Laurel Oak Manor

Pros

• The staff are awesome and truly exceptional caregivers.
• The housekeeping team does an awesome job on the rooms and public spaces.
• The administrator always knew residents' names, providing personal attention.
• Oak Manor is not in an evacuation zone, which is a huge plus for Florida.
• Move-in day couldn't have been easier and felt welcoming.
• The facility is clean, well maintained, and well staffed.
• Care reports are informative and families are kept up-to-date.
• The staff truly cared for mom and made her end of life more bearable.
• The staff loved her and took excellent care of her.
• The campus is quiet, yet there are a lot of activities planned.

Cons

• The facility is in terrible condition.
• The mold and smell in bathroom was disgusting.
• Paint is peeling from every wall.
• He literally had no AC for over a week, his window was nailed shut so we could not get fresh air in.
• His toilet seat was broken the entire time, no hand rails or raised seat to help him use anyway.
• The staff would not remove his catheter from surgery for a week after his transfer causing him a struggle to regain continence.
• He had a bedsore, he was wet most of the time, they did not have staff to get him on the commode on any regular basis, he had a skin tear from the hospital that they refused to change the dressing until I kept bringing it to the nurses attention, in a month he never received a shower or proper bath.
• One nurse tech said just let him use his diaper when I asked he be changed for the 100th time!
• The nurse flat out lied to me that she had just checked on him.
• He also had no call light button either that he could reach.

Review

Oak Manor inspires a wide range of feelings in those who have known it personally. For some visitors, it is exactly what they hoped for: a place where the staff are warm, responsive, and genuinely dedicated to helping residents - an environment where the administrator learns families by name and where care feels personal and reliable. Yet for other families, the same facility has been the setting for troubling lapses in care, maintenance failures, and serious safety concerns. Taken together, the mix of praise and critique paints a complex portrait of a long-running skilled nursing and rehab center that clearly means well to many, while leaving others with deeply troubling memories.

On the positive side, Oak Manor is frequently praised for kindness, attentiveness, and personal connections. Several reviews emphasize that the staff, especially nurses and aides, are caring and capable, and that the administrator is accessible and remembers families. Specific care teams receive frequent accolades: nurses Roberta, Zanna, Wanda, and Jasmine; aides Angela, Autumn, Yeni, and Jennifer; physical therapists Georgette and Carolina; occupational therapists Sharon and Rachel in Admissions are named as standout performers. Families recount feeling supported through difficult times, thanks to a dedicated group of caregivers who show compassion in hard moments. In these voices, Oak Manor feels like a team effort with people who truly care about residents' well-being and comfort.

Other reviewers highlight the practical strengths that support residents' daily lives. The facility's housekeeping and public areas are repeatedly praised for cleanliness and upkeep, with one comment crediting the housekeeping team for doing an "awesome job" in rooms and common spaces. The campus is described as quiet and well-maintained, even as some admit it is not a luxury setting. Several families note the benefit of Oak Manor's location: not being in an evacuation zone in Florida is a meaningful precaution for them. There is also appreciation for the overall atmosphere when a resident is doing well - friendly staff and therapists who provide encouragement and practical help, with some families expressing gratitude for the staff's role in guiding them through difficult decisions and transitions.

But a substantial portion of the reviews describe deeply troubling experiences that raise serious questions about safety, hygiene, and medical oversight. One family recounts a scene of neglect from a different era inside the rehab wing: a wall being torn, urine-soaked sheets, and a mother who suffered a stroke without timely recognition or response, necessitating the family's intervention to call an ambulance. The report continues with a dissatisfaction about the dietary choices for someone with dysphasia, including a violation of dietary needs by leaving a packaged brownie on the resident's lap. These kinds of details set a stark contrast with the more positive depictions elsewhere in the aggregate narrative.

A particularly troubling second thread concerns a father who was admitted for physical therapy after surgery for a broken femur and then fell seriously ill from four infections that professionals say were preventable. The sequence included a prolonged ICU stay with pneumonia, a severe UTI, E. coli, and sepsis, followed by a long hospital recovery before returning home. The family describes months of struggles: long waits for basic needs like a commode, a single nurse aide and nurse who were helpful but overwhelmed by understaffing, and slow responses to urgent needs. They recount a catheter left in place for a week after surgery, delays in removing it, and interruptions in continence care, compounded by a lack of regular showers and insufficient attention to wounds and dressings. Instances of miscommunication, deception about care checks, and missing call lights compound the sense that patient safety was compromised during the stay.

