Avantara Arrowhead

    2500 Arrowhead Dr, Rapid City, SD, 57702
    3.8 · 19 reviews
    • Assisted living
    • Memory care
    • Skilled nursing
    AnonymousLoved one of resident
    1.0

    Compassionate staff, severe management failures

    I have mixed feelings. The facility itself is excellent - clean rooms, adequate space, social meals/activities, and many staff (nurses, CNAs, dining staff, driver, admissions, social worker) were professional, caring, and helpful with coordination, transportation and regular updates. But management handled a COVID-19 outbreak very poorly (63 cases; my mother died), offered no condolence and seemed more focused on final payments/ belongings; I also witnessed troubling care lapses (bedsores, ignored call lights, wrong meds, bullying CNAs, dressing changes without gloves). Because of the serious management and care concerns, I cannot recommend this place despite the many wonderful employees.

    Pricing

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    Amenities

    3.84 · 19 reviews

    Overall rating

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

      4.0
    • Staff

      4.0
    • Meals

      4.0
    • Amenities

      4.0
    • Value

      3.8

    Pros

    • Professional and caring nursing staff
    • Amazing nurse assistants/CNAs praised
    • Attentive and friendly dining supervisor
    • Welcoming and helpful admissions staff
    • Conscientious and above‑and‑beyond social worker
    • Understanding and helpful transportation/driver
    • Regular communication and quarterly updates
    • Clean rooms and adequate resident space
    • Active social meals and activities
    • Strong care coordination
    • Resident‑centered approach with staff treating residents like family
    • Administration responsive in some instances

    Cons

    • Major COVID‑19 outbreak and infection‑control failure (one report cites 63 positive cases)
    • Allegation that facility prioritized final payments/belongings over condolences after a resident death
    • Insensitive communication from leadership and regional director
    • Bed sores/pressure ulcers not healing over months
    • Delays in providing needed equipment (wheelchair delayed 3 days)
    • CNAs publicly bashing or bullying residents
    • Ignoring call lights/requests for assistance
    • Lost or mismanaged resident clothing/personal items
    • Unfriendly or dismissive directors who hang up on family concerns
    • Medication errors reported
    • Wound/dressing care performed without gloves
    • Policies or practices preventing needed comfort equipment (e.g., butt cushion during dialysis)
    • Inconsistent management quality (reports of both excellent and 'worst' management)

    Summary review

    Overall sentiment across the reviews is markedly mixed, with a strong split between consistently praised frontline caregiving staff and serious, sometimes systemic, concerns about clinical safety, infection control, and management responsiveness. Many reviewers emphasize exemplary direct care: nurses, nurse assistants, dining staff, social workers, and transportation personnel receive repeated commendations for being professional, attentive, friendly, and resident‑focused. Several families report feeling well informed through regular updates, appreciating coordinated care and a welcoming admissions process, and noting clean rooms, adequate space, social dining, and available activities. These accounts portray a facility where day‑to‑day life and interpersonal interactions can be very positive and where staff often treat residents like family.

    Counterbalancing those positive accounts are several severe and specific negative reports that raise red flags. The most serious single theme is an alleged failure to contain COVID‑19, described as an outbreak that reportedly involved 63 positive cases and was associated with a resident death. Reviewers describe the facility’s response as incompetent and insensitive—families felt there was an emphasis on final payments and belongings rather than condolences or compassionate communication. One reviewer stated the regional director said she was "heartbroken" but offered no real condolence; others use stronger language such as "shame on this facility." This cluster of comments suggests significant concerns about infection control, crisis communication, and bereavement handling at the administrative level.

