Overall impression: The reviews for Vernon Healthcare Center are highly polarized, with a mix of strong praise for specific departments and staff members and numerous, detailed complaints about care quality, safety, staffing, and management. A meaningful subset of reviewers report compassionate, attentive caregivers—particularly in rehabilitation and some named individuals (e.g., Martel and certain nurses and reception staff)—and describe the facility as clean with decent hospital-style meals and monthly physician visits. Those positive reviews often single out therapy services and specific employees who provided helpful, patient-focused care and timely issue resolution.
Care quality and safety: Despite the positive accounts, many reviews raise serious clinical and safety concerns. Multiple reviewers describe delays in answering call lights (one account states a 43-minute response), unresponsiveness during urgent events, and cases of perceived unsafe care such as inadequate response during an asthma attack. Medication management problems were explicitly reported: medications left in a bag by a bedside, staff unfamiliar with patients' medications, and other mishandling. There are also reports of falls, suicidal-risk concerns, and improper discharges. Taken together, these reports indicate inconsistent clinical oversight and lapses in basic resident safety for some patients.
Staff behavior and variability: Reviews repeatedly mention unprofessional or rude staff and specific negative behaviors—hung-up phone calls, yelling, and dismissive interactions with families. At the same time, several reviews praise compassionate CNAs and nurses who went out of their way for residents. This contrast suggests a high degree of variability in staff training, attitude, and workload. Multiple reviewers described CNAs as overworked, which may contribute to both the compassion seen in some caregivers and the neglect or unresponsiveness reported by others.
Facilities, cleanliness, and dining: Feedback on cleanliness is mixed. Some reviewers reported a clean, well-maintained facility with active housekeeping rounds, while others described unsanitary conditions—urine on the floor, unsanitary bathrooms, foul odors, dirty tables/dishes/silverware, missing basic supplies like soap and toilet seat covers, and maintenance lapses (e.g., janitor leaving a wheelchair). Dining comments are also mixed; some described decent, hospital-style food, whereas others called the food terrible. These contradictory reports point to inconsistency in day-to-day operations and environmental maintenance.
Administration, communication, and social services: A prominent theme in the negative reviews is poor communication and problematic administration. Families report being misled, not notified of transfers, told inaccurate protocol claims, and encountering social workers described as uncaring. There are reports that administration prioritized billing and insurance over resident needs and that requests (including for masks during COVID) were refused. Conversely, a minority of reviews describe positive administrative involvement, professional growth, and effective issue resolution—again emphasizing variability between different experiences.
Patterns and recommendations: The reviews suggest the facility can provide high-quality rehab and individualized compassionate care when staffing, leadership, and specific employees align; however, there are serious and recurring reports of safety lapses, medication errors, poor communication, and unsanitary conditions. Prospective residents and families should weigh these polarized experiences carefully: ask for current staffing ratios, names and credentials of therapy and nursing leads, medication administration procedures, infection-control policies, and the facility’s incident reporting/response times. If possible, arrange a daytime visit to observe call light response, cleanliness, mealtime service, and the tone of staff interactions. Families placing high priority on reliable clinical oversight and transparent communication should seek specific written assurances about medication handling, fall prevention, notification policies, and escalation procedures before committing. Those looking for short-term rehab may experience better outcomes than those seeking long-term custodial care, based on the repeated positive rehab/therapy mentions, but vigilance and clear expectations are advised given the pattern of inconsistent experiences.
