews emphasize an overall warm atmosphere and high resident satisfaction, with numerous anecdotes of positive interactions and family gratitude. The facility projects a sense of pride and continuity that many observers associate with steady operations and an engaged workforce.

    Care and staff: Care quality is described positively, with staff characterized as caring, dedicated, and willing to go above and beyond. Several comments highlight strong interpersonal interactions between staff and residents and an environment that staff themselves consider a desirable workplace, suggesting relatively high morale. The primary operational concern raised relates to variability in frontline attentiveness — specifically, instances of caregiver distraction linked to personal-device use. This points to an area where routine oversight or clearer device-use policies could improve consistency in direct-care attention.

    Dining and activities: Dining is consistently cited as a strength: food quality is described as high and meal service as reliable, with residents receiving the meals they ordered. The activities program also receives favorable mention. The center hosts a range of social events (examples include DJ nights and community dances) and is noted for being engaging and varied, which contributes to resident satisfaction and a lively communal environment.

    Facilities and environment: Physical accommodations are described as comfortable and of a reasonable size for residents. The facility’s longstanding presence and expressed organizational pride are associated with a well-maintained, welcoming environment. Personal stories and expressions of gratitude in the feedback underscore a sense of community and continuity that many families and residents value.

    Management and notable patterns: Management appears to have fostered a positive workplace culture, as evidenced by staff comments about the facility being a good place to work. The pattern of comments points to strengths in staffing morale, social programming, and dining operations. The recurring operational issue to monitor is staff attentiveness during direct care, particularly related to personal-device use by some caregivers. Addressing that specific practice would align operational consistency with the apparent strengths in staff engagement and resident programming.

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    Medicare Ratings

    4·/ 5
    • Overall

    • Health Inspection

    • Staffing

    • Quality Measures

    Ratings from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (Care Compare). View on Medicare.gov

    Location

    Good Shepherd Home - Raker Center is located at 601 St John St, Allentown, PA, 18103.

    About Good Shepherd Home - Raker Center

    Good Shepherd Home - Raker Center has been around since 1908, giving care to people with severe disabilities, and they can take residents as young as 12 years old and serve adults of all ages too, though most residents are over 45. There's room for 99 people and the place feels like a real home, not just an institution, and they even let people bring their pets if they want. Residents get round-the-clock nursing care and a full rehabilitation team that covers pretty much every need: you've got attending physicians, nurses, nursing assistants, dietitians, care managers, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech/language therapists, recreation therapists, social workers, and pastoral care staff, so everyone gets a lot of attention. There are specialized programs and services for people who've had strokes, brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, amputations, MS, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, quadriplegia, traumatic brain injury, spina bifida, and similar conditions that need long-term, skilled nursing. The center has daily occupational therapy activities, speech therapy, and physical therapy that try to help people keep or gain as much independence as possible, plus there's a lot of work done with things like rehabilitation neuropsychology. Residents and their families help make the care plans, so everyone's on board. Social events and recreational therapy give people a chance to connect and stay busy. There's an emphasis on supporting spiritual needs, with pastoral care, weekly ecumenical worship, and religious education, and they welcome outside congregations too. The Hyland Center, Cedar Pointe, and The Fleming Center for Robotics in Rehabilitation are on campus, and there are physical therapy clinics in Blandon, Center Valley, and East Greenville, as well as outpatient and pediatric rehab. Staff try to keep things clean and quiet, paying attention to room cleanliness and patient experience, and the center checks its infection and accident rates to keep track of any problems. Good Shepherd Home - Raker Center is ranked in the top 100% of extended care hospitals and has the Women's Choice Award for quality. The place is part of the Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network, so residents benefit from a lot of experience with rehabilitation of all sorts, and the care is shaped for people with big physical and neurological needs, including lots of supportive services for younger residents and those with pediatric needs through the Emily Howatt Pliskatt Pediatric Unit. They keep busy with research, healthcare innovation, and host events like the DISRUPT: Health-Care Innovation Summit, plus run programs like Empower+, Good Shepherd Learns, and Good Shepherd Creates, so there's always something going on, and the care stays up to date with new ideas. Visitors can make appointments by phone, and the facility is recognized for both comfort and attention to detail in daily living and medical care.

    People often ask...

    Good Shepherd Home - Raker Center offers assisted living, memory care, and skilled nursing.

    There are 3 photos of Good Shepherd Home - Raker Center on Mirador.

    The full address for this community is 601 St John St, Allentown, PA 18103.

    No, Good Shepherd Home - Raker Center does not offer respite care. Respite care in assisted living communities provides temporary, short-term relief for primary caregivers by offering professional care for their loved ones. It allows individuals to stay in an assisted living community for a limited time, giving caregivers a break while ensuring residents receive necessary support and assistance with daily activities.

    Disclaimer

    Mirador Living is not affiliated with the owner or operator(s) of Good Shepherd Home - Raker Center. The information above has not been verified or approved by the owner or operator. For exact information, please contact Good Shepherd Home - Raker Center directly. There is no cost for this service. We are compensated by the community you select.

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