Wingate At Ulster

Pros

• The staff cared for residents and took good care of the grandmother.
• Lutheran Nursing Home in LaGrange helped him regain speech and mobility through daily therapy.
• The staff at Lutheran Nursing Home were supportive and dedicated.
• The staff were friendly and attentive, making the stay pleasant.
• The two-week stay had attentive and involved staff, with some going beyond to address needs.
• The food was very good.
• The nurses, doctors and therapists at Wingate at Ulster were outstanding, attentive, caring and compassionate.
• The facility is clean, bright and welcoming.

Cons

• The staff didn't care about him and ignored his needs.
• He looked disheveled and was unable to speak or walk.
• Nurses at the desk talked among themselves instead of helping residents.
• Safety rails were not put on beds, compromising resident safety.
• He fell out of bed and hit his head, requiring hospitalization.
• The care resulted in severe decline: dislocated hip, broken front tooth, oral thrush, 30-pound weight loss, and inability to walk or verbally engage.
• The reviewer called it total negligence and said the facility should be shut down.
• Billing was excessive, with multiple doctor charges and limited in-network coverage.

Review

Across the scattered reviews of Wingate facilities, a single thread runs through: the experience can swing dramatically from warmly praised to alarmingly critical, depending on location, staff, and the specific day a family member is there. Some families remember Wingate as a place that truly cared for loved ones - an environment where nurses, aides, and therapists made a difference. Others recount alarming lapses in safety, communication, and empathy that left loved ones worse off and families shaken. In between these poles lie a few consistently hopeful notes: when a patient found a good match with caregivers and therapists, recovery and improvement followed, sometimes noticeably so.

Several ancestors and relatives who once had Wingate in high regard spoke of a time when the facility felt like a caring, family-like place. One reviewer recalled "years ago Wingate used to be awesome," where people genuinely cared for residents and took good care of their kids and grandmother. That memory contrasts starkly with later experiences in the same orbit, hinting at a shift in culture or execution over time. In some cases, the positivity is tied to siblings and extended family's faith that the staff would go the extra mile: attentive teams, steady routines, and personal touches that produced real improvements in a resident's day-to-day life.

But the same family of facilities also carries a painful, troubling story from a location in Highland. A stroke survivor went into Wingate after hospitalization, and the experience deteriorated quickly in the eyes of his loved ones. The patient appeared disheveled, unable to speak or walk, and sat in a wheelchair for long stretches without seeming to be monitored or supported. Family members observed nurses and other staff at the desk chatting and socializing instead of focusing on the people in their care. The absence of safety rails on beds and the perceived neglect culminated in a fall that resulted in a head injury. The patient had to be readmitted to the hospital, and eventually was moved to Lutheran Nursing Home in LaGrange, where the path to recovery began in earnest.

Lutheran Nursing Home in LaGrange became, for that reviewer, a striking counterpoint to the Highland Wingate experience. After a period of time at Wingate, the move to Lutheran was followed by noticeable improvements: the resident began to speak again, underwent daily physical therapy, and engaged in speech therapy that helped with communication. The staff at Lutheran were described as loving and dedicated; the reviewer found daily support, therapy, and genuine care that turned the trajectory toward meaningful recovery. In short, Lutheran appeared to fulfill many of the care standards that the Highland Wingate visit had seemed to lack, with the reviewer expressing gratitude toward the organization there and noting tangible progress in mobility and speech.

Another branch of Wingate's narrative involves Arlington, where Wingate's facility later became known as Taconic. In this account, the writer wrestles with a markedly mixed first impression: a "dreaded dark building" greeted them at sign-in, and the reviewer placed less trust in the initial encounter with the front desk. Yet even within this dim first impression, there's a sense of partial evaluation - some aspects were acceptable, while others left the reviewer wanting more consistent attention and a smoother check-in experience. This review hints at a more nuanced picture: one where a facility can be competent in some areas while falling short in others, depending on staff shifts and day-to-day operations.

One of the most sobering narratives centers on a relative who spent his final month at Wingate. What began as a positive experience devolved into a nightmare in the reviewer's view. After returning home with a disproportionately severe set of issues - a dislocated hip, a broken front tooth, oral thrush, and a dramatic 30-pound weight loss - he emerged from Wingate unable to walk or connect verbally with his family. There were two emergency room visits during this period, and afterward the family felt the facility acknowledged that something had changed without being able to pinpoint what happened. The reviewer labeled the situation as negligent and even went so far as to say the facility should be shut down, underscoring the deep fear and anger that such a decline can provoke in families who trusted Wingate with a loved one's care.

