Green Acres Country Care Ctr

Pros

• The staff were kind, compassionate and stayed on top of care.
• The clinical director promptly notified the family after a fall.
• Ecumen North Branch fostered a strong sense of community, with residents and staff sharing meals and conversations.
• Staff regularly spoke with clients and seemed to genuinely care about how their day was going.
• Visitors were welcomed with coffee, and there were treat baskets available for guests.
• The environment felt like a big family, which was reassuring during difficult transitions.
• The facility was described as great, clean, and quiet, with a staff that cares deeply about residents.

Cons

• The reviewer states that the mother laid in a soiled diaper all night because night staff refused to change her.
• The reviewer claims memory care staff were abusive and provided poor end-of-life care.
• The reviews describe Ecumen North Branch as continuously short-staffed in a hostile environment with unsafe conditions.
• Nurses and aides are described as incompetent and lazy, with a fall-risk resident ignored.
• It is noted that calls for help from residents were not answered for several minutes.
• Medications were forgotten, not ordered, or run out, leaving residents with dangerous blood sugar issues.
• Dining is described as poor quality and inconsistent, with missing items and sometimes overpriced meals.
• Leadership is characterized as virtually non-existent and unresponsive to family concerns.

Review

Ecumen North Branch presents itself in these accounts as a place where, at its best, a true sense of community and compassionate care can shine through. Families describe moments that felt hopeful and human: staff who greeted residents with warmth, ate meals side by side with them, and stopped to chat during the day. One family member highlighted a particularly reassuring episode after a fall: the clinical director immediately notified relatives, and the decision to call an ambulance for a thorough examination helped everyone sleep a little easier that night. In these moments, the facility appeared to function as a close-knit extended family - neighbors and care teams sharing small acts of kindness, offering coffee, pointing out where treat baskets were, and making sure visiting family members felt welcomed and involved. For some, Ecumen North Branch delivered a clean, quiet environment where staff seemed genuinely invested in residents' daily well-being, and where a renewed sense of dignity could be found during a challenging transition.

That sense of community carried into the daily rhythm of meals and conversations. Several reviews emphasize that residents and staff would talk and share in a way that felt inclusive, as if the whole house were a gathering place rather than a sterile institution. Families appreciated the idea that staff members weren't just performing tasks but taking time to check in on how a day had gone, how a resident was feeling, and whether a little extra support was needed. For caregivers, this atmosphere of care sometimes translated into practical kindness - staff offering a warm beverage to visitors, guiding families to the right spots for activities, and making the care environment feel less like a hospital and more like a home during a difficult period of adjustment.

Yet the experiences at Ecumen North Branch are not uniform. A portion of the feedback describes deeply troubling moments that overshadow any positive impressions. One account recounts the death of a parent in memory care, alleging that the individual was left in a soiled state throughout the night and that the care given did not meet basic standards of dignity and attentiveness. This review also mentions abusive or neglectful behaviors by some staff in memory care, and urges readers to conduct thorough due diligence before choosing a facility, especially when a loved one may require more intensive end-of-life or memory-care support. The intensity of those claims - spoken in emotional, urgent terms - reflects an experience that was devastating for the family and raises questions about the consistency and quality of care across shifts and units.

Other reviews echo this concern with staffing levels and accountability. Several accounts describe chronic under-staffing, particularly after hours and on weekends, with mentions of no registered nurses available on weekends, long wait times for residents who pressed call buttons, and aides working across multiple floors without adequate support. In one harsh appraisal, the reviewer described medication management failures - missed or insufficiently ordered meds, and situations where a resident experienced health risks as a result. The combination of short-staffed teams and medication lapses contributed to a perception of unsafe conditions and raised anxieties about how well the facility could respond to emergencies or routine needs.

There are detailed observations about day-to-day operations that patients' families found concerning. Some reviewers report repeatedly unanswered calls from residents, with call buttons going off for minutes or longer while staff members stood in groups elsewhere. Others describe cold, hurried interactions, or the feeling that staff lacked training or consistency in how they moved or cared for residents, including the handling of fall risks, communication of care plans, and general bedside manners. There were also comments about the overall atmosphere - reports of a "ghost town" on weekends and a sense that leadership did not always seem present or proactive in addressing recurrent issues. A few reviewers noted instances of professionalism and compassion from certain aides, but they were described as the exception rather than the rule in an environment perceived as under stress.

