Overall sentiment: The collected reviews for Lakin State Hospital are predominantly negative, with multiple reviewers expressing strong concerns about safety, cleanliness, staffing/management communication, and a decline in the facility's condition over time. While there are isolated positive remarks (notably a comment that someone 'loved this place' and a specific positive mention that chocolate milk was provided), the dominant themes are serious safety and quality-of-care issues that reviewers feel warrant scrutiny or regulatory action.
Care quality and safety: Reviews repeatedly raise alarming care-quality issues. One review explicitly states 'neglect substantiated,' and others report resident falls that resulted in emergency room visits. There is a specific operational concern noted about delayed use of a chair alarm, which implies failure to implement or respond to basic fall-prevention measures in a timely manner. Taken together, these points create a pattern of inadequate monitoring or response to resident needs and clear safety vulnerabilities. Several reviewers urge potential residents or family members to "look at other facilities," indicating a loss of confidence in the facility's ability to provide safe, reliable care.
Staff and management: Communication problems are a recurring theme. Reviewers call out "very poor communication" generally and specifically cite "poor communication from leadership to nursing," suggesting systemic breakdowns in information flow and direction. One reviewer identified as a long-time employer stated that the facility has "deteriorated" and is the "shell of itself," which signals a perceived decline in institutional standards over time rather than an isolated incident. There are also calls for state intervention or closure, reflecting reviewers' belief that internal corrective actions may be insufficient and that external oversight is needed.
Facilities and cleanliness: Physical environment and sanitation concerns are prominent. Reports of roaches "everywhere," a pervasive urine/pee smell, and descriptions of the place as "disgusting" indicate serious housekeeping and pest-control failures. These descriptions point to ongoing, unresolved environmental hygiene issues that can affect resident dignity, comfort, and health, and which also speak to lapses in routine maintenance and infection-control practices.
Dining, activities, and resident experience: Very little positive information about programming or activities is provided in these summaries. The solitary positive note is that chocolate milk was provided, and one reviewer nostalgically stated they "loved this place," suggesting there may have been better times or isolated positive experiences. However, such positive remarks are sparse and overshadowed by the negative accounts related to care, cleanliness, and management.
Patterns, concerns, and implications: The reviews collectively portray a facility in decline with interconnected problems: leadership and communication breakdowns that likely contribute to care lapses (falls, delayed alarm response), and serious sanitation/pest issues that undermine resident wellbeing. The presence of an explicit phrase like "neglect substantiated" and multiple calls for state intervention or closure elevate these from subjective complaints to matters that reviewers believe have objective severity. The overall rating message is strongly negative, and reviewers repeatedly advise potential residents or families to consider alternatives.
Conclusion: While isolated positive comments exist, the prevailing impression from these reviews is of a facility facing substantive and multifaceted problems—safety incidents, substantiated neglect allegations, inadequate leadership communication, and serious cleanliness and pest-control failures. These themes suggest urgent need for thorough investigation, remediation of environmental and safety practices, and better communication and oversight if the facility is to regain trust. Prospective residents and families should weigh these consistent negative indicators heavily and consider additional due diligence, including regulatory records and in-person inspections, before making placement decisions.
