WillowCreek Assisted Living & Memory Care

Pros

• Excellent resident care.
• One of the best staff in the area.
• The staff were described as the most caring and loving, and the facility is beautiful.
• WillowCreek is noted as the only building in Lake City currently without COVID.
• CNAs truly care.

Cons

• Alicia, the front office staffer, lacks compassion, positivity, and courtesy in email communications.
• CNAs vary in care quality; some are there only for the job, and training is inconsistent.
• The facility is often short-staffed, resulting in double shifts and long gaps in resident check-ins after call lights.
• A CNA nearly administered the wrong medication to a resident.
• A CNA used profanity while criticizing the food, reflecting unprofessionalism.
• Rx discontinuation requests from doctors were not consistently honored, with unclear procedures.
• Laundry operations are disorganized: at least one washing machine leaks, a dryer doesn't work, laundry piles up, and items from other residents are found in the closet.
• Bathrooms are not consistently cleaned; some toilets go days without cleaning, and floors are not swept/mopped frequently.
• The food program is criticized for frequent fried foods, iceberg lettuce salads, little soup, large desserts, and small portions of vegetables/fruits.
• Food in resident rooms is restricted for safety, yet residents are allowed a personal mini-fridge, creating inconsistency.
• Phones are not frequently answered; after-hours and weekend access is difficult.
• Management communications are disorganized, leading to missed messages, and the manager is avoided when scheduling care meetings; upper staff are unprofessional and rarely communicate with families.

Review

In late 2023 I placed my mom in WillowCreek for a few months because there weren't many solid options near home. Looking back, the experience was a mix of genuine care and troubling organizational gaps, and it left me with a lot of nuanced feelings about what worked well and what didn't. On balance, the facility often felt welcoming and the staff could be wonderfully compassionate, but there were recurring themes that made the days and weeks unpredictable and sometimes frustrating.

One of the most consistent threads was the variability in frontline staff and the challenge of staff shortages. Some CNAs clearly cared and connected with residents in meaningful ways, while others seemed to view the job more as a means to a paycheck. I saw training gaps that made consistency hard to achieve: a newer CNA who was already mentoring another new CNA after only about two weeks on the floor is emblematic of the training and supervision gaps that cropped up when the facility was short-staffed. There were multiple instances when the calendar of care felt thin because employees were stretched across double shifts, and there were days when mom wasn't checked on for hours despite the call light being pressed. I even witnessed a CNA who was new on the job almost administering the wrong medication to a resident, which is a frightening kind of risk. There were moments when profanity was used by staff in the dining or kitchen areas, airing complaints about the food, which was disconcerting to hear and not the level of professionalism I'd expect.

Medication management and communication with physicians also raised concerns. There was a specific incident where a doctor requested a discontinuation of one of my mom's medicines, and Willow staff confirmed they had received the fax with that request, yet they continued to offer the medication. When I addressed it, Willow blamed the doctor for not following the proper procedure, suggesting the doctor should have faxed the pharmacy directly. The larger question - whether the staff actually informed the doctor of the correct procedure or whether lines of responsibility had become muddled - wasn't clearly answered. The sense I gained was that procedural clarity and accountability between the facility and external providers were inconsistent, which added unnecessary risk and confusion for mom's care plan.

Laundry and housekeeping were another recurring pain point. The building's laundry system was often poorly organized, with a leaking washing machine and a nonfunctional dryer contributing to piles of laundry and misplaced loads. I even found items in my mom's closet that clearly belonged to someone else, which underscored gaps in how belongings were tracked and stored. In terms of room cleanliness, the rooms were generally clean, but there were notable lapses - at times my mom's toilet wasn't cleaned for days, and a nurse offered the excuse that she didn't clean more frequently because "mom rarely uses the bathroom." That logic didn't sit well, and it raised questions about whether basic cleaning routines were being applied consistently. The floors in resident rooms also needed more frequent sweeping and mopping to maintain a truly clean environment.

Food and nutrition revealed some curious contradictions. The dining patterns often featured fried foods on consecutive evenings, side salads that relied on iceberg lettuce with heavy dressing, and desserts that seemed fairly large with every lunch and dinner. Soup was rarely seen, and the serving sizes for vegetables and fruit were small. There was also an internal policy that residents aren't supposed to bring food into their rooms due to insect and choking hazards, yet many residents had mini fridges in their rooms stocked with their own food. The mismatch between food policies and real-life living conditions was confusing and at times frustrating for families trying to manage diet and safety for their loved ones.

