Overall sentiment is highly mixed: many reviewers praise Ridgewood Care Center for compassionate, skilled employees, strong rehabilitation services, pleasant physical surroundings and engaging activities, while a significant number of reports describe serious lapses in basic care, safety, and administration. The reviews cluster into two clear patterns—residents/families who experienced excellent care (especially on rehab units and specific shifts) and those who experienced neglect, medical errors, or severe cleanliness failures.
Care quality and clinical concerns: Rehabilitation and therapy are repeatedly identified as a major strength. Multiple reviewers report devoted physical and occupational therapists and measurable improvement in condition after rehab stays. At the same time, there are alarming clinical concerns described in several reviews: discharge with an open surgical wound and no wound-care instructions; bandages left unchanged; medication errors including wrong pain meds; infections reportedly untreated; and other “life‑threatening” lapses cited by families. These are not isolated to minor inconveniences—several accounts describe risks to patient safety, and one review explicitly ties a decline in care to insurance changes. These clinical issues create a sharp contrast with other reviewers who experienced timely pain management and attentive nursing care.
Staffing and responsiveness: Staff behavior and responsiveness are inconsistent across reviews. A large number of comments single out nurses, aides, therapists, and front‑desk staff as caring, patient, courteous and proactive; specific staff members are repeatedly named and praised. However, many other reviews report slow or ignored call lights, long waits for assistance (including waits of 30 minutes or more at night), rough or abusive aides, and understaffing—especially on certain shifts or units. Several reviewers note that care quality varies by unit and by shift (for example, strong performance on the rehab unit and 2nd shift, but poor day‑shift responsiveness or night staffing shortages). This pattern suggests uneven staffing levels, training, or supervision.
Cleanliness and facility environment: The facility’s physical environment receives both praise and criticism. Numerous reviews describe a clean, bright, well‑kept campus with attractive lounges, skylights, birds in sitting rooms, and pleasant décor. Conversely, some reviews recount severe cleanliness lapses—dried fecal matter on a resident’s legs and socks, dried blood on walls and trim, dirty floors, and neglected dishes/tables. These extreme examples indicate isolated but serious sanitation failures that contrast sharply with other reports of immaculate rooms and attentive housekeeping.
Dining and amenities: Dining experiences are highly polarized. Several reviewers commend excellent meals, appealing desserts, and attractive dining areas; others describe late, cold, inedible meals, lack of utensils, and generally awful food. Amenities such as the transportation van, activities (bingo, petting zoos, musical events), and social programs are highlighted positively and contribute to residents’ quality of life in many accounts. Some practical amenities (working TVs, temperature control, comfortable beds) are cited as problematic in certain reports.
Administration, trust, and ethics: Multiple reviews raise concerns about administrative behavior and trustworthiness—examples include a short, unhelpful discharge representative, reports of management lying, and a very serious allegation that administration engaged in fraudulent voter registration/ballot signing that drew law‑enforcement attention. These allegations, combined with reports of missing packages and inconsistent communication, diminish confidence for some families. Several reviewers explicitly say care declined after insurance coverage changes, suggesting financial or administrative drivers behind care variability.
Patterns and takeaways: The most consistent strengths are rehabilitation/therapy, individual staff members who are highly praised, an engaging activity program, and a generally attractive facility on many units. The most serious and recurrent concerns are inconsistent staffing and responsiveness, lapses in hygiene and wound/medication management, variable dining quality, and troubling administrative allegations. The reviews point to meaningful variability by unit and shift—some residents enjoy excellent care and an active environment, while others experience neglect and unsafe conditions.
Recommendation for prospective families: Based on these mixed reviews, prospective residents and families should consider the facility’s documented strengths in therapy and social activities but also investigate current staffing patterns, wound-care and discharge protocols, and recent health inspections or citations. During a visit, ask specifically about nurse-to-resident ratios on the unit and shift you expect, discharge planning and wound‑care instructions, medication administration safeguards, and how the facility handles grievances and missing items. Request to speak with therapy staff and unit leadership, and try to meet staff on the shifts your loved one will most need (day, evening, night) to assess consistency. The facility clearly has many dedicated, highly regarded employees and positive outcomes, but the frequency and seriousness of negative reports warrant careful, specific questions and ongoing monitoring if you choose Ridgewood Care Center.
