Howland Community's Online Review Report Card

Spilling the tea- Shepherd of the valley is #1 in the community. It's true that staffing issues are everywhere, but that cannot shade the wonderful acts of caring , compassion, and laughter that fills my home away from home. The residents brighten my day & hopefully I do the same for them trying to make them smile and have fun.My co-workers are the best! This does not mean that we do not feel growing pains from time to time,but we overcome and unite as a family-supportive and strong. At the end of the day, we know that resident care is #1, and I feel that there's no better place to be than Shepherd of the Valley if you need rehab or long-term care, or an intrinsically rewarding place to work.

The girl at the desk was very lazy. Waited 35 minutes to bring my friend down to visit!

Horrible working environment…upper management would just watch staff on camera all day like we r in jail seeing what we do wrong….only come out of the office to say what we r doing wrong not even to offer help if we r working terribly short which was more often then not….we were offered subway twice as appreciation for working thru over a year in covid putting our lives and our families lives at risk everyday for a organization that would trade us in for cheaper work rather then long term employees….doesn’t even care that very very long term employees are quiting in handfuls at a time…I would not recommend this organization simply bc of the management but the employees on the floor do actually care about the residents……after over 9 years I’m glad to say the grass is greener on the other side and is definitely worth your mental health then working for them!!!!!!

My mother-in-law has been a patient here for almost 1 week and has already fallen twice. She is doing worse than when she came in. I would not suggest this place because it's understaffed & does not provide good patient care. Some staff wear their masks below their noses yet are strict on covid policy for patients & visitors...Also, family members are left in the dark as to patient care. I am horrified with the (non existent care).

My mom is in this place for rehabilitation. She has severe copd and is almost completely blind. She is scared to death when a certain nurse works at night because she always gives her trouble helping her with her bipap machine. My mom recently has been put on the bipap because her body can no longer push the carbon monoxide on her own so she definitely needs it at night when she sleeps. Well when she has to use the restroom she needs unhooked from it. Yesterday was the first day we could see her because she was in isolation for 10 days. We were the first ones in in door but the receptionist let 4 other people who came in after us in before she even asked us who we were there to see because she obviously kne. them . She called them by name and took care of them for their visit and then finally asked us who we was there to see. Very disappointed.

This is NOT the place you want to place your parent if you are hoping to rehabilitate your parent! Your parent will sit in a wheelchair and will come out of the rehab MUCH weaker than going in to the place! My mother fell 10 days after her first stay at SOV and then 2 days after her second stay at SOV. NEVER again will I use this rehab facility nor will I ever recommend this rehab!!! SOV was VERY DECEITFUL with how far my mother could walk and what she could do in rehab!! I was told she could walk up 4 steps and she could barely make it up 1 step when released!! I was told she could walk 60-70 feet with her walker and she could barely make it 10 feet upon discharge! This place is AWFUL for rehab!!

This review is not so much aimed directly at the facility as a whole, but sometimes just one employee can ruin your whole outlook. To give you some background on my situation, my grandfather was taken to Shepard of the Valley on North River Rd. from the hospital at the end of October 2020. He was 80 with various medical conditions and could not go home without around the clock caregivers. We could not afford this for him, and sadly we all had to make the decision that a nursing home would be the only way he could receive the care he needed. Even more sadly, we would not be able to visit him due to COVID, and because he was not on the first floor of this facility, we could not even window visit. We all felt helpless because he was alone and unhappy, but did not feel he had the strength to transfer to a different facility. All we could do is talk to him on the phone when he was with it enough to know how to answer. Plus, he was never good at figuring out his phone and usually needed assistance, so some of the nice nurses would help him call us. We had gotten a report from the doctor that he was not expected to make it much longer, and he was going to try to arrange for my dad to be able to see him. This never took place. I believe it was Saturday December 12 when my family and I decided to video call him on Facebook to say our goodbyes. I tried calling him countless times as I could see he was active on Facebook but probably couldn’t answer himself. My mom called Shepard of the Valley in Howland to see if someone on his floor could pop in quickly and answer the call for him. A woman named Dottie answered the phone and told us she was sorry there was no way anyone could do this because “they were just too busy.” Even after explaining our situation to Dottie she told us no and hung up the phone. I will never forget this because less than a week later my grandfather died alone there, and I never got the chance to say goodbye. The reason I’m just now writing this is because I’m finally strong enough to not let my emotions interfere with getting my point across. These are the kind of people they’re hiring to work in the healthcare field and it’s completely unacceptable. I can absolutely understand that they’re busy and struggling during this time, but that was a total lack of empathy and compassion for others.

I used to work in both the assistive living section and the nursing side. This is a wonderful place! I've worked at 4 different cafe facilities and i have to say hands down that Shepherd will take great care of your family. The assisted living was my favorite.

Coming from someone that was on the inside and saw what went on when family is not there. They are NOT adequately staffed, and not all staff is great with the patients! The upper management and Human Resources definitely do NOT treat employees that want their job there with respect instead get laughed at when they have an issue with supervision!!! Now don’t get me wrong there ARE some employed there that are AMAZING with the patients but there are a couple that are horrible and I would be worried what they do behind closed doors!! If you bring a loved one there make sure you are there EVERYDAY!!!!!!!!

The care was not good and no one helped when my dad needed help! Terrible experience. They know theses people are helpless! He took a fall had bruises and there was no fall record. He couldn’t walk at the time and could not get back in the bed by himself so someone was lying! Might look nice on the outside but would never recommend that place!