Overall impression: Reviews for The McKendree reflect a sharply mixed but strongly polarized picture. Many reviewers describe outstanding, compassionate staff, effective therapy and rehabilitation, abundant activities, and a large, amenity-rich campus. Other reviews raise serious concerns about inconsistent care, medication errors, inadequate staffing, sanitation problems, and facility disrepair. The aggregate sentiment is therefore: the campus and programs can be excellent, but experiences vary widely between units, shifts, and individual caregivers, and there are enough reports of severe safety and management failures that families should exercise vigilance.
Care quality and clinical issues: Clinical experiences are inconsistent. Numerous reviewers praise nurses, specific CNAs, and therapists (names such as Sandy, Rachel, Keisha, Shannon, Stacy, and others were repeatedly singled out for excellent, compassionate care). Several families credited the rehab team with successful outcomes. However, an important cluster of reviews details serious lapses: medication mismanagement and wrong dosages, pain medications withheld for extended periods, documented falls, rough handling, residents left unattended or left outside for extended periods, and patients found in soiled conditions. There are reports of pressure to discharge residents quickly for insurance reasons and of missed therapies (speech or physical therapy not provided as expected). These are safety-critical problems and not isolated small complaints—several reviews explicitly describe events that required hospital care or represent neglect.
Staffing, responsiveness, and culture: Staff are the single most consistent theme in the reviews, but with opposite valence depending on the reviewer. Many reviews emphatically praise staff who "go above and beyond," are friendly, kind, and attentive, and who provide clear communication with families. Several employees and CNAs are named repeatedly as exemplary. Conversely, a number of reviews report understaffing, long delays for call buttons, apathetic or abrasive staff, missed showers, and aides who are described as lazy or unprofessional. Management responsiveness is likewise mixed: some describe engaged leadership and helpful move-in coordinators, while others report management that ignored requests, failed to fix chronic problems, or made empty promises. There are multiple complaints about poor communication from management and distrust related to billing or contract fulfillment.
Facilities, maintenance, and campus amenities: The McKendree's physical campus and amenity offering receive strong praise in many reviews. Highlights include a large 47-acre campus, cottages (spacious two-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath homes ~1,800 sq ft), a 19-story tower, parks and walking woods, indoor pools and spas, multiple fitness areas, wood shop, movie theater, salon, on-site pharmacy, dining venues, and plentiful social programming. Maintenance staff are frequently commended for fast and effective problem resolution. At the same time, several reviewers flagged aging infrastructure and visible disrepair—damaged vents, holes and deep scratches in walls, beat-up furniture, outdated TVs, weeds and neglected grounds, space heaters used during heat outages, and other long-standing maintenance problems. These contrasts suggest that while many communal areas are attractive and well-serviced, some buildings, wings, or rooms suffer from deferred maintenance.
Dining and nutrition: Dining is generally described as adequate to good by many residents—cafeteria service for breakfast/lunch and sit-down dinners, multiple entrée choices, accommodating special diets in many instances (smaller portions, no fried food, protein drinks, almond milk, pureed meal quality noted). Reviewers also reported positive meal experiences and helpful dining staff. However, inconsistent meal service (missing utensils, meals not matching dietary needs, poor choices for hypertension) and occasional poor food quality are recurring criticisms. Families with specific medical dietary needs should verify meal plans and accommodations.
Activities, social life, and quality of life: The McKendree scores very highly on activities and social programming in many reviews. Reported offerings include daily exercise, Tai Chi, Bible study, Elvis impersonators, outdoor movie nights, educational workshops, live entertainment, therapy animals, and frequent outings. Residents and families often describe a lively social environment, friendly neighbors, and many opportunities to stay engaged. This is a clear strength and a draw for active seniors.
Safety, sanitation, and infection control: Several reviews raise serious concerns about sanitation (dirty walls, lack of daily room cleaning, PPE not consistently used) and infection control. There are multiple allegations of pressure sores, infections requiring hospitalization, and general lapses in cleanliness. In addition, safety incidents such as untreated falls, rough or unsafe handling during transfers, and residents left unattended are alarming. These issues point to inconsistent adherence to clinical and custodial standards in some areas or shifts.
Management, administration, and financial issues: Multiple reviewers report problems with management responsiveness, unfulfilled contract obligations, add-on fees, billing concerns, and distrust of leadership. There are reports of failed repairs and long-standing problems owners have not addressed, with some mentions of media threats or legal involvement. However, other reviewers praise specific leaders and coordinators for being family-oriented and effective. This split suggests variable management performance across teams and time periods.
Patterns and practical takeaways: The reviews reveal two dominant patterns: (1) Many individuals and families experienced excellent, compassionate care, robust programming, and well-maintained amenities—often naming specific exemplary staff and praising therapist-driven recoveries; (2) A notable minority recounts serious safety, medication, sanitation, and management failures, including events that posed immediate harm. The presence of both strong praise and severe complaints indicates that quality is uneven and may depend on the unit, shift, staffing levels, or who is on duty.
Recommendation for families and prospective residents: The McKendree offers a large, amenity-rich campus with strong potential for quality care and an active lifestyle. For prospective residents or families, it is advisable to: (a) tour multiple parts of the campus at different times and ask about the specific unit's staffing levels and turnover; (b) inquire about medication management protocols, on-shift nurse ratios, and how incidents are reported and handled; (c) confirm meal accommodations for medical needs in writing; (d) ask for references or contact information for families who have had long-term placements; (e) clarify billing, add-on fees, and contract terms; and (f) identify the names of staff who will be primary caregivers. Given the mix of excellent and troubling reports, careful due diligence and ongoing oversight by families are recommended to help ensure a consistently positive experience.
