West Hills Health & Rehab in Knoxville, TN

Pros

• The facility looked tidy.
• The staff in the 100 room section were great and treated him like family.
• West Hills has been a blessing for families; they do an excellent job.
• The therapy and rehab staff were excellent and helped patients recover.
• The rooms were clean and very roomy.
• The staff were caring and compassionate toward residents.
• The hospice staff provided compassionate, respectful care.
• The West Hills staff are assets to their profession and are appreciated by families.

Cons

• The reviews describe the facility as filthy and poorly maintained, with mold in the walls and rooms not properly cleaned.
• Staff are repeatedly described as understaffed and unresponsive, with call lights going unanswered for long periods.
• Residents are left in their own urine or feces for hours and are not consistently bathed or cared for.
• Medication management is criticized for delays, omissions, or even alleged theft of narcotics.
• Some staff are portrayed as rude, lazy, or lacking compassion, leading to neglectful care.
• Privacy and safety concerns are raised, including alleged HIPAA violations and improper sharing of patient information.
• Many reviews urge that the facility should be shut down due to unsafe and negligent conditions.
• The overall experience is described as unacceptable for rehab or end-of-life care, with several calls to avoid or leave the facility.

Review

West Hills Health & Rehab in Knoxville, TN is best approached as a rehab-first option for families who can actively supervise and advocate, with the expectation of a short-term stay focused on therapy and functional recovery. The community’s rehab wing and certain staff members can deliver solid progress when care plans stay therapy-driven and family members remain engaged in daily decisions. For families seeking a long-term, consistently pristine nursing home environment with flawless cleanliness, predictable staffing, and uniformly responsive care, alternatives should be explored.

Those alternatives are worth considering for anyone prioritizing steady, everyday custodial care and rigorous infection control. Reviewers repeatedly flag long-standing concerns about staffing levels, responsiveness, and upkeep across several units, not just one wing. Icons of risk include delays in call-light response, medication administration problems, and a perception that some aides and nurses are overworked or disengaged. In addition, reports of mold, odors, and rooms that aren’t consistently clean raise serious questions about ongoing maintenance, housekeeping, and overall housekeeping discipline. For a family needing reliable safety features, like bed rails, alarms, and timely assistance, these issues become non-negotiables.

Pros in the rehab sphere do address a real need and explain why some families still choose West Hills. When therapy is well-organized, patients experience tangible gains through dedicated physical and occupational therapy, with therapists noted as caring and effective. Several reviews praise therapists by name for helping patients regain mobility after fractures or falls, and some residents in the rehab unit describe respectful, compassionate treatment from nursing staff who prioritize dignity and engagement. Those positives show that the facility can deliver meaningful rehab outcomes and demonstrate that staff in certain shifts or teams can indeed go the extra mile. Yet these advantages are not universal and hinge on unit, shift, and consistent staffing.

The main cons are persistent and pervasive enough to affect decision-making for most long-term scenarios. Understaffing surfaces as a chronic theme: reports describe shifts with only a single nurse and a handful of aides for dozens of patients, with delayed responses to call lights and missed opportunities to prevent falls or manage pain. Hygiene and room upkeep are recurring red flags, including rooms left unclean, odors, and occasional bed and bathroom safety gaps. Medication management appears uneven, with anecdotes of delayed or missed doses, and HIPAA breaches have also surfaced in some accounts. Mold and maintenance concerns, plus a pattern of staff turnover and inconsistent communication, muddy the care picture and erode trust over time. For families with a loved one who requires long-term monitoring, these gaps can translate into meaningful differences in comfort and safety.

For families weighing options, a disciplined, proactive approach matters most. Schedule multiple visits at different times, talk to frontline caregivers, and request to see recent inspection or survey results. During tours, press for concrete numbers on staffing by shift, review how medications are tracked and delivered, and observe how call bells are answered in real time. Ask for a dedicated case manager or point of contact who can coordinate rehab goals with therapy staff, and verify that bed alarms and safety rails are standard in rooms for patients with fall risk. If pursuing West Hills, insist on a clear, written rehab plan with milestones, and a trial period with defined criteria for discharge to an alternative facility if progress stalls or safety concerns re-emerge.

In the end, West Hills Health & Rehab presents a bifurcated picture: competent, even excellent rehab and room-to-room variability in day-to-day care that can be dramatically better in some wings or shifts, paired with systematic concerns about staffing, cleanliness, and safety in other areas. Families comfortable with vigilant oversight, a willingness to press for timely care, and a clear rehab objective may find West Hills a workable fit. Those who cannot tolerate inconsistent staffing, episodic neglect in call-response, or recurring sanitation issues should seriously consider other options. The prudent course is to view this facility as a potential short-term rehab stop rather than a reliable, long-term home, and to anchor the decision in firsthand tours, verified staffing data, and up-to-date facility inspections.

This part of Knoxville, Tennessee offers a convenient and diverse range of amenities for seniors considering the area for living. With multiple physicians and pharmacies within a short distance, residents have easy access to healthcare services. The variety of restaurants and cafes provide plenty of dining options, while nearby places of worship cater to spiritual needs. For entertainment, there is a theater close by for movie enthusiasts. Additionally, the proximity to parks such as Lakeshore Park and Victor Ashe Park allows for outdoor recreation and leisurely walks in nature. Overall, this area combines convenience with opportunities for socialization and relaxation, making it an attractive option for seniors looking for a vibrant community to call home.

Physicians

• Dermatology Associates of Knoxville (0.4 miles)
• Endocrinology Consultants Of East Tennessee (0.4 miles)
• Paul L. Becker, MD (0.5 miles)
• Matthew A. Rappe, MD (0.5 miles)
• FamilyCare Specialists (0.5 miles)
• Knoxville Breast Center (0.6 miles)
• Drs. Campbell, Cunningham, Taylor & Haun (0.9 miles)

Restaurants

• McDonald's (1 miles)
• The Edge (1 miles)
• Abridged Beer Company (1.2 miles)
• Waffle House (1.2 miles)
• Chick-Fil-A (1.3 miles)
• Walk-On's Sports Bistreaux - Knoxville Restaurant (1.3 miles)
• Aubrey's (1.4 miles)

Pharmacies

• Walgreens (1.2 miles)
• Avanced Specialty Pharmacy (1.4 miles)
• The Compounding Pharmacy of America (1.5 miles)
• The Casual Pint (1.5 miles)
• Food City Pharmacy (1.5 miles)
• First Pharmacy Management (1.7 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (2 miles)

Places of Worship

• Fellowship Church Knoxville (1.3 miles)
• First Cumberland Presbyterian Church (2.3 miles)
• Grace Baptist Church (4 miles)
• Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church (4 miles)

Theaters

• Regal Cinebarre West Town Mall (1.6 miles)

Cafes

• Sticky Rice Cafe (1.6 miles)
• Starbucks (1.6 miles)
• Hey Bear Cafe (3 miles)
• Starbucks (4 miles)
• Kbrew (4.3 miles)

Parks

• Lakeshore Park (2.5 miles)
• Victor Ashe Park (3.4 miles)