Uptown Westerville HealthCare, found at 544 Enterprise Dr. in Lewis Center, is a nursing home that's been through a lot of changes over the years, and you hear its name come up often with state agencies and the Ohio Department of Aging keeping a close watch because of concerns about care and the companies running it. Under Boulder Healthcare and Hillstone Healthcare, the place is part of a larger group with more than three dozen Ohio nursing homes, some with ongoing paperwork problems about who's really in charge, and state health officials have checked it many times, with results that often bring more questions than answers. This facility can serve up to 174 residents and offers different types of care such as skilled nursing, assisted living, memory care for people with Alzheimer's and other dementias, and respite care for temporary stays, plus specialized support like ventilator care, and there's a physical therapy gym that stretches 3,000 square feet, which comes in handy for folks who need rehab after illness, injury, or surgery.
They try to provide services like medication management, help with bathing, dressing, eating, and moving around, and have a 12-16 hour nursing staff and a 24-hour call system for safety, which should be a comfort to families. The rooms are usually private, with private bathrooms, kitchenettes, cable, air conditioning, Wi-Fi, and there's a dining room for restaurant-style meals and a variety of activity rooms, like a movie theater, arts room, game room, library, plus outdoor spaces and gardens that give people a chance to get some air or go for a walk along the paths outside. For those who need it, there's specialized therapy including occupational, speech, and physical therapy, even language therapies, and additional services like podiatry, dental, and vision care, as well as counseling with a focus on getting stronger and going home if possible.
The place offers a schedule full of daily activities, outings, fitness programs, movie nights, exercise classes, music, family events, and also provides transportation and move-in coordination, so moving here is a bit easier, and you see efforts like resident and family councils set up to talk about problems and try to make things better. The staff claims to follow a patient-focused philosophy and say they're working on quality improvement to meet Medicare and Medicaid standards, but there have been some tough times, too, with repeated state inspections and findings of things like low employee training, incomplete background checks, not enough showers, and past issues with patient care like weight loss and not enough bathing, which caused the facility to lose Medicare and Medicaid certifications and end up on the CMS "Special Focus Facility Initiative" list, meaning the government checks up on it a lot more than most places.
The facility has had very low ratings, sometimes just one star on federal measures about health inspections, staffing, and overall quality, and is at risk of losing its ability to take new Medicare and Medicaid residents if problems don't get fixed, which leads to worry about possible closure and why there are open beds for people needing a place to move fast. Still, despite all those problems, some folks have noticed better nursing responses since Hillstone took over, and the company says they're trying to turn things around, but anyone considering Uptown Westerville HealthCare should know this history and keep asking questions to make sure it's a good fit for their loved one's needs and safety.