Maintenance shortcomings and living conditions are also cited with passion and specificity. Several reviewers describe a facility in poor physical condition: no air conditioning for an extended period, windows nailed shut, a room lacking basic safety features like handrails and raised toilet seats, broken toilet seats, peeling paint, mold, and a pervasive odor. There are accounts of patients being left alone for long periods in wheelchairs, with delays in assistance that escalated into delirium or aspiration risks. In at least one account, a patient's belongings were found missing or taken from a staff area, including a family Bible, underscoring concerns about respect for residents and families as well as basic security and privacy.

Food and basic care are singled out in several reviews as areas of concern. One account describes meals that were not nutritious for someone recovering from illness, including a slice of white bread with cold cheese as a meal. The overall tone suggests that nutrition, as well as timely assistance with daily activities like bathing and continence care, played a critical role in the patient's recovery trajectory and that shortcomings in these areas contributed to negative outcomes and distress for families.

Despite the negative episodes, many reviews include balanced or evolving impressions over time. A number of families who have known Oak Manor through the years tell stories of long-term engagement that cast the facility in a more consistently positive light. They point to years of care in which residents were treated with dignity, staff were dependable, and communication with families remained open and informative. Some echo the sentiment that Oak Manor is a skilled nursing facility rather than a luxury resort, acknowledging that hard work and dedication from caregivers can coexist with the day-to-day realities of running a tough medical environment. For several families, the experience improved once the initial crisis passed, and they highlight the ongoing presence of staff members who made meaningful differences in their loved ones' lives, particularly in palliative or end-of-life scenarios where comfort and compassion mattered most.

Ultimately, Oak Manor emerges as a place of strong, heartfelt advocacy from some families and pointed warnings from others. The most compelling takeaway is not a single verdict, but a portrait of a facility that can deliver exceptional compassion and reliability in the hands of dedicated workers, while also facing serious systemic challenges - staffing shortages, maintenance lapses, and inconsistent safety practices - that can endanger residents and leave families fearful. For anyone considering Oak Manor, the stories suggest a careful, individualized assessment: speak with multiple departments and staff, tour the facilities, review recent care reports and safety records, and prepare questions about staffing levels, hygiene protocols, medication administration, and the steps taken when concerns arise. The facility's strengths - cleanliness, genuine staff dedication, and a culture of care - are real for many, but the more alarming accounts serve as a sober reminder that the day-to-day realities of skilled nursing care are fragile and critically dependent on diligent attention and ongoing improvement.

This area of Clearwater, Florida offers a convenient and accessible location for senior living. With multiple pharmacies, hospitals, and physicians within a few miles, residents have easy access to healthcare services. Additionally, there are several parks nearby for outdoor recreation and relaxation. There is a variety of restaurants and cafes for dining out or grabbing a quick bite to eat. For entertainment, there is the option to catch a movie at the nearby theater. The St Pete-Clearwater International Airport provides convenient transportation options for travel. Overall, this area offers a mix of amenities and services that cater to the needs of seniors looking for a comfortable and well-rounded community to call home.

Pharmacies

• Walgreens (0.3 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (2.6 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (3.2 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (3.8 miles)
• Walgreens (3.9 miles)
• Walgreens (3.9 miles)
• Winn-Dixie (4 miles)

Parks

• Kapok Park (0.7 miles)
• Cooper Bayou Park (1.2 miles)
• McMullen Booth Tennis Center Clearwater FL (2.6 miles)
• Dog Run (3.3 miles)
• Canal Park (4.8 miles)
• Eagle Lake Park (4.9 miles)
• Stirling Park (5.7 miles)

Restaurants

• Bar Fly (1.5 miles)
• McDonald's (1.8 miles)
• Duff's Buffet (2 miles)
• Chick-Fil-A (2.1 miles)
• Chick-Fil-A (2.4 miles)
• P.F. Chang's China Bistro (2.5 miles)
• BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse (2.5 miles)

Physicians

• Clearwater Pediatric Care (2.1 miles)
• The Reproductive Medicine Group (3.5 miles)
• Virginia Street Dermatology (4.6 miles)
• North Pinellas Surgery Center (4.7 miles)
• Premier Miller (4.8 miles)
• Dunedin Pediatrics (4.8 miles)
• Florida Department of Health, Pinellas County Health Department, Clearwater Center (5.3 miles)

Cafes

• Starbucks (2.4 miles)
• Starbucks (3.6 miles)

Hospitals

• Mease Countryside Hospital (3.7 miles)
• Mease Countryside Hospital-Medical Arts Building (3.7 miles)
• Morton Plant Hospital (6 miles)
• Morgan Heart Hospital (6 miles)

Theaters

• AMC Woodlands Square 20 (4.7 miles)

Transportation

• St Pete-Clearwater International Airport (PIE) (5.6 miles)