BrightStar Healthcare in Upper Arlington, OH

Pros

• Bright Star came through when it was needed, arranging a meet-and-greet within a day and setting up aides the following week.
• All the aides have been amazing and consistently go above and beyond.
• Elaine and her team stepped in quickly to care for a loved one, delivering wonderful, professional, and compassionate service.
• Jasmine and Shana were consistently helpful and caring, building a special bond with the family.
• The care provided was excellent and consistent, with providers who adjusted as needs changed.
• Seth and Tierra stood out for exceptional care, compassion, and dignity shown to the client.
• Patti secured nurses on the same day and established a reliable team delivering excellent care.
• Bright Star is a caring, reliable agency with good communication and personable staff; 10/10 would recommend.

Cons

• They cancel on people whenever they want and never show up.
• They are very unprofessional and aloof.
• Management is very unprofessional.
• An aide seemed unwilling, lied about things, and never returned.
• They lie and do not care about their clients.
• Their service is not good; aides call off at the last minute, and schedulers don't check tests or voicemails or call back.
• The coordinator is rude.
• They are a giant corporation with no personal concern for loved ones, they only care about money and lie to get it.
• There is a lack of communication with the agency.
• The staff is rude, shady, snippy, and unreliable.
• They send brand-new employees to clients without orientation.
• The aids they send are not trained properly.

Review

BrightStar Care in Upper Arlington is best suited for families that need rapid in-home nursing support with a strong, relationship-driven caregiving team. When a quick meet-and-greet leads to a same-week setup of aides, the agency demonstrates a readiness to mobilize and tailor care as needs evolve. This is especially true for post-acute recovery, ongoing assistance after hospital stays, or end-of-life care where a loved one benefits from caregivers who can form dependable bonds with the family. The model rewards households that are comfortable shepherding a care plan through active management and direct engagement with a designated point of contact.

Those who may want to consider alternatives include families that prize airtight reliability and zero-withed scheduling. Repeated cancellations, missed visits, and delayed callbacks have appeared in several accounts, creating uncertainty and anxiety for caregivers and families alike. For households that cannot tolerate gaps in coverage or a consistently uneven communication experience, other providers - preferably with more standardized processes and tighter control of a core staff - may deliver greater peace of mind. In short, BrightStar can be exceptional, but reliability and office-support consistency are not uniformly dependable across all teams or regions.

The strongest positives center on the care team's warmth and adaptability. Aides are frequently described as caring, compassionate, and willing to adjust routines as conditions evolve, with specific examples of staff going the extra mile to support both patient and family members. The ability to mobilize quickly, introduce a core group of dependable nurses, and scale care up or down to match healing or declining function is a meaningful edge. When the stars align - coordinators who understand the case, caregivers who click with the family, and a proactive approach to staffing - the experience can be deeply reassuring and personally meaningful.

Yet the downsides are substantive enough to influence a decision. The most persistent concerns involve scheduling reliability: last-minute cancellations, shifts that do not show, and office communication that falters. Families report uneven experiences with management, including unreturned calls and inconsistent accountability. Individual aides can vary in engagement and professionalism, which directly affects perceived safety and trust in the care plan. Taken together, these issues transform what should be a steady, predictable support system into a source of ongoing friction unless steps are taken to stabilize staffing and strengthen follow-through.

Decision-making for BrightStar should be anchored in concrete guardrails and a disciplined partnership approach. Prospective families should insist on a dedicated supervisor, a written, evolving care plan, and a robust backup roster to cover absences or last-minute gaps. Demand clear scheduling rules, explicit escalation paths, and a standing cadence for care-plan reviews. Run a defined trial period - ideally two to four weeks - while tracking response times, continuity of caregivers, and how well the team integrates with the home routine. Vet references carefully and confirm training standards, then push for transparent pricing with no hidden fees. If these guardrails cannot be guaranteed, exploring alternatives that offer steadier coverage and more consistent leadership becomes prudent.

When conditions are in place, BrightStar Care Upper Arlington can be a powerful ally for families seeking compassionate, adaptable in-home support that grows with the loved one's needs. The arrangement is particularly compelling for those who can actively engage with a dedicated coordinator and who value caregiver relationships built over time. If reliability, predictable scheduling, and consistently high administrative responsiveness are non-negotiable requirements, it makes sense to compare with other local options or nationwide providers known for stricter operational controls. BrightStar's human-centered approach and readiness to respond are real strengths; translating that into dependable, everyday care, however, demands clear expectations and disciplined oversight from the outset.

Located in Upper Arlington, Ohio, this area offers a diverse range of amenities for senior living. With numerous restaurants such as Roosters and Bonefish Grill, pharmacies like Walgreens and CVS, and cafes such as Crimson Cup and Starbucks, residents have easy access to dining options and basic necessities. Nearby parks like Thompson Park and Antrim Park provide opportunities for outdoor recreation and relaxation. For medical needs, there are several physician offices including Forefront Dermatology and Ohio ENT Surgeons, as well as hospitals like Ohio Health within close proximity. Additionally, convenient transportation options are available with the Ohio State University Airport nearby. Places of worship such as St Andrew Church and Saint Brendan Catholic Church offer spiritual support for residents. Overall, this part of Upper Arlington provides a well-rounded environment for seniors looking to settle in a vibrant community with access to essential services.

Restaurants

• Roosters (0.2 miles)
• BIBIBOP Asian Grill (0.3 miles)
• Tensuke Market (0.7 miles)
• Arby's (2.1 miles)
• Chick-Fil-A (3 miles)
• Bonefish Grill (3.1 miles)
• Brassica (3.2 miles)

Pharmacies

• Marc's Stores (0.3 miles)
• Walgreens (0.9 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (1.3 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (1.8 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (2 miles)
• Walgreens (2.2 miles)
• Walgreens (2.5 miles)

Parks

• Thompson Park (0.7 miles)
• Carriage Place Park (1.8 miles)
• Antrim Park (2.3 miles)
• Whetstone Park / Park of Roses (2.5 miles)
• Quarry Trails Metro Park (3.7 miles)
• Coffman Park (5.2 miles)

Physicians

• Forefront Dermatology Columbus, OH (0.9 miles)
• Riverside Outpatient Surgery Center (0.9 miles)
• Ohio ENT Surgeons (1.3 miles)
• Jasonway Internal Medicine (1.4 miles)
• Columbus Eyecare Associates (1.4 miles)
• Central Ohio Primary Care (1.6 miles)
• Mid Oh Cardiology & Vascular (2 miles)

Places of Worship

• St Andrew Church (0.9 miles)
• Scioto Ridge United Methodist Church (2.1 miles)
• Saint Brendan Catholic Church (2.2 miles)
• Holy Name Church (4.3 miles)
• St Christopher Church (4.6 miles)

Transportation

• The Ohio State University Airport at Don Scott Field (OSU) (1.7 miles)

Cafes

• Crimson Cup (2.4 miles)
• Starbucks (3.7 miles)
• Starbucks (4.3 miles)
• Kona Craft Kitchen (4.3 miles)
• Starbucks (4.6 miles)
• Tim Hortons (4.9 miles)

Hospitals

• Ohio Health (2.5 miles)
• OSU Harding Hospital (4.6 miles)
• Richard M Ross Heart Hospital (4.7 miles)