Decatur Living Center

    444 West Harrison Street, Decatur, IL, 62526
    3.0 · 3 reviews
    • Skilled nursing
    AnonymousLoved one of resident
    2.0

    Inconsistent care; potential but untrustworthy

    I wanted to like this place — the staff are loving and the building is clean with an Alzheimer’s wing — but I’m overall dissatisfied. Leadership and nursing are inconsistent: delayed or missed meds and breathing treatments, inattentive staff, poor care coordination, and no checks for hours. Too many falls, infections and pressure sores for a supposed 4‑star, especially given the staffing ratio. It’s high cost and often a shared room; it has potential, but leadership must improve before I’d fully trust it.

    Pricing

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    Amenities

    Healthcare services

    • Activities of daily living assistance
    • Assistance with bathing
    • Assistance with dressing
    • Assistance with transfers
    • Medication management
    • Mental wellness program

    Healthcare staffing

    • 12-16 hour nursing
    • 24-hour call system
    • 24-hour supervision

    Meals and dining

    • Diabetes diet
    • Meal preparation and service
    • Restaurant-style dining
    • Special dietary restrictions

    Room

    • Air-conditioning
    • Cable
    • Fully furnished
    • Housekeeping and linen services
    • Kitchenettes
    • Private bathrooms
    • Telephone
    • Wifi

    Transportation

    • Community operated transportation
    • Transportation arrangement
    • Transportation arrangement (non-medical)

    Common areas

    • Beauty salon
    • Computer center
    • Dining room
    • Fitness room
    • Gaming room
    • Garden
    • Outdoor space
    • Small library
    • Wellness center

    Community services

    • Concierge services
    • Fitness programs
    • Move-in coordination

    Activities

    • Community-sponsored activities
    • Planned day trips
    • Resident-run activities
    • Scheduled daily activities

    3.00 · 3 reviews

    Overall rating

    1. 5
    2. 4
    3. 3
    4. 2
    5. 1
    • Care

      2.0
    • Staff

      3.0
    • Meals

      1.0
    • Amenities

      3.0
    • Value

      2.0

    Pros

    • Loving, caring staff
    • Cleanliness is good
    • Alzheimer's wing available
    • Staff show potential and compassion
    • Some reviewers encourage giving the home a chance

    Cons

    • Staff inattentiveness and walking past residents
    • Delayed medications
    • Missed breathing treatments
    • Residents not checked on for hours
    • Family had to bring medications from home due to missing hospital lists
    • Poor care coordination
    • Nursing staff struggling or understaffed
    • Too many falls reported
    • High rates of infections noted
    • Multiple skin issues and pressure ulcers
    • Leadership and management need improvement
    • Needs around-the-clock care (level of care concerns)
    • High cost
    • Shared rooms

    Summary review

    Overall sentiment in the reviews is mixed but leans toward concern: reviewers consistently note caring and compassionate frontline staff alongside significant clinical and managerial shortcomings. Positive comments emphasize that many employees are loving and caring, and that the facility is generally clean. The presence of an Alzheimer's wing is noted as a service asset. Several reviewers also feel the home has potential and encourage others to give it a chance, suggesting that interpersonal warmth from staff is a real strength.

    The most serious and recurring themes relate to care quality and clinical oversight. Multiple reviews report delayed medications and missed breathing treatments, and at least one account describes a patient not being checked on for hours. These specific incidents point to lapses in direct resident care and monitoring. Related clinical concerns include reports of too many falls, higher-than-expected infection rates, and a pattern of skin issues and pressure ulcers. Reviewers explicitly link these problems to staffing ratios and struggling nursing teams, implying that residents are not receiving timely or adequate hands-on care.

    Staff and daily operations receive mixed descriptions. On the positive side, staff are characterized as loving and caring, and cleanliness is called out as good—indicating that some basic standards and day-to-day interactions are handled well. On the negative side, there are examples of inattentiveness (for example, a nurse walking past at dinner without bringing requested milk) and family members needing to bring medications from home because a hospital medication list was missing. These anecdotes suggest inconsistent routines and lapses in coordination between care transitions, medication management, and basic assistance tasks.

