Saint John Xxiii Home

Pros

• The staff are described as caring about their patients and bringing daily joy to their work.
• St. John, the 23rd, is regarded as a godsend during her last months, with attentive care.
• The atmosphere is clean and friendly, with rooms set up to feel like a home.
• The facility is praised for cleanliness and friendly, attentive nurses.
• Large portions at meals and a variety of activities, including live music, bingo, bocce, and shuffleboard, are highlighted.
• A beauty shop is available twice a week, contributing to residents' well-being.
• The staff are described as angels on earth by grateful family members.
• The environment offers in-room cable TV and internet, with single rooms available, and includes programs like morning mass and school involvement.

Cons

• The nursing staff and nursing directors are described as the worst they've ever encountered, with very poor care.
• The staff are often unresponsive, with calls for help sometimes ignored for long periods.
• Some staff members do not know how to operate a supplemental oxygen tank.
• A staff member was observed looking into a courtyard-facing window to check on a patient, which was deemed inappropriate.
• Admissions is unprofessional and fails to return calls from prospective residents.
• There is a chronic shortage of staff, affecting patient care and timely assistance.
• Some staff allegedly blame residents for their falls instead of taking responsibility for safety.
• COVID precautions were inconsistent, with masking requirements changing between visits.

Review

Caregivers and families who have faced decisions about this facility describe a broad spectrum of experiences, from deeply moving moments of care to serious concerns about safety and responsiveness. One family member, whose mother was 91 with Parkinson's and dementia, paints a vivid picture of the anxiety many feel when a loved one is living in a place where falls and delayed assistance happen. They recount moments when staff found their mom on the floor and questions about where the staff were at critical times. Their experience also includes feeling blamed for not using the call button correctly and the sense that attentiveness to a resident's needs should be the baseline expectation, especially for someone with serious mobility and cognitive challenges. The family's message is clear: more consistent monitoring and reassurance would have made a difficult situation safer and less stressful for everyone involved.

On the more hopeful side, several residents and families cherish what they describe as a godsend experience during the end of life. One reviewer fondly recalls that the staff at St. John, particularly on the date referenced as the 23rd, took wonderful care of a loved one during her last months. They emphasize how the staff helped make days meaningful and kept the person smiling, underscoring that the workers genuinely care about their patients. The atmosphere is praised for being clean and welcoming, with rooms arranged to feel homelike rather than institutional. Specific staff members are lauded - Chrissy in admissions for helping secure a room, and Kate, Julie, Krista, and Don for their ongoing care and compassion. The reviewer expresses deep gratitude, saying that their mother is smiling in memory of the care she received and describing the staff as "angels on earth."

Other reviewers echo these positive impressions with a focus on the facility's cleanliness and its sense of community. One writer declares it to be "by far the cleanest" in Mercer County, noting that the staff are friendly and that nurses attend to concerns. They highlight generous meal portions and a robust calendar of activities, including live music entertainers at least weekly, bingo, and weekly bocce and shuffleboard games. A beauty shop operates twice a week, and the overall environment is described as welcoming and well-maintained. There is a sense that residents are treated with dignity, and that the public-facing aspects - like the reception areas and common spaces - contribute to a warm, home-like feeling.

Further corroborating the overall positive tone, another reviewer in the Mercer County area emphasizes cleanliness and professionalism, as well as practical amenities such as cable TV and in-room options for phone and internet. They point out that single rooms are available and that staff are patient and respectful with residents. While acknowledging that staffing levels can be a challenge - the reviewer mentions times when a nurse did not respond promptly to a call - the impression remains that, in general, the place is a caring environment, with residents having opportunities to participate in activities and maintain a sense of normalcy.

Not every review aligns with the glowing picture, however. Some families offer stark cautions about the reality behind the polished exterior. A strong warning states, "Don't go there," describing nursing and rehab care as poor and questioning the facility's ability to serve Medicare patients effectively. This reviewer notes inconsistent covenants around infection control and masking policies, citing a confusing sequence where staff told visitors to wear masks for supposed COVID concerns, only to find later that there was no active COVID presence. The criticism suggests a discrepancy between appearance and practice and urges readers to be cautious and verify current conditions.

