Foothill Heights Care Center in Pasadena, CA

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Pros

• The staff at Foothill Heights Care Center is very friendly, attentive, and professional.
• The facility is very clean, which is important to families.
• Visitors feel their relative is safe and in great hands.
• The staff helps families with all questions and provides helpful information.
• Residents receive excellent care from LVNs and CNAs and look happy to be there.
• The nurses treat loved ones like family and ensure they have everything they need.
• The facility and environment are welcoming, making families feel at ease.
• The staff are exceptional, professional, and loving in their care.

Cons

• The facility is described as the worst the reviewer has ever had to deal with.
• They drug their patients so they don't have to deal with them.
• If the staff can't handle difficult patients, they should seek other employment.
• The reviewer warns that transferring loved ones to the facility could result in death from overdosing on their drugs.
• USA Today rates the facility as a 1.

Review

Foothill Heights Care Center in Pasadena is best suited for families seeking a skilled-nursing environment where the care culture is consistently described as warm, professional, and responsive. The community is clearly most effective for elders who require ongoing assistance, rehabilitation, or post-acute care and whose families value a clean, well-maintained setting, accessible staff, and strong day-to-day reassurance that their loved one is treated with regular communication and respect. The impression from multiple families is that the atmosphere feels safe and familiar, with residents engaging in simple social moments, bracelets being made, chats with caregivers, and visible smiles during visits.

Those who may want to consider alternatives include families with tighter budgets or tighter expectations about specialized memory care or highly controlled medication practices. One review frames Foothill Heights as a concern when it comes to patient safety and medication management, describing it as the “worst” facility with accusations of overmedication. Another reviewer cites an external rating and uses strong language to question the center’s practices. For families prioritizing rigorous oversight, transparent incident reporting, or very specific dementia-care programs, a careful side-by-side comparison with other Pasadena options is prudent before committing.

The strongest, clearest advantages are staff quality and environmental standards. Families repeatedly highlight friendly, attentive, and professional neighbors, i.e., the nurses, CNAs, and other caregiving staff who respond promptly, answer questions, and treat residents with genuine warmth. The facility earns praise for cleanliness, organization, and a sense that residents are cared for with dignity. Visitors note that information is readily shared, whether in person during visiting hours or by phone, and that the environment supports a comfortable, residential feel rather than a stark, impersonal setting. These factors substantially offset concerns about illness or injury by delivering consistent reassurance through visible daily practice.

On the flip side, the singular, dramatic negative voice cannot be ignored. The claim of overmedication and the strongest form of dissatisfaction present a real caveat for families evaluating risk, especially for those with loved ones who require meticulous medication management or who are sensitive to how treatments are administered. The presence of a one-star rating alongside a harsh critique and reference to an outside low ranking underscores the reality that no facility operates without dissenting opinions. Prospective residents should verify current medical protocols, talk through medication routines with the director or medical director, and request to observe how med passes and daily care plans are executed before making a final choice.

Those pros still tend to offset the cons for families who value relationship-building and operational reliability. The staff’s demonstrated willingness to engage, explain, and partner with families, paired with a consistently clean and welcoming physical plant, creates a level of trust that often reduces the anxiety surrounding nursing-care decisions. Positive narratives about residents thriving socially and receiving attentive, compassionate care reinforce the sense that Foothill Heights can provide stability, continuity, and a family-like atmosphere that is not always present in larger facilities. For most families, this combination of culture and competence translates into a practical confidence that their loved one will be well cared for on a daily basis.

Recommendation: Foothill Heights stands out as a thoughtful, capable option for Pasadena families who value personal touch, staff accessibility, and a homey environment paired with professional nursing care. It is a strong fit for those who can align on transparent medication practices and who are willing to have thorough conversations about safety and oversight with the leadership team. Tour the facility, meet the charge nurse and administrator, and ask concrete questions about how activity schedules are personalized, how often the care plans are updated, and what happens when a resident needs more intensive intervention. If memory-care specialization, strict anti-overmedication controls, or budget constraints push you toward alternatives, those paths deserve equal consideration. Overall, Foothill Heights is a solid, practical choice for families prioritizing dependable care, clear communication, and a respectful, well-run environment in the heart of Pasadena.

Pharmacies

• CVS Pharmacy (1 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (1.3 miles)
• Rite Aid (1.7 miles)
• Rite Aid (2.2 miles)
• Walgreens (2.4 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (2.7 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (3.2 miles)

Restaurants

• McDonald's (1.4 miles)
• Urth Caffé-Pasadena (2 miles)
• Chick-Fil-A (2.7 miles)
• McDonald's (3.2 miles)
• McDonald's (3.7 miles)
• Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen (4.3 miles)
• In-N-Out Burger (4.6 miles)

Parks

• Brookside Park (1.6 miles)
• Hahamongna Watershed Park (2 miles)
• Garfield Park (3.9 miles)
• Lacy Park (4 miles)
• Arroyo Seco Park (4 miles)
• Alhambra Park (5.2 miles)
• Cleland Ave Bicentennial Park (5.4 miles)

Cafes

• Lavender & Honey Espresso Bar (1.7 miles)
• Charlie's Coffee House (4.3 miles)
• Panera Bread (4.5 miles)
• Starbucks (4.7 miles)
• Bopomofo Cafe (5.3 miles)
• Panera Bread (5.8 miles)
• Proof Bakery (7.4 miles)

Hospitals

• Huntington Memorial Hospital Nicu (2.6 miles)
• Glendale Adventist Medical Center (4.7 miles)
• Medical 2 unit (4.8 miles)
• Methodist Hospital of Southern California (6.8 miles)
• Usc-Norris Cancer Hospital (8.2 miles)
• LAC+USC Inpatient Tower (8.5 miles)

Places of Worship

• San Marino Community Church Nursery School (4.3 miles)
• Saint Rita's Catholic Church (5.7 miles)
• Arcadia Chinese Baptist Church (7.3 miles)
• First Evangelical Church Arcadia (8.1 miles)

Theaters

• AMC The Americana at Brand 18 (6.4 miles)
• 0206 Amc Bar Santa Ani (6.4 miles)

Physicians

• Doheny Eye Center (6.6 miles)
• Santa Anita Medical Plaza (6.7 miles)
• Healthcare Partners Medical Group (7.8 miles)