Cedarbrook Nursing Home in Allentown, PA

Pros

• The Cedarbrook staff are patient, caring, very skilled, and attentive.
• The team communicates clearly and keeps families fully apprised of care and changes.
• Families feel connected and comforted by the staff's dedication and compassion.
• Cedarbrook is described as a "Community with Heart," with caregivers who treat residents with respect and dignity.
• The administration and leadership are down-to-earth, approachable, and genuinely care about residents.
• The facility offers engaging activities and programs that keep residents active and involved.
• Many reviewers call Cedarbrook a wonderful place with loving staff and exemplary care.

Cons

• The reviewer states the place killed their mother along with Lehigh Valley Hospital due to a septic infection.
• A reviewer calls Cedarbrook a horrible place and alleges their aunt died there after being heavily medicated during COVID, with care described as inadequate.
• One reviewer alleges a UTI was left untreated, leading to sepsis and delirium, and criticizes the nurses as rude.
• They claim abuse and neglect by nursing supervisors and rude, snobby staff toward the elderly.
• They report unsanitary conditions, including a strong odor of urine, beds not changed, and poor hygiene.
• They say management refused to refund $7,000 after a relative's death, describing it as horrible treatment of a grieving daughter.
• They describe Cedarbrook as being in disrepair and depressing to visit.
• They claim there is insufficient staffing and that residents look upset with complaints going unheard.
• They accuse staff of lying, falsifying paperwork, overmedicating patients, and covering for each other.

Review

Cedarbrook Allentown is best suited for families seeking a lively, relationship-driven skilled-nursing environment where a stable, attentive care team can form real bonds with residents. It works particularly well for rehab-to-long-term transitions, where on-site therapists, structured activities, and frequent family updates create a sense of security. When the priority is consistent staff who greet residents by name, keep families informed, and deliver attentive care with a visible emphasis on daily engagement, Cedarbrook often meets those expectations.

Those who should consider alternatives are families prioritizing flawless safety records and uniform quality across all shifts and units. The reviews reveal a wide range of experiences: some families praise steady communication and compassionate care, while others report delays, odors, cleanliness concerns, and perceived neglect. Allegations of overmedication, misdocumentation, and problematic billing practices surface in several accounts, along with accusations of management shortcomings. For residents with highly specialized needs, memory-care challenges, or a preference for minimal variation in day-to-day care, another provider with a clearer governance and a more transparent incident-tracking history may be worth exploring.

The strongest positives center on dedication and communication. Staff on praised units are described as patient, skilled, and deeply involved, with families feeling kept in the loop about health changes and treatment plans. Care teams that know residents well, combined with robust activity schedules and meaningful social engagement, contribute to measurable improvements in mobility and mood for some residents. Rehab outcomes are highlighted as genuinely transformative by several reviewers, underscoring Cedarbrook's capacity to deliver effective therapy when resources align and staffing is coherent.

However, the main drawbacks are serious enough to shape the risk calculus. Multiple reviewers report basic care lapses - odor and cleanliness concerns, delayed assistance with bathroom needs, and insufficient attention to daily hygiene. Understaffing and high turnover emerge as themes in grievances, along with claims of miscommunication or evasive responses from leadership and billing staff. The most alarming reviews describe severe consequences for residents, including alleged overmedication, rapid functional decline, or elopements of accountability that end in hospitalizations or worse. Taken together, these reports suggest a facility where strong moments can coexist with destabilizing failures, depending on unit, shift, and individual teams.

In weighing pros against cons, Cedarbrook's strengths offer a compelling promise when a care plan emphasizes relationship-driven, transparent communication and active participation in daily life. But the cons - when they manifest - pose real safety and dignity risks that can offset the positives quickly. The variance across units implies that outcome quality may hinge on which floor or unit a resident calls home, and that a prospective family should probe unit-by-unit performance, not assume uniform excellence. For families with flexibility, it may be wise to prioritize direct conversations with frontline caregivers, request recent incident reports, and observe care routines during a tour to gauge consistency and responsiveness.

A practical due-diligence approach is essential. Schedule a thorough on-site visit, meet multiple frontline staff across shifts, and request to see current care plans, staffing schedules, and the latest resident-to-staff ratios. Ask administrators for copies of recent quality metrics, complaint logs, and how concerns are tracked and resolved. Verify billing practices and required refunds or credits, and insist on speaking with several family members who are currently navigating care needs. Compare Cedarbrook's performance and culture with nearby facilities that offer similar rehab-to-long-term options, focusing on transparency, staffing stability, and track record of safe, dignified care. This disciplined approach will reveal whether Cedarbrook's strengths align with an individual's tolerance for risk and a family's expectations for unwavering consistency.

Restaurants

• McDonald's (0.6 miles)
• Gourmet Buffet & Grill (1 miles)
• Carrabba's Italian Grill (1.1 miles)
• Trivet (1.1 miles)
• Perkins Restaurant and Bakery (1.2 miles)
• The Shelby (1.2 miles)
• BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse (1.3 miles)

Physicians

• Sacred Heart Primary Care (0.9 miles)
• St. Luke's Center for Advanced Gynecologic Care (0.9 miles)
• Urology Specialists of the Lehigh Valley (0.9 miles)
• Dnese Mary Sokolowski (0.9 miles)
• Center For Allergy & Asthma Care (0.9 miles)
• Kevitch, Chung & Jan - Aesthetic Surgery Associates (0.9 miles)
• Integrated Health Campus (0.9 miles)

Pharmacies

• Wegmans (1.1 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (1.1 miles)
• Cedar Care Pharmacy (1.6 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (1.7 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (1.8 miles)
• Walgreens (2.4 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (2.6 miles)

Cafes

• Starbucks (1.1 miles)
• Starbucks (1.2 miles)
• Starbucks (1.3 miles)
• Panera Bread (2.4 miles)
• Starbucks (3.2 miles)

Hospitals

• Kaysch Pavilion (1.2 miles)
• Lehigh Valley Hospital (1.3 miles)
• Open Heart Unit (1.3 miles)
• LVH Pediatric Unit (1.3 miles)
• Lehigh Valley Hospital - Mother/Baby Unit (1.3 miles)
• Life Care Holdings (2 miles)
• St Luke's Radiology/X-Ray-Allentown Campus (3 miles)

Places of Worship

• Bethany United Methodist Church (1.3 miles)
• St Thomas More Catholic Church (1.6 miles)
• Christ Lutheran Church (3.5 miles)

Parks

• Cedar Creek Park (1.8 miles)
• Grange Park (2.6 miles)
• Bob Rodale Cycling and Fitness Park (3 miles)
• Church Lane Park (3.3 miles)

Theaters

• Movie Tavern Trexlertown (2.2 miles)