Additional concerns center on the quality and responsiveness of nursing staff. One reviewer describes multiple staff members as being annoyed when patients request help, challenging the very purpose of a care facility where Ringing a buzzer should trigger timely assistance. Questions are raised about staff training, including the ability to operate a supplemental oxygen tank, and there is a troubling anecdote about a staff member who checked on a patient from a window rather than entering the room. The call for stronger management is explicit, with the sense that what is happening on the floor is not aligning with what administrators and families expect, particularly when care is supposed to be coordinated around complex medical needs.

Communication and admissions also feature prominently in the criticism. A reviewer recounts difficulty reaching admissions - specifically mentioning a staff member named Shawn who promised to follow up but did not return calls for over a week. This kind of lapse in responsiveness compounds family stress at a time when clarity and timely information are crucial. Nevertheless, other accounts describe admissions and staff as generally professional, suggesting that experiences may vary by unit, shift, or staffing level.

Despite the mixed critique, a recurring thread in the more positive reviews is the sense of a caring community that includes aspects not found in every facility. Morning Mass, involvement from local schoolchildren, and the visible presence of volunteers contribute to a culture of compassion. For some families, these elements - combined with clean facilities, in-room amenities, and a schedule of engaging activities - make the place feel like a supportive environment for both residents and their families. The stories together depict a facility capable of extraordinary kindness and attention, even as it grapples with staffing pressures and operational inconsistencies that can undermine that best-imagined standard. Prospective families are advised to weigh these experiences carefully, visit in person, and ask pointed questions about staffing, responsiveness, training, and admissions practices to determine whether this is the right fit for their loved one.

Cafes

• Panera Bread (0.5 miles)
• The Perfect Bite (0.6 miles)
• Starbucks (1 miles)
• FIREBEAN Espresso (2.1 miles)

Restaurants

• Eat'n Park Restaurant (0.5 miles)
• Taco Bell (0.6 miles)
• Burger King (0.7 miles)
• Handel's Homemade ice cream (0.7 miles)
• Hotrods Sub Shop (0.8 miles)
• Georgia's City Lights (0.8 miles)
• Hermitage Hot Dog Hut (0.9 miles)

Pharmacies

• Rite Aid (0.8 miles)
• Walgreens (1 miles)
• Rite Aid (1.2 miles)
• PharMerica (1.4 miles)
• Walgreens (1.5 miles)
• Rite Aid (1.6 miles)
• Sharon Pharmacy (2.2 miles)

Physicians

• Buhl Farm Community Health Center (0.8 miles)
• Hermitage Neurology (0.8 miles)
• Zahid Akram (0.8 miles)
• Orthopedic Center of Western PA (0.9 miles)
• Steven Hand, DO (0.9 miles)
• R.W. Petruso Hearing & Audiology Center (0.9 miles)
• Joseph J Conti do (1 miles)

Hospitals

• Wound Center (0.9 miles)
• Sharon Regional Health System (0.9 miles)
• UPMC Horizon - Shenango Valley (1 miles)
• University of Pittsburgh Physicians (2.2 miles)
• Brookfield Family Medicine Center (4.7 miles)
• New Wilmington Family Medicine (9.7 miles)
• Belmont Pines Hospital (10.8 miles)

Parks

• HMS Playground (1.1 miles)
• Brookfield Center (5.4 miles)
• Harding Park (7.1 miles)

Places of Worship

• Our Lady of Fatima Church (2 miles)
• New Virginia United Methodist Church (2.4 miles)
• Sharpsville Church of the Nazarene (2.6 miles)
• Shenango Valley Baptist Church (3.6 miles)
• Zion's Hill (5.3 miles)

Transportation

• Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport (YNG) (10.7 miles)
• Winner Aviation (10.7 miles)
• U-Haul Neighborhood Dealer (11 miles)