Hillside Nursing Center of Wake Forest

Pros

• The Hillside rehab department is described as excellent, with therapists and nurses who are kind, thorough, and attentive to residents' needs.
• The staff are attentive, friendly, and genuinely engaged in residents' care, helping them regain strength and independence.
• Families praise the facility's calm, homey atmosphere and the compassionate care shown by caregivers.
• The nursing and rehab teams are consistently described as professional, caring, and skilled in managing residents' medical and rehabilitation needs.
• The facility offers strong family communication and a dedicated medical team that keeps residents' needs on track.
• The Resthome Assisted Living area is described as loving and well-run, with managers and staff who truly care about residents.
• Many families say they would choose Hillside again for rehab, citing bed availability and high-quality care.

Cons

• Management is trash, and the owners are rude; they only care when state inspectors arrive and then rush to make things look good.
• The staff are underpaid and overworked, with CNAs not getting credit or fair pay.
• Nurses delay care by taking forever to change oxygen tanks and by sending patients to the ER at the last minute.
• Residents are mistreated, including reports of feeding molded food.
• The facility is plagued by roaches, ants, bed bugs, and overall dirty conditions.
• Communication is abysmal; there is no proactive patient advocate, and messages go unanswered.

Review

Hillside Nursing Center of Wake Forest is best suited for families seeking a rehab-forward option where skilled therapists and a caring nursing staff can drive a meaningful recovery after hospitalization. The facility's strongest value is in its rehabilitation teams - PT, OT, and speech services - supported by attentive nurses and aides who, in many cases, help patients regain independence and return home. For short, focused stays aimed at rebuilding strength, this community can deliver impressive progress and a reassuring sense of teamwork around the patient. Those contemplating long-term residence should proceed with caution, since the daily reality across units appears more variable and dependent on staffing and leadership at any given time.

Likely to want alternatives are families prioritizing consistently flawless day-to-day operations, predictable staffing, and sterling long-term care governance. Several reviews flag ongoing management and administrative concerns, from communication gaps to inconsistent responses to urgent needs. If reliable, transparent oversight is non-negotiable, Hillside may fall short in the eyes of those who insist on steady, well-documented care plans, timely ER transfers, and a uniformly attentive culture across all shifts. Families who value a pristine, odor-free, consistently supervised environment at all times may also prefer other options with a more uniform quality signal. In short, Hillside is risk-tiered for long-term comfort and safety unless the rehab window aligns perfectly with each resident's trajectory.

The major positives - strong rehab outcomes, compassionate bedside care, and a noticeably engaged rehab team - do not fully offset the more concerning themes raised in the reviews. For residents who thrive on daily reinforcement from therapists and a kitchen-honest, patient-centered nursing approach, Hillside can be a springboard to real improvement. The rehab-focused staff earn praise for their professionalism, perseverance, and ability to tailor therapy to individual limits, which translates into tangible gains like standing, walking, or rising from bed. In contrast, the same reviews recount episodes of understaffing, uneven day-to-day consistency, and moments when communication about a patient's plan or status lagged, undermining trust during vulnerable recovery periods. The tension between excellent rehab care and inconsistent broader operations creates a delicate balance for families weighing a short-term stay versus longer-term clearance for discharge.

In assisted living and post-acute rehab contexts, some families report a warmer, more family-like atmosphere and cleaner daily operations, with residents feeling cared for and staff going the extra mile to accommodate meals and social routines. Yet other accounts describe odors, visible cleanliness concerns, and experiences where attention to safety or basic supervision was questioned, particularly on certain shifts. The divergence in experiences suggests that Hillside's strengths concentrate in the rehab corridor, while broader long-term care experiences can be uneven. For prospective residents, this means evaluating which unit will house the loved one, and probing specifically into daily routines, cleanliness, and staff morale on the shifts most likely to care for the individual.

The practical decision framework follows a clear path. If rehab success is the priority, request up-close conversations with the rehabilitation director, tour the therapy spaces, and observe therapy sessions to gauge pace, encouragement, and individualized pacing. If long-term care is the goal, insist on a concrete, written care plan with direct points of contact, regular family updates, and a guaranteed response timeline for questions or concerns. Evaluate staffing levels during the days and nights you expect to rely on care, and talk to multiple current families about consistency across shifts. Finally, scrutinize the facility's approach to safety, odor and cleanliness, and resident dignity - these signals often foreshadow how daily life will feel after discharge from rehab or transition into ongoing care.

Bottom line: Hillside's rehabilitation outcomes and the evident dedication of certain staff members make it a compelling choice for short-term recovery when the focus is on rebuilding strength. However, the mixed reports about management, communication gaps, and consistency across all units signal significant risk for families needing dependable, ongoing daily care. Alternatives with reputations for steadier governance, more uniform staffing, and scrupulous attention to resident safety may be worth exploring, especially for long-term placement. For families deciding to proceed with Hillside, a disciplined due-diligence plan - direct conversations with admissions and the care team, firsthand observation of shifts, and corroboration from multiple families - will be essential to determine whether the rehab-to-home pathway aligns with the loved one's needs and the family's comfort with ongoing oversight.

Cafes

• Back Alley Coffee Roasters (0.9 miles)
• Panera Bread (2.8 miles)
• Starbucks (7.6 miles)
• Panera Bread (8.6 miles)
• Starbucks (12.5 miles)
• Starbucks (14.1 miles)
• 41 North (14.8 miles)

Pharmacies

• CVS Pharmacy (0.9 miles)
• Walgreens (2.1 miles)
• Target Pharmacy (2.6 miles)
• Walgreens (2.7 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (4 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (10.9 miles)
• Walmart Pharmacy (11.2 miles)

Places of Worship

• St Catherine of Siena Catholic Church (1.7 miles)
• Gethsemane Lutheran Church (9.9 miles)
• Beacon Baptist Church (12.1 miles)

Parks

• E. Carroll Joyner Park (2.1 miles)
• Horseshoe Farm Park (6.4 miles)
• Durant Nature Park (7.4 miles)
• Buffaloe Road Athletic Park (9.6 miles)
• Marsh Creek Park (11.1 miles)
• Eastgate Park (11.6 miles)
• Williams Park (11.8 miles)

Physicians

• Family First Primary Care (2.1 miles)
• Duke Primary Care Heritage Pediatrics (2.1 miles)
• Burton Family Medicine (2.4 miles)
• Wake Skin Cancer Cente (2.4 miles)
• Duke Primary Care Wake Forest (2.8 miles)
• Wake Specialty Physicians Women's Center (2.9 miles)
• Orthopaedic Specialists of North Carolina Pa (3.1 miles)

Restaurants

• McDonald's (2.5 miles)
• Char Grill (2.7 miles)
• McDonald's (4.6 miles)
• Nantucket Grill (6.9 miles)
• Bojangles' Famous Chicken 'n Biscuits (7 miles)
• McDonald's (7.5 miles)
• McDonald's (8.5 miles)

Transportation

• Enterprise Rent-A-Car (9.4 miles)

Hospitals

• Duke Raleigh Hospital (12.1 miles)
• WakeMed Heart Center (14 miles)
• WakeMed Health & Hospitals (14 miles)

Theaters

• Cinemark Raleigh NC (14.2 miles)
• Alamo Drafthouse Raleigh (14.7 miles)