Overall impression: Reviews for St. Anne's Retirement Community are strongly mixed, with a clear split between many highly positive experiences and a number of very serious negative allegations. A large group of reviewers praise the facility's cleanliness, attractive grounds and decor, a warm, home-like atmosphere, and compassionate staff. These reviewers cite excellent nursing care, helpful maintenance, a nice bistro and meals, robust activities (including animal therapy), on-site medical access (PCP and UPMC affiliation), and pleasant independent living options. At the same time, a separate set of reviews raise significant concerns about care quality, safety, management practices, and communication. The contrast suggests uneven performance: some residents and families receive attentive, high-quality care, while others report neglectful and unsafe situations.
Care quality and direct resident care: Many reviewers describe very good or excellent care — attentive staff, compassionate end-of-life support, and residents who are happy living there. Conversely, several alarming reports describe long call-bell response times (explicitly reported as 30–45 minutes), residents not being put to bed, bathing only once weekly, and at least one report of a resident left in urine and feces for hours. There are also accounts of caregiver inattentiveness (for example, staff on the phone during meals). These types of reports indicate that while care can be very good at times, there are documented instances of severe lapses that could put vulnerable residents at risk.
Staffing, turnover and management: A recurring theme in negative reviews is understaffing and high turnover. Several reviewers tie quality problems to staffing shortages. Management and administration receive criticism for being more focused on finances and image than on resident welfare; critics note poor responsiveness to complaints, auto-replies to inquiries, and claims of misrepresentation or false advertising. One reviewer alleges a CNA was fired after reporting neglect, which raises concerns about whistleblower protections and how complaints are handled. At the same time, many reviews praise individual staff members as outstanding, sweet, or very helpful — highlighting that problems may be organizational rather than related to frontline caregivers alone.
Safety, security and property concerns: Theft of personal belongings is reported more than once (including sunglasses) and at least one reviewer said administration told families not to leave personal items with residents. These security concerns combined with claims about neglect and slow response times suggest families should be vigilant about personal item security and oversight of care. There are also reports of mismanaged record-keeping or resident listing issues and unclear discharge/return processes, which affect families' ability to track and trust care transitions.
Facilities, amenities and activities: The facility itself receives predominantly positive remarks: tastefully decorated common areas, nice bistro, artwork, beautiful grounds, and well-maintained independent cottages and apartments. Activity programming, including animal therapy and band nights, is frequently praised — though some events are noted as crowded with seating shortages. The presence of an on-site PCP and an affiliation with UPMC are seen as strong assets by reviewers who value integrated medical access.
Dining, cost and logistics: Many reviewers report good meals and highlight specific positive menu items, but several also say dining prices can be high (examples include $5 apple dumplings and general comments that food is expensive). Cost is a mixed theme: while some reviewers explicitly call entrance fees affordable and say the place offered value, others complain about very high monthly fees (one review cited $13,000/month) and overall expense. Families should confirm current pricing, what is included, and compare levels of care costs. Practical logistics also generate complaints in some reviews: limited parking, inconvenient handicapped parking, and reports that the transportation van did not acknowledge or respond properly.
Patterns and recommended due diligence: The collected reviews show a facility that can deliver excellent, compassionate care and a high-quality environment, but also one that has documented instances of serious neglect, security problems, and administrative shortcomings. The most frequently mentioned serious issues are slow call response times, understaffing, theft, and perceived managerial indifference. Because of this variability, potential residents and families should investigate several specific areas before deciding: ask about staffing ratios and turnover, call-bell response time averages and monitoring, policies and logs for bathing and incontinence care, theft prevention and investigation procedures, how complaints and incident reports are handled, contract and fee transparency, and how the facility manages shared rooms and event crowding. Visiting during different shifts and talking with current residents and families can help gauge consistency of care.
Conclusion: St. Anne's has many strengths — excellent reviews for staff, cleanliness, amenities, activities, and medical affiliation — but also serious reported weaknesses that cannot be ignored. The reviews indicate substantial variability in experience; for some families it is an outstanding community, while for others it has produced worrying lapses in safety and dignity. Prospective residents should weigh the positive aspects against the negative reports, verify current practices and staffing, and monitor care closely if choosing this community.
