The Best Nursing Home Communities in Mifflin County, PA

"This facility reminds me more of an upper class gated community than a retirement community. The homes are beautiful, from the inside right out to the perfectly landscaped yards. The amenities are endless and allow for those who reside there to feel as if they are on an extended vacation. The location is very secure and it seems well known that there is always someone there to look out for you or lend a hand. The staff is friendly and willing to help in any way needed. They are all educated and experienced and have a great deal of knowledge in their respective areas. The cleanliness was superb and there seems to be a large list of activities available to residents. This is definitely not what my idea of a retirement community would be like. This is all around the type of home and area you would want to live. "

"I visited this location several times while my family was dealing with the worsening condition of a great-grandmother. She was diagnosed with advanced dementia symptoms and later alzheimer's disease. During her time here I believe she was very cared for. The facility was bright and the nursing staff were friendly and generally very hospitable to our requests or needs concerning her care. Unlike other facilities I have seen or been at, Westminster Woods has an excellent location - detached enough from the surrounding community to offer a peaceful area but also only minutes from Juniata College and downtown Huntingdon. Overall I would say that the accommodations were above average and that the staff was knowledgeable and attentive. I give the location 4/5 only because of minor complaints from my great-grandmother relating to the food served. That said, I have been in multiple situations where elderly friends or relatives have been in nursing care and unhappy with food choices (I feel it is a common issue). Additionally, the staff did go the extra mile to try to help her in this regard. "

"I debated whether to give it a 3 or 4, above... Centre Crest is quite nice in many ways, but does have its problems. It is the County-owned nursing home (Centre County, PA), and perhaps has to be a bit more frugal than some others in the area. First impressions were that it was quite "institutional" - all straight hard-tile hallways and close-quarters, "dorm room style" living. Part of what may also make it seem uncomfortable at first is it seems that they are handed many of the most severely debilitated people, (frequently making communication with fellow residents difficult) compared to some other places that handle more people that are merely "slowing down" in life.There are a few problems - much of which seem to stem from policies dictating how nurses handle particular events... such as not taking residents to the bathroom during meals (yes, all the nurses are busy feeding those who can't feed themselves, but there must be a better way to structure this - stagger meals or something). In general, my highest concern was how long it often took to answer call bells. Often it would be answered quickly, but the person had to wait for their requested service until more nurses were available, which was fine... but other times nobody even checked for quite a while (15 min to 1/2 hour). This seems to be a problem somewhere between lack of staff and lack of structure to staff duties - such as one person designated to answer all call bells IMMEDIATELY and prioritize their need for the rest of the nurses to assist. This is NOT a lazy-nurse problem, as far as as I can see - the nurses are run off their feet most of the time. Fortunately, this wasn't an accute problem for my relative, but had ANOTHER relative of mine been in, he could not have tolerated it, as if he had angina, he would need a nitroglycerin pill THAT MINUTE to prevent it from becoming a more serious heart problem.The other major problem WE had was an issue with the staff doctor keeping our family member on a medication too long that was causing severe mental side-effects. To his credit, however, he wasn't the one who put her on it, and anyway, this is a problem we have had with MANY doctors in this area - nothing particular to this facility.Now, on the bright side... The nursing staff, busy as they are, seem terrific. Most are very attentive and caring with the residents, at least once policy and/or time available lets them. They work very hard to make people as comfortable as possible.As far as those policies I criticized, they do have an upside - such as a strict policy of no restraints on people who can't control their movement. The staff go far out of their way to pad rooms and keep an eye on such individuals. Centre Crest has a strong resident's association to watch out for each other and push for policies such as this one.The facility also tries to provide outside contact and activities for residents - a gardening club, frequent musical entertainers, field trips for those who wish, and in-house church services among them.All in all, even with my criticisms, if my relative needed another stay (was in for long term rehab / phys therapy for a stroke), I think we would pick Centre Crest again, as the nurses seem quite good despite some of the other issues.I apologise for this being so long - I'm sure I have 150 words! I hope it is not beyond what you can use. My relative was hospitalized and in re-hab a total of five months last year, three of which were in Centre Crest, so we got to know the place pretty well. I hope this is of use to you. "

"My mother was Huntingdon Nursing and Rehab Center. Everything was good as far as the people. Right now, it was in the process of being renovated. They were updating everything. That was the only problem with that place. It was kind of old. Now, they were trying to modernize the rooms. They had a small gymnasium area. It had three floors. They had an Alzheimer's unit in one floor, and it was laid out a little different. However, that time they did not have a locked down facility. "

"Most of the staff are dedicated and caring. I have witnessed staff providing for personal needs of residents who could not afford "extras". My own mother was treated very lovingly by the staff who tucked her in and kissed her goodnight. I did think staff were overworked, especially on weekends and non-regular staff did not know my mother or her needs at times. Lack of communication between staff was frequent and the social worker was clueless at times. Frequent visits from family and our clearly stated expectations with follow up protected my mother and she received good care. I expect that would be necessary anywhere. "

"The facility and the staff is nice. My mother's been in Rolling Hills for two months now. "

"Woodland Retirement Center is great, the place is well-kept, and there are activities available. I moved here about a month ago. The staff here is very friendly and understanding. They have an area that has books for reading. You can also go outside to walk and relax. It's a nursing home and they have full-time medical care."