Overall sentiment across the reviews is strongly positive about direct resident care, staff quality, and the small, home-like character of The Altenheim Senior Health Care Community. Reviewers repeatedly praise the caregiving team as attentive, compassionate, experienced and professional. Multiple comments highlight excellent staffing ratios and 24/7 availability, which translate into high-quality personal care, dignity and respect for residents, and improved quality of life. Families frequently report clear, compassionate communication with caregivers and staff, and many express peace of mind knowing loved ones are well looked after. Specific positives include a small skilled nursing unit (around 20 residents), seamless transitions between care levels (with individual staff such as Kelly singled out for smooth coordination), and a non-profit, resident-centered ethos that feels like a “home away from home.”
Facility-related feedback is also favorable. The Altenheim’s historic mansion renovation, well-kept grounds (trees, benches, gazebo, flowers) and bright rooms with large full-length windows are commonly noted and appreciated. Many reviewers call out cleanliness, up-to-date facilities in parts of the building, and attractive public spaces. Dining is another strong theme — residents get restaurant-style service with a variety of food options, and reviewers mention that meals are good and accommodating. Activity programming is described as robust and age-appropriate, contributing to an active daily life for residents.
Despite the strong praise for clinical care and daily living, several recurring concerns center on administration, maintenance practices, and a few serious interpersonal incidents. Multiple reviewers report unprofessional or rude behavior from office staff (including at least one mention of a rude secretary) and inconsistent administrative responsiveness — for example, difficulty contacting management and lack of callbacks. There are isolated but serious allegations of discriminatory and intimidating conduct, notably involving a maintenance staff member who reportedly acted prejudicially and threatened a pregnant Black woman. These incidents are serious because they directly contradict the facility’s generally reported ethos of respect and dignity. One review noted that an external agency backed the reviewer’s complaint, indicating that at least one dispute involved third-party oversight.
A separate but related pattern concerns the grounds and maintenance routines. Several reviews complain about persistent noisy landscaping work — described as constant gas-powered leaf blower noise or construction-like disturbance — and associated air particulates that raised health concerns for residents and families. This noise and pollution from grounds maintenance are reported to disrupt resident comfort and cause stress for some families. Other facility limitations mentioned include the older building’s small resident rooms and accessibility issues such as steps to the dining hall. While many reviewers accept the charm of the older mansion, they also acknowledge the trade-offs in room size and some physical barriers.
In sum, most reviewers strongly recommend The Altenheim for its caregiving staff, cleanliness, personal attention, dining and activities, and overall safe, compassionate environment. However, the positive care reputation is offset in some reviewers’ minds by administrative lapses, occasional rudeness, and troubling reports of discriminatory or intimidating behavior by specific employees, plus the ongoing problem of noisy, polluting grounds maintenance. These negative patterns are not described as universal, but they are significant where they occur and have led at least one family to remove their loved one because of stress. The overall picture is of a small, well-loved non-profit community that delivers high-quality, person-centered care but would benefit from improved administrative responsiveness, better oversight and training for staff interactions, and changes to grounds/maintenance practices to reduce noise and air quality impacts.
