Brewer Rehab and Living Center

Pros

• The staff are kind, competent, and friendly.
• The facility is clean and orderly.
• Residents are in great spirits and well cared for.
• The front desk check-in is fast and pleasant.
• Nurses and aides are awesome, caring, and respectful.
• Physical therapy and occupational therapy are excellent.
• Leadership is a pleasant, inspiring presence.
• Visitors and vendors are welcomed with warm smiles and friendliness.

Cons

• Residents were left for over an hour in their own bowel movements after calling for help, with staff dismissing concerns and leaving the room, leading to pressure sores and safety concerns.
• The facility is severely understaffed with unreliable weekend coverage, resulting in delayed or inadequate care.
• The food quality is described as horrid and inquiries about residents' care often went unanswered.
• Personal belongings frequently go missing, and reported incidents are not promptly resolved.
• Discharge planning is terrible, with some staff perceived to care more about money than patient care.
• Communication is poor; staff are hard to reach by phone and residents are frequently redirected without answers.
• The facility is alleged to have negligence that contributed to a resident's death.

Review

The collection of experiences shared spans a wide emotional spectrum, painting a picture of Maine care facilities where moments of genuine kindness and professional competence sit alongside troubling examples of neglect and systemic strains. Numerous reviewers describe environments that feel welcoming, clean, and efficiently run, with staff who greet visitors with warmth and residents with respect. In several accounts, families emphasize how they were treated with courtesy from the moment they arrived: "We're greeted with kindness, followed by professionalism," one reviewer writes, and another notes that the front desk check-in was "fast and easy" with a receptionist who was "very pleasant." Across these affirmations, the common thread is a sense that care communities can feel like a supportive extension of home when the basics - cleanliness, organization, and considerate staff - are in place.

A number of stories highlight the positive impact of dedicated therapy teams and attentive bedside care. Family members repeatedly commend physical therapy and occupational therapy as excellent, and they praise staff who interact with residents in a respectful, gentle, and cheerful manner. Individuals describe residents being kept in good spirits and receiving consistent encouragement to engage in rehabilitation. Some reviews go further, attributing real improvement to skilled care: a caregiver notes that in thirty days their wife went from needing a wheelchair to walking, thanks to a team described as courteous, kind, and caring. The impression left by these positive experiences is that when staffing levels allow it and training is thorough, residents can make meaningful progress and feel valued in their daily routines.

Other remarks focus on the atmosphere of welcome that persists for visitors and vendors alike. The sentiment that "everyone is competent and so friendly" appears repeatedly, along with mentions of leadership and management being accessible or inspirational. A reviewer commends a manager as a "pleasant wonderful inspiration," underscoring the idea that leadership matters and can shape the overall feel of a facility beyond mere routine care. In these narratives, the strongest praise is reserved for the human touch: smiles, respectful conversations, and consistent attention to questions and concerns, which together foster trust and a sense of safety for families when they entrust their loved ones to a facility.

However, not all experiences align with these positive portraits. A substantial portion of the comments center on serious concerns about staffing, communication, and care quality. Several reviewers recount traumatic episodes where residents were left in distress or in soiled conditions for extended periods, with reports of sores developing and urgent needs going unmet. Phrases like "left to sit in their own bowel movements for over an hour" and "death trap to innocent people who cannot advocate for themselves" reflect deeply alarming experiences that contrast starkly with the more favorable reviews. Other accounts describe weekends when staff seemed overwhelmed or unreliable, and questions about why there was insufficient coverage to answer calls or to respond to residents in a timely fashion. These stories emphasize how critical adequate staffing and clear routines are to ensuring safety and dignity in care.

Discharge planning and communication also emerge as points of failure in several narratives. One reviewer details a discharge that led to hospital readmission days later, criticizing the administrator's accessibility but noting that the on-floor leadership did not seem to be in control of day-to-day operations. A further critique targets a case manager perceived as prioritizing money over patient care, coupled with frustrations about being unable to reach anyone by phone. In these accounts, the bottlenecks are not merely administrative but are perceived as directly affecting patient outcomes, including abrupt transitions that leave families feeling unheard and residents inadequately supported as they move between levels of care.

