Medilodge Of Tawas City

    400 North Street West, Tawas City, MI, 48763
    3.5 · 4 reviews
    • Independent living
    • Skilled nursing
    AnonymousLoved one of resident
    1.0

    Caring staff but severe understaffing

    I appreciated the warm, compassionate staff who provided emotional support (they even cried with us), the clean, roomy rooms with fridge/TV/closet, nice dining area, and solid one-hour therapy in the dementia wing. However, the place is severely understaffed - call buttons often took 15-20 minutes, caregiver-to-patient ratio was poor, nurses could be non-caring, doctor visits were rare, and my mother's incision bled/drained with little medical attention; meals were hit-or-miss. Overall, despite caring staff and good therapy, I cannot recommend this facility.

    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

    3.50 · 4 reviews

    Overall rating

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

      3.0
    • Staff

      3.0
    • Meals

      2.5
    • Amenities

      4.0
    • Value

      3.5

    Pros

    • Compassionate, caring and helpful staff
    • Therapy services described as good (one-hour sessions)
    • Clean, roomy rooms
    • Rooms equipped with refrigerator, TV and closet
    • Nice dining area
    • Some residents liked the meals
    • Daily activities and social interaction opportunities
    • Dedicated dementia wing
    • Warm, caring atmosphere
    • Well-maintained facilities
    • Emotional support for families (staff visibly engaged and empathetic)

    Cons

    • Understaffing reported repeatedly
    • Slow call-button response times (15–20 minutes)
    • Poor caregiver-to-patient ratio
    • Inconsistent nursing care; some nurses described as non-caring
    • Lack of medical attention and rare doctor visits
    • Reports of poor food from some reviewers
    • Serious post-op concerns (incision bleeding/draining) and resulting safety worries
    • Some reviewers would not recommend the facility

    Summary review

    Overall sentiment in the reviews is mixed: multiple reviewers praise the facility's environment, therapy, and the compassion of specific staff members, while a number of serious operational and clinical concerns recur and significantly affect overall impressions. Strengths most often mentioned relate to the physical environment, social programming, and the emotional support provided by certain employees. The most consistent negatives center on staffing levels and medical oversight, which in several accounts led to slow responses to needs and serious post-operative issues.

    Staff and caregiving: Reviewers repeatedly describe staff members who are warm, compassionate and emotionally supportive — in some cases staff were noted as crying with families, providing comfort beyond routine care. Several accounts call out individual caregivers as helpful and caring. However, this positive view of staff coexist with frequent reports of understaffing and an unfavorable caregiver-to-patient ratio. Those staffing shortages are linked to slow call-button response times (commonly reported around 15–20 minutes) and perceptions of non-caring or inattentive nurses. The result is an inconsistent caregiving experience: some families feel well supported, while others experience delayed responses and what they feel is inadequate nursing attention.

    Clinical care and therapy: Therapy services receive positive notes — reviewers indicate therapy was good and mention one-hour sessions — which suggests rehabilitation programming can be effective. Despite this, several reviews raise concerning issues about medical management: reviewers describe infrequent doctor visits, a general lack of medical attention, and at least one serious post-operative complication (an incision that was bleeding/draining) that contributed to a decisive negative recommendation. These reports point to a pattern where rehabilitative therapy may be delivered competently, but overall medical oversight and on-going clinical monitoring are inconsistent, creating potential risk for higher-acuity or recently post-op residents.

    Facilities and accommodations: The facility itself is frequently described as clean and well-maintained. Rooms are characterized as roomy and adequately equipped — reviewers specifically mention refrigeration, a television, and closet space. Common areas such as the dining room are called nice, and the presence of a dementia wing is noted as a specialized resource. The facility’s environment and physical upkeep are generally cited as strengths and are often part of the reason families feel comfortable with placement.

    Dining and activities: Daily activities and social interaction opportunities are consistently listed as positives, contributing to residents’ engagement. Dining impressions are mixed: some reviewers say their family member (mother) enjoyed the meals and praise the dining area, while others explicitly complain about poor food. This split suggests variability in dining satisfaction that may depend on individual tastes, specific shifts, or meal service inconsistencies.

    Management, patterns and recommendations: The dominant negative theme across reviews is understaffing and its downstream effects (slow response times, inconsistent nursing care, limited physician presence). These operational shortcomings appear to drive the most serious criticisms and, in one case, led to a not-recommended verdict by a reviewer after a complication. At the same time, the facility earns consistent praise for its atmosphere, cleanliness, therapy, and certain compassionate staff members. Prospective residents and families should weigh these trade-offs: the center may be a good fit for individuals seeking a warm, active environment with solid therapy and well-kept accommodations, but caution is warranted for anyone requiring close medical supervision or frequent nursing interventions. If considering placement, ask management about current staffing levels, average response times to call-buttons, physician availability, and post-operative monitoring protocols to see whether the operational issues highlighted in reviews have been addressed.

    Location

    Map showing location of Medilodge Of Tawas City

    About Medilodge Of Tawas City

    Medilodge Of Tawas City sits at 400 W. North Street in Tawas City, Michigan and offers both long-term skilled nursing care and short-term rehabilitation for folks who need it, and it's one of several facilities that belong to Extendicare, with information available online. The facility has 85 certified beds, and on an average day, there are about 69 residents living there, which means it's not always full but still sees plenty of activity. Nursing staff provide an average of 3.83 hours of care per resident each day, which is a bit below the state average, and the nurse turnover rate runs higher than you'll find in most places, with about 55.7% of nurses moving on each year. There's a mix of different services and amenities meant to help each person feel a bit more comfortable and, when possible, work toward getting well enough to go home, and Medilodge is set up with therapy gyms that look out over scenic views, which can help keep people relaxed and motivated when they're working on getting better, especially after a stroke or other serious health event. Therapy services get delivered by a team including nurses, nurse aides, CNAs, therapists, and a social worker, and there are special care programs that try to match support to each resident's unique needs. The management of Medilodge Of Tawas City went to Prestige Administrative Services, LLC and Blossom Healthcare Management LLC as of February 2018, and Everest Opco Group LLC holds a direct ownership role. The facility's had some challenges with health and safety inspections, showing a total of 39 deficiencies, including issues in how food is sourced and handled and the way behavioral health care is delivered, both rated as level D, meaning there's the potential for harm, and then there are four deficiencies about infection control, too, which is something to take note of if that's a top concern. Medilodge does follow federal laws like the Civil Rights Act and has a policy against discrimination, and it's also committed to ethical conduct and legal responsibility, which is something some families want to look for. Accessibility tools on their website allow visitors to adjust how text looks or make reading a bit easier, and you can schedule Facetime chats or in-person tours if that's helpful. There are some unique features, too, that stand out, with services aimed at boosting comfort and a focus on trying to meet the everyday needs of each resident, but it's important to look over inspection reports and think about what matters most to each person before deciding on a move.

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