Overall sentiment across the reviews for Brookdale Harrisburg is mixed but leans toward positive for residents whose needs match the community's strengths. Many reviews emphasize compassionate, friendly staff, strong admissions support, and a warm, home‑like atmosphere. Families frequently praised specific leaders and coordinators (named staff appeared in multiple accounts) who made move‑ins smoother and who took time to learn resident preferences. The campus offers a range of amenities—well‑kept grounds, patios and courtyards, transportation, salon/barber services, a library, and multiple common areas—and many reviewers highlight clean, bright rooms, accessible bathrooms with safety features, and pleasant dining with variety on the menu. Physical therapy and rehabilitation services received several favorable mentions, as did active recreational programming (movie nights, game nights, happy hours, outings) and family holiday events.
However, a clear pattern of inconsistent experience emerges. Positive reports about low staff turnover, individualized attention, and engaged care sit alongside reports of inattentive aides, short‑staffing at times, and uneven communication after move‑in. Several families described attentive directors and well‑trained teams, while others reported unattended front desks, staff who could not answer basic questions, or unprofessional behavior. Importantly, Brookdale Harrisburg is not a 24/7 skilled nursing facility: many reviewers noted the lack of onsite RNs and limited skilled care resources—only a couple of LPNs are present in some accounts—which creates limits for residents with higher medical needs. This boundary is underscored by multiple comments from families disappointed when complex medical issues arose or when falls and other incidents were reported as unwitnessed or communicated slowly.
Memory care at Brookdale Harrisburg is another area with mixed feedback. The facility maintains a dedicated and secure memory/dementia unit with staff and environmental safety measures praised by some families. At the same time, several reviewers reported that memory care programming, staff training, and engagement were inadequate—residents were sometimes under‑stimulated, not encouraged sufficiently to interact, or lacked tailored activities. Hygiene and bathing concerns were raised in some accounts, though other families reported strong one‑on‑one attention and stable staff that knew residents well. These dichotomous reports suggest that quality in memory care can be highly dependent on the specific staff on duty and the unit leadership at the time.
Safety and infection control generated both commendations and concerns. The locked memory unit, alarms, and general campus security were noted positively; conversely, one significant COVID outbreak was described (multiple residents and staff testing positive and a reported death), and reports of unmasked staff during that period heightened family anxiety. There are also isolated but important safety incidents reported—unwitnessed falls, staff entering rooms without consent, missing clothing—that families cited when recommending cautious oversight.
Administrative and policy matters are recurring pain points. Several families complained about steep and unexplained rate increases (including a cited $1,000 jump within six months) and unclear extra costs. Facility pharmacy and medication policies were flagged as inflexible—some families were unhappy with mandatory pharmacy use and restrictions around external prescriptions. Billing and paperwork confusion surfaced in multiple reviews. Conversely, where leadership communicated clearly about costs, benefits and documentation, families expressed greater satisfaction.
Facility condition and authenticity of tours vary by account. Many reviewers described freshly renovated, attractive, and spotless spaces with excellent landscaping and communal amenities. Others found parts of the building dated, in need of a facelift, or felt that tours were staged and not fully reflective of everyday life. Renovations were sometimes appreciated for improvements but also described as disruptive. Room options and levels of privacy differ—private rooms with walk‑in showers were praised, while some room types involve shared bathrooms or lack in‑room refrigeration.
In summary, Brookdale Harrisburg shows clear strengths in hospitality, amenities, dining, and in many instances compassionate staff and family‑oriented programming. Those are balanced by significant variability in care quality, staffing consistency, communication, memory care engagement, infection control experiences, and administrative transparency (pricing and pharmacy policies). Prospective residents and families should consider the facility a good fit if the primary needs are assisted living level support, social activities, and a well‑maintained campus environment. For higher medical or skilled nursing needs, or for families highly sensitive to billing transparency and consistent clinical oversight, additional due diligence is advised: visit multiple times at different hours, ask directly about RN coverage, staff ratios on specific units, memory‑care staff training and activities, incident reporting practices, and written policies on pricing and pharmacy use before committing.