The most severe and harrowing testimonies center on mortality and life-threatening complications attributed to care failures. One reviewer bluntly claims Brewer Rehab is a "horrible place" and alleges negligence that culminated in the death of a loved one from sepsis, a sequence of events described through scenes of late or missing medications, unaddressed medical needs, and a lack of timely physician oversight. Other aspects cited include missing personal belongings, insufficient climate control or equipment (such as fans or air conditioning), and reports of drug problems among staff. While these accounts include a few praise-worthy exceptions - caregivers like Megan, Orlando, Ryan, and Kim are singled out as dedicated - overall the message is one of caution, urging prospective families to scrutinize care quality, staffing, and discharge procedures and to push for timely, transparent communication.

Amid the mosaic of praise and critique lies a thread of hope in stories where visible improvements occur and where patient and family voices are heard. Some reviewers emphasize not just the clinical outcomes but the quality of relationships built with residents and families. The same facilities that face criticisms also host testimonials of restored mobility, renewed independence, and the comfort of knowing skilled professionals are nearby. The juxtaposition of empathy and accountability - kind, professional care alongside reports of neglect and mismanagement - defines the enduring tension within these care communities.

In the end, the reviews present a complex portrait: care environments capable of delivering compassionate, professional rehabilitation and daily living support, but also fragile under the weight of staffing shortages, communication gaps, and operational shortcomings. For families navigating these decisions, the comments suggest a multifaceted approach. Seek firsthand visits to observe front desk and nurse interactions, inquire about staffing ratios on weekends and during evenings, and ask how discharge planning is coordinated across teams. Engage with administrators and case managers, where possible, to understand how concerns are tracked and resolved. Most importantly, listen to the full spectrum of experiences - in both the uplifting and the troubling - and weigh how each facet would influence the care your loved one deserves.

Restaurants

• Kosta's Restaurant & Bar (0.3 miles)
• Brewster's Fine Food & Drink (0.4 miles)
• Taco Bell (0.4 miles)
• Subway (0.4 miles)
• McDonald's (0.5 miles)
• The Lobster Net (0.6 miles)
• Mason's Brewing Company (1 miles)

Pharmacies

• Walgreens (0.3 miles)
• Wellness Connection of Maine (0.8 miles)
• Dickens, Margie - Pchc Brewer Medical Center (1.3 miles)
• Shaw's Pharmacy (1.4 miles)
• Northern Light Health (1.5 miles)
• Miller Drug (1.8 miles)
• Northern Light Pharmacy (1.8 miles)

Physicians

• Family Medicine of Brewer (0.4 miles)
• Brewer Family Medicine (0.4 miles)
• EMMC Family Medicine (0.5 miles)
• Francis Kathleen Penobscot Community Health Cr Bangor (1.4 miles)
• Rheumatology And Anemia Management Clinic (1.4 miles)
• Bangor Family Healthcare (1.7 miles)
• Warren Center For Communication and Learning (1.7 miles)

Places of Worship

• Clearwater Spiritualist Church (0.9 miles)

Parks

• Brewer Off Road Park (1.2 miles)
• Chapin Park (1.9 miles)
• City of Bangor Parks & Recreation (2.4 miles)
• Bangor Dog Park (3.1 miles)

Transportation

• Central Maine & Quebec Railway (1.3 miles)
• Uhaul (1.4 miles)
• Dick's Taxi (2.2 miles)
• U-Haul Moving & Storage (2.9 miles)

Hospitals

• Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems (1.5 miles)
• Sleep Center of Maine (1.8 miles)
• EMMC - Outpatient Surgery Center (1.9 miles)
• EMMC - Grant 6 West (1.9 miles)
• Northern Light Eastern Maine (2 miles)
• EMMC - Grant 6 East (2.3 miles)
• St Joseph Hospital (2.5 miles)

Theaters

• Queen City Cinema Club (1.6 miles)

Cafes

• West Market Square Artisan Coffeehouse (1.6 miles)
• Tim Hortons (3 miles)