Kemper House Strongsville

Please! Please! Please! read this before choosing Kemper House. This is the hardest review I’ve ever had to write. My father is in the late stages of Alzheimer’s, and I trusted Kemper House with his care during one of the most vulnerable periods of his life — and mine. The staff members at first seemed genuinely kind — and I still believe many of them are — but when my family needed support the most, we were abandoned. When I first met the admissions director, she was warm, reassuring, and confident. I told her I was worried about my father’s aggression. She told me they handled behaviors like his every day. She told me he would be safe. She told me they were trained. I believed her. We started at Highland Heights, where we had concerns about cleanliness and treatment. When a room opened in Strongsville, we moved him, relieved to be closer and comforted by staff who communicated kindly and consistently. We received messages saying he was doing great. Then everything changed. My father had a behavior — something we never deny or excuse — but something that is part of his disease. Nurses told us they understood this wasn’t who he truly was. Then suddenly the story began to shift, becoming more dramatic each time, as though someone was rewriting events to justify removing him. A staff member who had once been kind became cold and condescending, speaking to me as though my father’s Alzheimer’s was a personal choice. She told me her father had similar treatment, but she didn’t care what happened — she would never take mine back. We asked for our legal 30‑day notice. Instead, I got a call from the director of nursing, we were told he would return. We were texted hearts and reassurance. My father was sent to a geriatric psych ward nearly two hours away with strict visiting rules. We missed his birthday. The tears my family shed from missing these final somewhat conscious moments with my dad is so painful to accept. Then without warning, we were told there was an “investigation.” No one had mentioned it before. Then, right before the July 4th weekend — when no legal or government help was available — we were given a three‑day notice, including the weekend. When we asked what to do, we were told staff wanted to start their holiday weekend. Kemper House stopped answering calls. Stopped responding to texts. We couldn’t even pick up his clothes without resistance. Later, we learned the owner had been calling other facilities, sharing private information about my father without our permission. We were told he was “doing amazing,” yet when I asked what are these stories others are being told and not his daughter she would never tell me. Only after rereading the contract did we realize how easily Kemper House can discharge residents for extremely common dementia symptoms — wandering, confusion, suicidal statements — things they originally told us they were fully prepared to handle. I now know my family is not alone. Many families have been blindsided by sudden discharges. I'm come to realize from other clients and companies the reputation Kemper House has is a home for those who are “pleasantly confused,” not those who need real Alzheimer’s care. I’m writing this because I don’t want another family to experience the pain, fear, and helplessness we did. Please research carefully. Please protect your loved ones. Dementia patients deserve compassion, not abandonment. My Reply Back to Kemper's Comment: My father’s information was shared with people who should not have had access to it, and I learned that the hard way. I have every call, text, and event documented. We were left in the dark with very little communication and no real answers, which forced us to miss work and tour facilities on our own. We later learned you were calling others for updates instead of contacting us directly, which was extremely concerning. The mentioned leadership also spoke to me in a dismissive and disrespectful way. My review reflects our firsthand experience. I agree, families deserve honesty when making decisions for their loved ones.

It's a very nice facility, we visit our family members who are or were there. Kemper House is a very nice and clean facility, it's a homey nursing home, not so sterile feeling like others I've been to searching for a place for my mother in law should she need it one day. The food was exceptional and I was impressed with the staff at meal time they were so nice and accommodating. I know that no place is perfect all the time and that we are all learning and making the best of what we can as a terrible disease of the brain takes our loved ones from us. It is a great blessing to have resources like Kemper House to help us work together to give them the best quality at end of life experience. Some of them even came to the funeral of our loved one who lived there! I am very grateful that my loved ones can go here.

My family had an incredibly disappointing and heartbreaking experience with this company at both their Highland Heights and Strongsville locations. At the Highland Heights location, my father's clothes were left soaking in a used toilet and were never washed by the staff. We had to take them home and clean them ourselves. This level of neglect was deeply concerning and should never happen in a memory care facility. In order for him to be closer to us, we transferred my father to the Strongsville location. Before we moved him, we were repeatedly assured that they were equipped to handle the behaviors that come with Alzheimer's and dementia and that they would work with us through anything. Unfortunately, that promise proved to be completely untrue. When my father exhibited a behavioral symptom that is common among Alzheimer's and dementia patients, they quickly gave us a three-day discharge notice over a holiday weekend. With offices closed, we had virtually no opportunity to find another facility or access the resources we desperately needed. Instead of supporting our family during one of the most difficult moments of our lives, they abandoned us. Watching a parent suffer from Alzheimer's is terrifying and emotionally exhausting. Families place an enormous amount of trust in memory care facilities, believing they will receive compassion, expertise, and support. We did not receive any of those things. We were left feeling abandoned, overwhelmed, and alone at a time when we needed help the most. If your loved one has Alzheimer's or dementia with behaviors that may become challenging—as is common with this disease—I would think very carefully before choosing this facility. Memory care should mean caring for people through the realities of dementia, not only when they are easy to manage. We paid a significant amount of money expecting specialized care and support, and instead were left scrambling to find a safe place for our father with virtually no notice. I would not recommend trusting this facility with someone you love.

Our family had a very poor experience with this establishment! The care and the way things were managed were not handled in a professional manner! The place smelled of urine in the halls upon entering . We witnessed an aid yelling aggressively at a patient. It was disturbing to watch. I would not recommend this place. The promise of kindness and ability to take care of our family member was not fulfilled. Communication between staff and front office was very poor!

Last week during my visit to Kemper House, I witnessed a nurse repeatedly screaming in a resident’s face and then pushing them down into a chair quite forcefully. It was shocking and completely inappropriate. The staff were treating residents like children, not adults with dementia who deserve patience and respect. Based on what I saw, they did not appear to be dementia‑care trained at all. I would not feel comfortable placing my loved one here. The facility is very clinical looking and not homey, and there is an awful smell that lingers through the whole home.