Financial and medical billing concerns also appeared in these accounts. A separate review described rehabilitation after Parkinson's-related mobility issues that was marred by bed sores and an ER trip, with weekly charges from doctors and only one in-network physician listed. The implication was clear: the financial and clinical experiences could be burdensome and opaque, with questions about who was in-network and what level of care could be expected. The reviewer urged others to avoid that particular experience, suggesting a pattern that some families perceived as systemic rather than isolated incidents.

Yet the tapestry is not uniformly dark. A different voice shared a warmly positive recollection: the initial hesitation gave way to appreciation as they met the staff and found that nearly two weeks of short-term rehab could be a genuinely pleasant, beneficial period. The reviewer described the staff and caregivers as welcoming and supportive, with no glaring negatives after the first day. It's a reminder that even within the same broader system, there are days and shifts when care feels exemplary - an encouraging note amid mixed overall impressions.

There are also stories of other residents who benefited from Wingate, including a memory from 2017 after a serious automobile accident. In that case, the staff were described as attentive and involved, with some going beyond what was necessary to address the reviewer's needs. The food was praised, and the overall experience was framed as a positive one, reinforcing that good care and kindness can emerge even in tough circumstances. Finally, there is a strong, heartfelt endorsement from a family member whose mother has been in Wingate at Ulster for several months. They described the nurses, doctors, and therapists as outstanding - attentive, caring, and compassionate in both patient care and family communication. The facility itself was characterized as clean, bright, and welcoming, leaving the family feeling secure and grateful for the environment.

Taken together, these varied accounts reflect a spectrum of care experiences at Wingate facilities. For every story of neglect or distress, there is one of recovery, kindness, and professional competence. The contrasts - between a once-glowing reputation and reported declines, or between a troubling incident and an uplifting follow-through at a different Wingate location - highlight the importance of consistent, patient-centered practices, transparent communication, and robust safety protocols. They also illustrate how the experience of care can be deeply personal: a resident's progress, a family's trust, and the daily rhythms of nurses and therapists all shape whether Wingate is remembered as a place of hope or a place of regret.

Pharmacies

• Walgreens (1 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (2.9 miles)
• Rite Aid (3.3 miles)
• Rite Aid (3.3 miles)
• Rite Aid (3.6 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (4.7 miles)
• Walgreens (5 miles)

Restaurants

• Shadows on the Hudson (2.1 miles)
• Mahoney's Irish Pub & Steakhouse (2.4 miles)
• Kobe Hibachi Sushi Asian Cuisine (2.6 miles)
• Salsa Restaurant (2.6 miles)
• Jersey Mike's (2.6 miles)
• Zeus Brewing Company (2.7 miles)
• Wendy’s (2.7 miles)

Physicians

• Vassar Brothers Medical Center - Mary Tower Building (2.1 miles)
• Premier Medical Group (2.2 miles)
• Hudson Valley Urology PC (2.2 miles)
• DRA Imaging (2.2 miles)
• Nesheiwhat Medical Practice (2.2 miles)
• Mount Kisco Medical Group (2.2 miles)
• Steven B Jacobs MD (2.2 miles)

Hospitals

• Pre-Surgical Registration (2.2 miles)
• Saint Francis Hospital (2.5 miles)
• Pitel Mark L Pc Dentist (3.1 miles)
• Saint Francis Hospital and Health Centers (3.1 miles)
• St Francis Hospital (3.5 miles)
• Saint Francis Hospital (3.5 miles)
• Dr Bromley at Premier Podiatry of Hudson Valley (4.2 miles)

Parks

• Cluett Schantz Memorial Park (2.2 miles)
• Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Park (3.2 miles)
• Greenvale Park (5 miles)
• Bowdoin Park (5.9 miles)
• Macghee Park (6.2 miles)

Cafes

• The Poughkeepsie Grind (2.6 miles)
• Crafted Kup (3.9 miles)
• Panera Bread (5 miles)

Places of Worship

• Poughkeepsie United Methodist Church (4.7 miles)

Theaters

• Regal Galleria Mall (4.9 miles)
• Roosevelt Cinemas (6.3 miles)

Transportation

• Metro North - New Hamburg Train Station (6.9 miles)
• New Paltz Trailways Bus Terminal (7 miles)