Even within the more favorable remarks, there are notes of nuance. A reviewer described a "nice cozy homey place" for an aging parent in assisted living, highlighting features like a kitchen, living space, reachable medicines, and social activities that created moments of normalcy and connection. They also acknowledged medication assistance as part of staff duties. Still, other accounts sharply contrasted with that image, recounting medical mismanagement, missed meals or supplies, and a sense that basic safety and respect were not consistently upheld. In some of these narratives, families expressed a willingness to advocate, even to the point of installing cameras to document care - an acknowledgment of the gap between the ideal of compassionate, attentive care and the lived reality some residents experienced.

Taken together, the reviews paint a complex portrait of Ecumen North Branch. The facility appears capable of delivering moments of warmth, community, and attentive care that can uplift residents and reassure families during tough transitions. At the same time, the body of feedback raises serious alarms about staffing adequacy, consistency of care, medication management, responsiveness to calls, and leadership presence. The strongest, most troubling threads involve persistent concerns about neglect, delays, and a feeling among some families that their loved ones were not treated with the dignity and vigilance they deserved - especially on weekends and in memory care settings.

For families considering Ecumen North Branch, the message from these reviews is to perform thorough due diligence. Ask pointed questions about weekend staffing, RN coverage, and medication protocols; request a clear description of how call bells are monitored and how quickly help is provided; inquire about leadership accessibility and escalation processes when concerns arise; and seek firsthand experiences from current residents and other families to gauge whether the facility's environment and practices align with your expectations for compassionate care. If you are fortunate, you may encounter the warmth and sense of community that some reviewers highlighted - an environment where a staff member's small act of kindness can feel transformative. If not, be prepared to confront a spectrum of challenges that underscores how critical consistent, well-supported care is for residents facing serious health needs.

Parks

• Harder Park (1.1 miles)
• Roger Johnson Memorial Park (2.9 miles)
• Lyman Park (8.5 miles)
• Beach Park (9.2 miles)
• Surfland Park (9.5 miles)
• Chuckie Lundquist Park (9.5 miles)
• Tolzmann Park (11.1 miles)

Physicians

• Fairview North Branch Clinic (1.5 miles)
• Delisi Stephen M MD - Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation (11.4 miles)
• Fairview Clinics (12.5 miles)
• Fairview Sports and Orthopedic Care (12.9 miles)
• Carlos Adams MD (12.9 miles)
• Twin Cities Orthopedics Wyoming (12.9 miles)
• St Croix Orthopaedics (12.9 miles)

Restaurants

• Olde Brick Inn (1.6 miles)
• McDonald's (2.1 miles)
• The Fuse Bar & Grill (5.8 miles)
• North Ridge Winery (6.8 miles)
• Tomatoes (7.5 miles)
• Full Moon (7.6 miles)
• Rustic Inn (7.6 miles)

Cafes

• Higher Grounds Cafe (1.8 miles)
• Northwoods Roasterie (9.2 miles)
• Caribou Coffee (13.3 miles)
• Starbucks (13.4 miles)
• City Center Market (14 miles)
• City Center Cafe (14 miles)
• Caribou Coffee (14.1 miles)

Hospitals

• Cambridge Medical Center (2.2 miles)
• Fairview Lakes Health Services (9.2 miles)
• Fairview Lakes Medical Center (12.9 miles)
• Allina Hospitals & Clinics (14.1 miles)
• Memorial Hospital Association of Cambridge (14.2 miles)

Pharmacies

• Fairview Pharmacy Services (2.5 miles)
• Lindstrom Snyder Drug (8.9 miles)
• Lindstrom Thrifty White Pharmacy (8.9 miles)
• Thirft White (8.9 miles)
• Chisago Drug (9.5 miles)
• Gordy's Pharmacy (10.1 miles)
• Wyoming Drug (11.9 miles)

Places of Worship

• Salem Lutheran of Oxford Aflc (6.5 miles)
• Salem Church (6.5 miles)
• Apostolic Gospel Church (6.5 miles)
• St John's Lutheran Church (7.5 miles)
• Chisago Lake Lutheran Church (9.7 miles)
• Trinity Lutheran Church (10.4 miles)
• Country Roads Church (10.4 miles)

Transportation

• Wildlife Taxidermy (11.6 miles)
• U-Haul Moving & Storage (12.7 miles)
• Rush City Regional Airport (ROS) (13.4 miles)