The reviews of Perry County Nursing Home present a mixed but sharply divided picture: many reviewers strongly praise the rehabilitation and therapy teams and several frontline caregivers, while others describe serious operational and clinical failures that raise safety and management concerns. Positive comments cluster tightly around the therapy/rehab experience and day-to-day interactions with certain nurses and aides; negative comments center on staffing, management decisions, clinical oversight failures, and troubling administrative practices.
Strengths: The most consistent positive theme is the quality of physical therapy and the rehab department. Multiple reviewers say the rehab team "goes above and beyond," delivered "excellent rehab," and produced clear, successful outcomes. Several reviews describe the nursing and direct care staff as caring, friendly, and proactive advocates who delivered the "right care" and collaborated effectively with hospitals. Cleanliness and a generally friendly atmosphere are also noted by multiple families. In short, for residents receiving focused therapy and for those who encountered engaged frontline staff, the experience was highly favorable: professional rehab, attentive care, and good interpersonal interactions.
Clinical and safety concerns: Counterbalancing the praise are serious and specific clinical complaints. Several reviews allege chronic understaffing and underpayment, contributing to heavy workloads and, in at least some cases, neglectful behavior by CNAs. More severe criticisms include perceived lack of medical oversight by physicians and nurses, delayed recognition of acute illness, and errors in routing patients to the appropriate hospital. The summaries explicitly mention life-threatening outcomes tied to these failures — aspiration pneumonia, septic shock, and at least one reported patient death. Those reports suggest lapses in monitoring, timely assessment, transfer decisions, or escalation of care rather than isolated service complaints. These are significant red flags for families considering the facility for higher-acuity residents.
Management, ethics, and facility issues: Several reviewers call out management and ownership decisions as problematic. Complaints include owners neglecting necessary building upgrades and overall physical plant deterioration, as well as a reported practice of bringing psychiatric patients in to fill beds. Workplace culture concerns appear as well: long-term employees are said to be undercompensated, some employees allegedly receive special treatment despite poor performance, and office staff are perceived as indifferent to direct care technicians. Administrative and care-coordination problems are also noted: social worker and case manager interactions are described as problematic, and one reviewer reported being asked for cash payment for care. These items raise concerns about leadership priorities, transparency, equitable staffing practices, and potential billing/placement ethics.
Overall patterns and implications: The reviews suggest a facility with strong pockets of clinical and interpersonal competence (notably rehab and certain nursing staff) but with systemic problems that can materially affect resident safety and experience. Positive experiences appear to be driven by committed frontline therapy staff and individual caregivers; negative experiences often stem from structural issues — staffing shortages, leadership/ownership decisions, and inconsistent clinical oversight. The presence of both glowing and grave reports indicates variability in resident experience that may depend on unit assignment, shift, or which staff members are on duty.
Recommendations for prospective families and referrals: Given the mixed feedback, families should verify current staffing levels and staff turnover, ask specifically about physician/nurse coverage and escalation protocols, and inquire how the facility handles acute changes in condition and hospital transfers. Ask about the rehab program specifics (frequency, therapist credentials, outcomes), recent or planned physical plant upgrades, and the role of case management and billing practices (including any policies regarding private or informal cash requests). Finally, visiting during different shifts and speaking directly with therapy staff, nursing leadership, and recent family members may help gauge whether your experience is likely to align with the positive rehabilitation-focused reports or the serious concerns raised by other reviewers.
In sum, Perry County Nursing Home receives repeated commendations for its rehab services and for many compassionate frontline caregivers, but the reviews also contain recurring and consequential criticisms around staffing, oversight, management priorities, and serious clinical incidents. These mixed signals warrant close, specific inquiry before placement, especially for residents with complex medical needs.
