Overall sentiment: Reviews for Highlands Guest Care Center are highly polarized but heavily weighted toward serious concerns. A substantial portion of reviews describe severe neglect, abuse allegations, systemic understaffing, poor hygiene, communication breakdowns with families and legal representatives, medication and clinical errors, theft, and administrative dysfunction. Interspersed among those negative accounts are multiple strongly positive reports—often tied to recent management changes, renovation efforts, and praise for specific staff or therapy services. This pattern suggests significant variability in resident experience that may depend on timing (pre- versus post-management change), individual units or shifts (day vs night, weekday vs weekend), and specific staff members on duty.
Care quality and clinical issues: The most alarming and recurrent clinical themes are delayed or missed medications (one reviewer cited an 18-hour delay in pain medication), unaddressed medical issues, insufficient nursing attention, and incidents of falls and mishandling (including a fall on the first night and at least one report that a resident was dropped). Several reviewers described situations where doctors performed cursory exams or left without adequate evaluation, and nurses were reported to have not read charts or to be unresponsive. Multiple accounts led to hospitalizations. These are serious clinical red flags indicating lapses in standard nursing care, assessment, and escalation.
Staffing, professionalism, and culture: Understaffing is a pervasive theme—particularly on weekends and nights—contributing to delayed responses, staff sleeping on duty, and lack of basic assistance (e.g., bathing, toileting, repositioning). Reviewers repeatedly described staff who are curt, rude, unhelpful, or disengaged; instances of staff hanging up on family members, mocking residents, or verbally abusing them were reported. Several reviews attribute some of these problems to low wages, bi-monthly pay cycles, lack of raises, and staff needing second jobs, suggesting workforce instability and low morale. Conversely, when praised, staff are described as compassionate, professional, and attentive—again indicating inconsistency across personnel and shifts.
Safety, abuse, and theft allegations: A number of reviews allege serious safety violations: physical, verbal, and emotional abuse; false imprisonment; and theft of personal belongings and money (including alleged misuse of Social Security funds). Privacy violations and inappropriate handling (e.g., clothing left exposed) were also noted. Some families have threatened or pursued formal complaints, including plans to report to regulatory bodies (Texas Medical Board/state investigations were mentioned). These recurring allegations of abuse and theft, if accurate, are grounds for immediate regulatory review and are possibly criminal or licensing issues.
Communication, administration, and discharge/transfer problems: Families consistently complained about poor communication—no contact with patients for months in some cases, inability to reach staff by phone, lack of notification for hospital transfers, and failure to consult or inform powers of attorney. Administrative responsiveness is mixed: some reviewers praise new administrators for being hands-on and responsive, while others describe HR and management as non-responsive or denying wrongdoing. Billing disputes, unexplained room reassignments, and chaotic discharge/transfer coordination also appear repeatedly.
Facility condition and amenities: Reviews vary dramatically on facilities. Multiple accounts describe dirty conditions, persistent urine odors on entry, old beds, and an overall unkempt environment. Others praise recent remodeling efforts, fresh paint, updated decor, and a welcoming, home-like atmosphere. This split suggests physical improvements in some areas or under new ownership, but also inconsistent maintenance and sanitation practices across the building or time periods.
Dining and nutrition: Dining comments skew negative: many reviewers reported cold, inedible, or nutritionally inadequate meals and instances where residents went hungry. A minority praised the kitchen staff as kind and meals as tasty, indicating variability in food quality or meal service execution.
Therapy, activities, and positives: The therapy team is repeatedly cited as a bright spot—professional, respectful, and effective—along with well-regarded activities for long-term residents. Several reviewers highlighted specific staff members (Susan, Carlson Reed, Nick Leo) and administrators for exemplary care and responsiveness. Multiple reports also emphasize marked improvement after new management took over: cleaner spaces, friendlier staff, better security, and more organized operations. These consistent positive notes suggest that targeted leadership and staffing changes can produce tangible improvements.
Patterns and recommendations: The dominant pattern is extreme inconsistency—experiences range from “top-notch” care to “horrible, should be shut down.” Recurrent and serious problems include medication errors/delays, understaffing, safety incidents, theft, poor communication, and hygiene failures. If you are considering Highlands Guest Care Center for yourself or a loved one, strongly consider the following: visit multiple times across shifts (including nights/weekends), ask for current staffing ratios and turnover data, request recent inspection and investigation reports, verify protocols for medication administration and hospital transfer notifications, confirm background checks and financial protections for resident funds, and maintain active involvement as an advocate. Families who have had negative experiences have pursued state investigations and regulatory complaints—those avenues appear to be part of the response when issues escalate.
Bottom line: There are credible, serious complaints here that should not be ignored—especially around clinical care, safety, theft, and communication. However, there is also clear evidence of meaningful improvement in some areas under new ownership and praise for particular staff and therapy services. The facility appears to be go‑to for both high-quality care and severe neglect depending on timing, staff, and unit. Due diligence, vigilant oversight, and verification of recent changes and inspection results are essential before entrusting a loved one to Highlands Guest Care Center.
