Solon Nursing Care Center in Solon, IA

Pros

• The Solon Care Center staff are wonderful.
• The care team provides care with grace and compassion.
• The facility is great to work with for rehab needs.
• Scott is great to work with and very welcoming.
• The staff call when insulin levels change or dosages are adjusted.
• The facility has a clean, pleasant entry and good upkeep.
• The facility provides exercise equipment and a courtyard with seating.
• The care is really good, and the staff are friendly and know residents by name.
• Residents are encouraged to participate in activities.
• The staff are accommodating, nice, and caring, and the facility is highly recommended.

Cons

• One reviewer warns not to trust this place with loved ones.
• One reviewer cautions against leaving loved ones there.
• The staff is described as less than congenial.
• The DON is criticized as a hot-headed nurse who shouldn’t be in that role; very scary.
• Staff reportedly did not feed the mother breakfast when she wanted to sleep.
• There are staffing shortages causing delays in call lights, toileting help, daily living activities, and medication, and care consistency can vary between shifts.
• Nursing homes need better inspection and supervision by state and families.

Review

Solon Nursing Care Center is best suited for families seeking a warm, community-driven environment where attentive, family oriented care is the norm and rehab needs can be met on-site. The center’s strongest appeal lies in its approachable staff, frequent family communication, and a tangible sense of home, complete with a courtyard, garden patio, and accessible activities that invite participation without overwhelming residents. It’s particularly well-suited for residents who benefit from personal attention, ongoing monitoring of chronic conditions (such as diabetes), and a facility that feels connected to the surrounding town rather than clinical and impersonal.

Those who may want to consider alternatives include families with high acuity medical needs or a preference for rock-solid staffing consistency and governance. Several reviews point to staffing variability and occasional delays in response to call lights or daily living tasks when shifts rotate. Administrative leadership and coordination also surface as a concern in a few accounts, with some families questioning continuity of care and the reliability of communication during challenging periods. For residents who require around-the-clock, unwavering oversight or who want a facility with a consistently predictable administrative team, exploring other options could be prudent.

The strongest pros here, compassionate caregivers, proactive family updates, and solid clinical oversight, tend to offset many of the notable cons, but not completely. Families repeatedly praise the staff for kindness, attentiveness, and the ability to know residents by name, which translates into more personalized care. Nursing and nursing assistant teams are described as competent and caring, with administrators and directors who can be highly involved when communications are timely. The center also earns points for practical rehabilitation support, real-time monitoring of health changes (such as insulin adjustments), environmental cleanliness, and amenities like an on-site gym, a courtyard, and regular social activities that keep residents engaged.

Care quality is lived out in concrete ways: responsive dietary accommodations for restricted diets, meals that residents can look forward to, and visible efforts to keep residents dressed and groomed for visits. The social calendar, music programs, band performances, and garden-time, offers meaningful engagement beyond basic care. Yet, the inconsistencies mentioned in some reviews, delayed assistance, variable cross-shift coordination, and criticism aimed at administration or leadership, serve as a meaningful counterweight. In practice, the care experience tends to be as strong as the staff’s ability to maintain steady, communicated routines and sustain unit-level collaboration. Prospective families should factor in whether their loved one can thrive within a system that periodically tests its own organizational endurance.

In choosing this community, families should weigh the potential for heartfelt, responsive care against the reality of staffing and governance fluctuations. If a family prioritizes immediate, personal attention, transparent updates, and a rehab-friendly environment that still feels like a home rather than a hospital, Solon Nursing Care Center delivers. If, however, the top priority is unwavering staffing uniformity, rigorous administrative consistency, and a track record of flawless cross-shift communication, alternatives with steadier leadership and lower perceived variability may be worth a closer look. The right decision will hinge on how much weight is placed on day-to-day resident satisfaction and family trust versus the occasional concerns raised about administration and staffing.

Practical steps to decide include taking a thorough tour during a typical shift to observe call-light responses, meal service, and interaction quality between staff and residents. Request up-to-date information on staffing ratios, and ask to speak with multiple families about their experiences over the past six months. Review sample menus and talk with the activity director about how memory care and social engagement are integrated into daily routines. Finally, align the choice with the resident’s care plan: if ongoing medical monitoring, meaningful rehab, and a home-like atmosphere are non-negotiables, Solon Nursing Care Center stands up well as a considered option. If reliability and administrative consistency are non-negotiable, better to compare other centers before committing.

Pharmacies

• Towncrest Pharmacy Solon (0.2 miles)
• Walgreens (6.9 miles)
• Liberty Pharmacy (7 miles)
• Pharmacy Matters Ltc (8.9 miles)
• Shepley Pharmacy (9.2 miles)
• Carepro Pharmacy-Mt Vernon (9.2 miles)
• Walgreens (9.3 miles)

Restaurants

• Big Grove Brewery (0.5 miles)
• Bobbers Grill (5.2 miles)
• Sutliff Bar & Grill (5.7 miles)
• Sutliff Tavern (5.7 miles)
• Heyn's Ice Cream (6.6 miles)
• Red's Alehouse (6.6 miles)
• Tin Roost (7 miles)

Hospitals

• Solon Family Practice Clinic (0.7 miles)
• North Liberty Family Health Center (7 miles)
• Iowa Medical and Classification Center (8.7 miles)
• Mercy Hospital, Iowa City, Iowa (9.3 miles)
• Iowa City Family Practice Clinic (9.4 miles)
• Mercy Hospital (9.7 miles)
• Mercy Services Iowa City (9.7 miles)

Transportation

• Timberline Taxidermy (3.3 miles)

Cafes

• Capanna Coffee and Gelato (6.8 miles)
• Scotters Coffee (8.1 miles)
• Dunn Brothers Coffee (8.2 miles)
• Starbucks (8.3 miles)
• Starbucks (9.8 miles)

Physicians

• North Liberty Family Health Centre, PC (7 miles)
• UI Family Health Care Center (7.7 miles)
• Psychiatric Associates Of Iowa (7.8 miles)
• ENT Medical Services Sleep Center, PLC (7.8 miles)
• Steindler Orthopedic Clinic (7.8 miles)
• Iowa City Ambulatory Surgical Center (7.8 miles)
• Urologic Associates of Iowa City PC (7.9 miles)

Parks

• Deerfield Park (7.3 miles)
• Palisades-Kepler State Park (7.6 miles)
• Centennial Park, North Liberty Iowa (8.3 miles)
• Thornberry Off Leash Dog Park (8.9 miles)
• Lower City Park (9.3 miles)

Places of Worship

• Shueyville United Methodist Church (8.9 miles)
• First Presbyterian Church (9.2 miles)
• King Chapel (9.2 miles)
• First United Methodist Church (9.8 miles)

Theaters

• Coral Ridge Cinema Coralville, Ia (9.6 miles)