Overall sentiment across reviews for ProMedica Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation (Columbia) is highly polarized: a substantial fraction of reviewers praise the facility for outstanding therapy, compassionate individual staff members, engaging activities, and successful short-term rehab outcomes, while an equally strong group reports serious neglect, safety lapses, and hygiene problems. The most consistent positive theme is excellence in the therapy department — physical and occupational therapists receive repeated commendations for personalized, effective care that helps residents regain mobility and return home. Activity staff (frequently named) and some front-desk and administrative personnel are repeatedly singled out for friendliness, professionalism, and programmatic engagement, contributing to positive short-term stays for many families.
However, these positives are counterbalanced by numerous and serious negative reports. Understaffing is a dominant and recurring complaint: reviewers mention very high patient-to-CNA ratios, reliance on agency staff, and chaotic staffing patterns that lead to long delays for basic needs. Specific and alarming examples include residents allegedly left in urine or feces for hours, delayed or missing linen changes, unavailable bedside commodes and bedpans, and call lights answered only after long waits (up to 45 minutes in one report). Several reviews describe neglect of basic hygiene and wound care, including mismanaged wound vacs and ostomy care causing pain and colostomy overflow. These incidents raise substantial concerns about clinical competence, supervision, and infection control.
Safety issues appear in multiple reports and are notable: there are accounts of patient falls without proper bed rails, lack of bed alarms, and torn or peeling beds and mattresses with missing sheets and debris. Reviewers also describe dirtiness and foul odors (urine and feces), instances of dried fecal matter on bedding, and even bed-bug mentions — all of which point to inconsistent housekeeping and environmental sanitation. Some reviewers accuse staff of falsifying documentation, leaving bandages on residents, and exhibiting abusive or rude behaviors (including nurses cussing at patients), which together produce a narrative of systemic care failures in certain units or shifts.
Responses from management are inconsistent according to reviews. Several families praise an engaged administration and leadership team (and some reviewers mention a positive ‘‘change of guard’’ and named administrators who addressed concerns). Others report administrators who are unresponsive or dismissive; a number of reviewers indicate they plan to or already have filed complaints with DHEC or Medicare. This split suggests variability over time or between units/leadership shifts. Multiple reviews also note a transition from prior ownership/names (Promedica/Heartland) and some claim the change has not fixed longstanding problems.
Facility amenities and dining draw mixed comments: many reviews praise the food, comfortable rooms, cleanliness, and a pleasant communal atmosphere with active programming, while others report cold food, missing linens, and an overall depressing or unsafe environment. The best experiences tend to be short-term rehabilitation stays where skilled therapy, responsive clinicians, and active programming lead to good outcomes. Longer-term or night-shift experiences appear more likely to surface the negatives — staffing gaps, hygiene lapses, and safety problems.
In summary, ProMedica Columbia shows clear strengths in rehabilitation services, therapy staff expertise, and portions of the activities and administrative teams, producing many positive short-term outcomes and satisfied families. At the same time, there are multiple and serious recurring concerns related to staffing levels, basic hygiene, wound/ostomy management, safety (falls and lack of rails/alarms), and staff behavior. The pattern is one of inconsistency: some residents receive exemplary, attentive care while others — according to several reviewers — experience neglect and potentially dangerous lapses. Prospective families should weigh the facility’s strong therapy reputation against the documented reports of neglect and operational failures, verify current staffing and infection-control practices, ask about how wounds/ostomies are managed, and seek evidence of leadership responsiveness before committing to long-term placement.
