The reviews of Crossings at East Lake of Journey present a strongly mixed picture, with clear pockets of strong, attentive caregiving and activities programming juxtaposed against systemic problems in staffing, facility maintenance, dining, and administration. A recurring theme is that some residents and families have very positive experiences — specifically praising certain nurses, CNAs, and the activities department — while many other reviewers highlight persistent issues that undermine overall quality of life and care.
Care quality and staffing: Reviews indicate variability in the quality of clinical and hands-on care. Multiple commenters specifically praise attentive, calm, and competent nursing staff and note instances of high-quality care and proactive preventative measures. At the same time, staffing shortages, high CNA turnover, frequent reassignment of caregivers between floors, and chronically busy nurses create inconsistent care. This leads to difficulties in finding a nurse when needed, perceived neglect at times (e.g., diapering without assistance to avoid more time-consuming care), and families noting that staff tend to perform better when directly supervised. Dementia care, in particular, is called out as not living up to expectations in some reports, with frequent caregiver changes and erratic staffing worsening continuity for memory-care residents.
Activities and certain staff strengths: One of the clearest positives across the reviews is the activities department; several reviewers use terms like "enthusiastic" and "phenomenal," and families express gratitude for programming that benefits their relatives. Some individual caregivers and nurses are repeatedly described as friendly, helpful, educated, and passionate — indicating that while the institutional experience is inconsistent, there are committed staff members who deliver very good care and engagement for residents.
Facility, cleanliness, and environment: Multiple reviewers raise serious concerns about the physical environment. The building is described as older and outdated, with a poor entrance and the nursing station behind iron bars — a detail that raises both aesthetic and security/optics concerns. Complaints include foul odors at the entrance and in rooms, bugs in rooms, dim lighting, and statements that cleaning stops after about 3pm. The grounds are frequently described as dirty and unmanicured. These issues contribute to an overall impression among some reviewers that the environment is depressing and that residents appear sad or depressed, which can negatively affect resident well-being and family satisfaction.
Dining and nutrition: Food service emerges as another consistent area of dissatisfaction. Reviewers report a grimy dining area, cold or unappetizing meals (examples include cold muffins and poor-quality jelly), and a perception that "real meat" is rare — leading to concerns about malnutrition for some residents. Several comments link the poor food to foul odors and to an overall deterioration of the dining experience. Conversely, the presence of families who are grateful for placement suggests that food and nutrition may be acceptable or better for some residents, but overall the trend in the reviews is negative on dining quality.
Safety, security, and property management: Concerns about missing or misplaced belongings and clothes are recurring. The combination of high turnover, inconsistent staff, and reports that items disappear contributes to family anxiety about security and property management. The nursing station design (behind bars) and reports of a facility feeling institutional exacerbate worries about resident dignity and safety.
Management and administration: Several reviewers describe administration as "well-meaning but underperforming" or outright poor. Commonly reported problems include inconsistent supervision, lack of responsiveness, and a sense that improvements are unevenly applied. Positive notes about educated and proactive staff indicate capacity exists within the organization, but systemic leadership and operational controls (staffing, cleaning schedules, dining quality, inventory management) appear to be weaknesses.
Notable patterns and overall impression: The most consistent pattern is variability — excellent experiences driven by specific staff or programs (notably activities and some nurses/CNAs) coexist with repeated operational shortfalls (staffing, cleanliness, food, administration). The negatives that appear most frequently and carry the greatest weight are staffing shortages/high turnover, cleanliness and odor problems, poor food quality, and administrative weaknesses. These factors combine to create a depressing environment for some residents and families and to undermine the positive care episodes reported by others.
Recommendations implied by reviewers: To address the mixed reviews, leadership should prioritize stabilizing staffing (reduce turnover, ensure consistent assignments for memory-care residents), enforce and monitor cleaning schedules (including evening housekeeping), improve dining quality and food safety/temperature controls, tighten inventory controls for resident belongings, and address the facility’s appearance and landscaping. Transparent communication with families about staffing plans and care continuity — and visible efforts to resolve the cited issues — would likely help reconcile the polarized experiences documented in these reviews.
In sum, Crossings at East Lake of Journey has demonstrable strengths in individual caregiving and activities programming, but persistent operational and environmental problems reported by multiple reviewers significantly affect overall satisfaction and perceived quality of life. The facility appears to have capable and caring staff in places, yet systemic issues—particularly staffing consistency, cleanliness, dining, and administrative follow-through—need attention to make the positive elements reliable for all residents.