    Management and leadership are a prominent concern across reviews. Reviewers call for leadership improvement and stronger management oversight; they cite poor care coordination and an apparent mismatch between the facility's reported rating (a 4-star indication in one summary) and the frequency of falls, infections, and pressure ulcers. The recurring message is that while frontline caregivers may be compassionate, systemic issues—scheduling, staffing ratios, supervision, and communication—are undermining care quality.

    Facility and cost issues are also mentioned. The presence of an Alzheimer's wing is a positive facility note, but several reviewers indicate that some residents need around-the-clock care that the facility may not reliably provide. Cost is a downside for some families, and shared rooms are noted as a drawback for privacy and comfort. One review framed the facility as a second choice, suggesting it may be acceptable in certain circumstances but not the first preference for some families.

    In summary, reviews paint a picture of a facility with genuine strengths in staff compassion and cleanliness but with significant and recurring operational and clinical concerns. Problems with medication administration, missed treatments, insufficient monitoring, falls, infections, and pressure ulcers point to systemic issues likely tied to staffing levels and leadership/management. Families should weigh the evident kindness of staff and the clean environment against documented lapses in clinical care and coordination. Reviewers recommend giving the home a chance because of staff potential, but they also strongly recommend scrutiny of care practices, confirmation of medication and treatment protocols, and ongoing oversight if choosing this facility.

    Location

    Map showing location of Decatur Living Center

    About Decatur Living Center

    Decatur Living Center sits in a building that used to be a nursing home, and now it works as a full family resource center, with a special focus on helping people who need both emergency shelter and long-term senior care, so folks who need quick help, like families facing homelessness, can get food, clothing, hygiene services, and a safe place to stay, and there's job training, financial counseling, and even help with childcare for those trying to get back on their feet, while under the same roof you've got access to all kinds of senior care options, whether someone needs assisted living, memory care, independent living, nursing home services, in-home care, respite care for caregiver breaks, or even specialized Alzheimer's and dementia care, and the place also works with different agencies that come in to offer other services for families. The facility, known as Heartland Health Care Center-Decatur, has about 117 residents at a time and holds a 2.5-star ("Good") rating for nursing home care, and it's Medicare and Medicaid certified, which makes it more affordable and helps cover costs for many families, plus they've got daily activities, planned trips, community games, fitness and wellness programs, a small library, a gaming room, computer center, and outdoor spaces for walking or gardening, and every resident gets a private bathroom, with kitchenettes in each apartment, and there's restaurant-style dining plus special meals for folks who need diabetes diets or allergy-friendly options. You'll find a 24-hour call system, constant supervision, staff who help with bathing, dressing, transfers, or medication, and there are nursing services for 12-16 hours each day, with a focus on keeping a good staff-to-patient ratio, so everyone gets attention, and families work with the care team to customize care plans for each person depending on what they need, whether it's support with mental wellness, wound care, or just regular day-to-day tasks. The community offers scheduled activities, arts and crafts, movie nights, and chances for residents to run their own clubs, with transportation arranged for doctor visits and outings, as well as internet, cable, housekeeping, and laundry services covered. Reviews and pricing details-an average price near $275 a day, and a yearly cost near $48,678 for a private senior apartment-are available through referrals from services like A Place for Mom, and the staff-called senior living advisors-help families choose what kind of care or apartment would fit best. It's part of a broader network, so if someone needs help finding places in other towns like Chicago, Naperville, or Rockford, they help with that too, and the online system makes it easy to ask questions about rooms, availability, and move-in coordination without payment required upfront. There's a beauty salon, spa and wellness room, theater nights, programs for folks with different levels of ability, and a focus on making sure everyone feels at home, whether living alone or sharing space in a friendly, social atmosphere. Outdoor activities nearby, like walks at local parks or swimming at the YMCA, add to the options for staying active, and there's extra care for people recovering from surgery or illness because of skilled nursing and rehabilitation, as well as hospice for end-of-life needs. The approach at Decatur Living Center is to try meeting each person's health, safety, and social needs in one place, in a way that helps people stay as independent and supported as they can.

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