Communication, both internal and external, was inconsistent. The phones at the facility were not reliably answered, with better chances of reaching someone during standard business hours, and after-hours or weekend calls often going unanswered. Email responses were more reliable on the first attempt within 24 hours on a business day, but the tone and willingness to respond could shift dramatically depending on whether the subject of the email aligned with what the staff wanted to address. Management communications were described as needing improvement, with multiple forms of communication being used in ways that left some staff members missing important messages. My own experience trying to arrange a meeting with the manager, Johnathan, felt like a long wait and ultimately no meeting occurred, which was both disappointing and concerning for ongoing care coordination.

There was a strong current of praise mixed into the record as well. Some of the staff were called excellent, some of the care was described as top-notch, and WillowCreek was singled out as the most caring and loving staff among the locations I visited. A particular compliment was that the building was beautiful and stood out in Lake City, and of all the places I toured, WillowCreek's staff appeared to be the most caring and attentive. The sense that the facility was COVID-free in that market at the time was another positive note that some families valued deeply. Yet even within those bright spots, there was a recurring caveat about leadership and how they interacted with both residents and families. Some observations pointed to management and upstairs staff being less accessible or less communicative, with reports that upper staff could be unresponsive or only engage when it seemed strictly necessary.

There was a consistent undercurrent about how staff were treated, particularly those in supportive roles. The workload on weekends often felt heavy, with resident assistants carrying the burden of not only direct patient care but also tasks like sweeping rooms, doing laundry for patients, and ensuring meals were served and residents returned to bed after meals. The sentiment that staff were not treated fairly by management, and that the workload was unbalanced, hung over several impressions of the facility and contributed to a sense that systemic issues overshadowed individual acts of kindness.

If you're considering WillowCreek for a loved one, the mixed picture here is worth weighing carefully. The care you'll receive from many of the frontline staff can be excellent, and the environment can be genuinely welcoming and well-maintained. But be prepared to ask a lot of questions up front and push for concrete, verifiable assurances about medication procedures, staff training and scheduling, laundry operations, housekeeping routines, and clear lines of communication with management. If you decide to move forward, insist on seeing all contract exhibits and getting detailed explanations from the marketing representative about what is promised and what is realistically feasible day-to-day. In my experience, you'll benefit from demanding thorough, documented answers and from talking to staff about the specifics of your loved one's care plan, because there were moments when what was promised didn't fully align with what happened on the floor. Overall, WillowCreek is a place with real heart and strong potential, but it requires careful, proactive engagement from families to navigate its organizational challenges.

This neighborhood in Lake City, Florida, offers convenient access to various essential services for senior living. With multiple physicians' offices and surgery centers within close proximity, residents can easily access medical care. Additionally, there are several pharmacies nearby for prescription needs. For dining options, there are familiar restaurants like Waffle House and Bob Evans just a short distance away. Places of worship such as Bread of Life Ministries and Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church offer spiritual support within the community. Transportation options include a U-Haul Neighborhood Dealer for any moving needs and a taxi service for convenience. In terms of recreation, there is a Regal Cinema nearby for entertainment and Olustee Park for outdoor activities. Overall, this neighborhood provides a range of amenities that can cater to the needs of seniors looking to settle in the area.

Physicians

• Lake City Surgery Center (0.1 miles)
• Jain Hand Surgery Center (0.1 miles)
• Physicians Imaging (0.1 miles)
• Primary Care Medicine (0.1 miles)
• Dr Minesh A. Patel's office (0.1 miles)
• Lake City Medical Center (0.5 miles)
• Invision Lake City Outpatient (0.5 miles)

Restaurants

• Waffle House (0.4 miles)
• Bob Evans (0.5 miles)
• Arby's (0.6 miles)
• IHOP (0.6 miles)
• Steak 'n Shake (0.7 miles)
• Burger King (0.7 miles)
• Cracker Barrel (0.7 miles)

Pharmacies

• North Florida Pharmacy West (0.4 miles)
• Cheek & Scott Drugs (0.8 miles)
• Walmart Pharmacy (1.1 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (1.6 miles)
• Walgreens (1.8 miles)
• Baya Medical (2.2 miles)
• Baya Pharmacy (2.2 miles)

Theaters

• Regal Ua Cinema 90 (1.1 miles)

Places of Worship

• Bread of Life Ministries (1.1 miles)
• Jehovah's Witnesses (1.9 miles)
• First Apostolic Church (2.7 miles)
• Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church (2.8 miles)
• Connect Church (2.9 miles)
• Parkview Baptist Church (2.9 miles)
• Healing Hands International Ministries (3 miles)

Cafes

• Panera Bread (1.2 miles)
• Starbucks (1.3 miles)
• Ellianos (3.4 miles)

Transportation

• U-Haul Neighborhood Dealer (1.5 miles)
• USA Taxi & Airport Subtle (3.2 miles)

Hospitals

• Wolfson Children's Hospital-Children's Specialty Center (3.4 miles)

Parks

• Olustee Park (3.5 miles)