    Clinical safety and basic care concerns appear in multiple reviews and warrant careful attention. Reported problems include nonhealing bed sores over months, delays in supplying needed mobility equipment (a wheelchair reportedly took three days), medication mistakes, and wound/dressing changes conducted without gloves. There are also mentions of staff ignoring call lights and denying comfort items during treatments (for example, a butt cushion during dialysis). These allegations point to gaps in clinical oversight, wound care protocols, staffing responsiveness, and adherence to standard infection‑prevention practices. While not every review mentions these issues, their severity (pressure ulcers, medication errors, lapses in protective gear) means they should be treated as high‑priority concerns when assessing overall safety and quality.

    Staff behavior and management receive mixed reviews. At the caregiver level, many reviewers single out CNAs and nurses as compassionate and excellent; social workers and dining staff are similarly praised. However, other comments report CNAs publicly bashing residents or bullying behavior, and family members describe unhelpful or unfriendly directors who hang up on concerns. One reviewer labeled management as the "worst," while others said administration took action when contacted. This pattern suggests uneven leadership and variability in staff conduct: positive, resident‑centered practice appears common, but instances of poor professionalism and inadequate managerial response occur frequently enough to be notable.

    Facilities, dining, and programming are generally seen positively in the favorable reviews: clean rooms, adequate space, social meals, and activities are mentioned as strengths. Transportation services and coordination of care are also praised in several accounts. These elements contribute to a sense that the facility can offer a pleasant and structured environment for many residents when clinical and managerial systems function well.

    Taken together, the reviews describe a facility with significant internal contrasts. Strengths lie primarily at the point of care—compassionate nurses, helpful aides, conscientious social work, and pleasant ancillary services—leading many families to feel grateful and confident. Weaknesses cluster around infection control and crisis handling, clinical safety lapses (wound care, medication, PPE use), inconsistent responsiveness to family concerns, and occasional unprofessional behavior from certain staff or managers. The most alarming reports involve the COVID outbreak, alleged insensitive handling of a resident death, and sustained problems with wound healing and medication management.

    For someone evaluating this facility, the key takeaway is that experiences appear highly variable: many residents receive attentive, high‑quality interpersonal care, but there are documented instances of serious clinical and administrative failures. Prospective residents and families should probe infection‑control practices, wound‑care protocols, medication administration safeguards, staff training on dignity and communication, and how management handles complaints and bereavement. If possible, seek recent inspection reports, ask about staffing ratios and turnover, and request specifics on how prior incidents were investigated and remediated. The mixed reviews suggest the facility can be excellent in many respects but may also present unacceptable risks unless those systemic concerns have been addressed.

    Location

    Map showing location of Avantara Arrowhead

    About Avantara Arrowhead

    Avantara Arrowhead sits at 2500 Arrowhead Dr in Rapid City, SD, and helps seniors who have disabilities or diseases that make everyday life harder, and you'll find the place set up for all sorts of care, from independent living to skilled nursing, even continuing care and memory care, so if someone's moving in for help with Alzheimer's or complex health problems, they've got dedicated areas and therapies for that, and the same goes for folks who just need some extra support after surgery or illness with physical, occupational, or speech therapy, and you often see wound care nurses coming through using things like E-Stim or advanced dressings while others work on orthopedic or cardiac rehab plans, because the place takes pride in patient-centered care, creating custom treatment plans with help from certified staff, keeping up with the latest medical technology, and all while aiming to keep the atmosphere calm and healing-it's obvious that they've thought about comfort, since the suites are roomy, and common areas use calming colors and lights to help residents feel at ease, so visiting or living there feels more peaceful than you might expect in a medical facility, and while families usually want to see a place in person, they've also set up virtual tours, so people can look around or meet staff online if they can't come in, though right now, new residents can't move in, but that could change, and every service happens in English, so talking to staff about programs like respite care, home care, or the various therapies is straightforward, and you'll notice that they keep their information up online, which can help people learn more about those who need extra clinical attention, whether for short-term recovery, specialized dementia care, or even complex pulmonary or oncology needs, so when someone's looking for a safe setting that's made for different levels of independence and care, it's clear that Avantara Arrowhead tries to handle almost everything under one roof in an environment that feels both modern and restful.

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