Royal Care of Pigeon Forge

Pros

• The new corporate ownership is praised for a great transformation, with attentiveness to facility, staff, and resident needs and positive, smiling faces everywhere.
• The therapy department is regarded as great, and the nursing staff as excellent, with a management team interested in making a difference.
• The staff are described as sweet and consistently try to carry themselves with a smile.
• The facility is clean, with friendly and helpful staff; dietary does a wonderful job, and residents seem to enjoy the activities.
• The wound care nurse Danielle Allen is highly regarded by EMS partners for her knowledge and compassionate care.
• The activities director is considered wonderful and clearly puts heart and soul into her work.
• The nursing staff is credited with saving a life by performing CPR while awaiting emergency services.
• Theresa and Kayla are two caregivers who genuinely care for their patients, providing loving care.
• A reviewer would confidently place a family member in Smoky Mountain due to the friendliness and perceived quality of care.

Cons

• The facility is a disgrace to healthcare and should be shut down.
• The staff were rude and the facility smelled like urine.
• The rooms and floors are dirty and sticky, with patients often not bathed for long periods.
• Clothing and bedding disappear, and basic patient items are routinely mishandled or lost.
• The nurses do little more than sit at the desk, ignoring concerns and failing to respond to calls.
• Residents in the hallway are left crying for help for hours with no one attending.
• Maintenance is severely lacking; the building has damaged cables, rodents, and broken remotes.
• A patient was placed with a COVID patient, leading to a death and prompting threats of a lawsuit.
• Management reportedly ignores family concerns and fails to communicate, leaving loved ones without explanations.

Review

A chorus of mixed experiences surrounds Smoky Mountain Post-Acute and Rehab, painted by a stream of reviews that oscillate between high praise for care and sharp condemnation of safety, cleanliness, and communication. Several reviewers begin by noting a recent shift in ownership and culture, describing a "new corporate" leadership that brought a noticeable transformation. They describe a facility that is cleaner, brighter, and more welcoming, with positive energy and smiling faces around every corner. The early impression from these visitors highlights an attentive approach to both facility needs and resident well-being, praising a capable therapy department and a nursing staff that's described as "excellent." One reviewer sums up the sentiment: "Different culture! Positive, smiling faces everywhere. Great therapy department, excellent nursing staff. Management team interested in making a difference!!!"

Beyond the initial warmth, several accounts emphasize that the staff feel "so sweet" and that, even on tough days, the team tries to carry themselves with a smile. The descriptions underscore the importance of positive interactions: residents appear happy, and the facility is repeatedly labeled clean and well-kept. Dietary teams receive specific commendations for their work, and activities programs are noted as engaging for residents. In this portion of the narrative, care is framed as a coordinated effort across departments, with an emphasis on kindness and attentiveness as core strengths.

Amid the positivity, a number of reviewers point to standout individuals who consistently make a difference. One review highlights a wound care nurse, Danielle Allen, whose collaboration with EMS teams and her attention to patient-specific needs is described as exceptional. The reviewer, affiliated with a local EMS company, notes that Danielle genuinely cares about her patients and takes the time to understand each case, contributing to faster healing. Another recurring theme is the gratitude shown toward staff who go beyond routine duties: an EMS acquaintance who finds the wound care team to be unusually helpful, and a couple of staff members who are singled out for consistently compassionate care. This thread of praise acknowledges the human element of care, reinforcing that some individuals truly elevate the patient experience.

Yet the optimism is interrupted by a series of troubling, more blunt accounts. Several reviewers describe weekend access as a critical problem, with one layperson lamenting that "on weekends you can't get a nurse in room at all," despite being at the facility for several hours. Phrases like "zero stars" and "a disgrace to healthcare" appear in some reviews, conveying a strong fear that patient safety and dignity may be compromised. In these narratives, residents were left without timely nursing attention, and some families reported alarming care lapses - ranging from delays in responding to requests to potential risks arising from insufficient supervision. One dramatic claim recounts a situation in which a patient interactions were limited to an aide, with no nurse in the room for extended periods, highlighting concerns about coverage and oversight.

There are more alarming, specific episodes cited as well. A reviewer describes a situation where a relative with severe COPD was placed in proximity to a COVID-positive patient, raising questions about infection control and patient safety. Another reviewer alleges insulin therapy was administered inappropriately to a patient not known to be diabetic and even references a planned lawsuit, underscoring serious concerns about medical decision-making and potential harm. Coupled with reports of smell and hygiene issues, this thread paints a picture of a facility where patient safety and clinical judgment are hotly contested topics among families and outside observers.

Other accounts focus on the daily living environment and maintenance challenges. Reports describe dirty rooms and floors, persistent odors of urine, missing TV remotes, and limited access to maintenance - sometimes with the facility's physical issues blamed on broader, location-wide problems. Several families recount clothing and personal items going missing, with residents often left in mismatched or borrowed garments. The conditions extend to concerns about skin, hair, and nails, with one reviewer reporting a resident's hair not being brushed and skin conditions such as candidiasis. These details contribute to a stark portrait of a facility fighting with environmental and logistical challenges, complicating the day-to-day quality of life for residents.

A recurring theme across reviews is the sense that the facility's performance has shifted over time. A longtime observer describes an initial period of relative cleanliness and acceptable care, followed by a marked decline in the last six months characterized by poor communication and a perceived erosion of standards. They recount that the administrator and physicians were repeatedly hard to reach, and family members felt ignored when seeking explanations about a loved one who left the facility extremely ill with severe sepsis. The reviewer's frustration is palpable as they describe waiting for calls from the director, the physician, the social worker, and the head of nursing "to explain why she left the nursing home extremely ill," underscoring ongoing concerns about transparency and accountability.

Even within these criticisms, there are bright, human moments that some patients and families still carry with them. A different thread of testimony celebrates a life-saving intervention: a mother who experienced sudden cardiac arrest, received CPR from the nursing staff, and was stabilized and transported to a higher level of care. The gratitude expressed by Amy Shults - who attributes her survival to the nursing team - offers a stark counterpoint to the more damning assessments and illustrates how, in the same environment, moments of extraordinary care can occur amidst broader challenges.

Taken together, the reviews present Smoky Mountain Post-Acute and Rehab as a facility in flux. A portion of reviewers laud a culture of care that is compassionate, attentive, and visibly improving under new leadership, with praise directed toward specific nurses, therapists, and the administrative team. Their narratives emphasize cleanliness, engaging activities, and a sense that staff genuinely wants to help residents live well. In stark contrast, other reviewers raise urgent red flags about weekend coverage, communication gaps, infection control, maintenance deficiencies, and the potential for harm. They call for external oversight and accountability, with some families ultimately choosing to move loved ones out of the facility.

For prospective families or current residents, the mosaic of experiences suggests a need for careful, in-person assessment. The facility appears capable of delivering high-quality, individualized care in certain departments and at particular times, especially when attentive staff members go above and beyond. However, serious concerns persist about consistency, safety protocols, and the reliability of weekend staffing. The stories of exceptional care - Danielle Allen's wound care diligence, Theresa and Kayla's meaningful patient interactions, and the life-saving CPR that saved a life - sit alongside accounts of neglect, odor, and disorganized operations. The overall takeaway is nuanced: this is a place where moments of exemplary care exist, but significant improvements are needed to ensure that every resident receives reliable, dignified, and safe treatment every day.

Pharmacies

• Pigeon Forge Drugs (0.4 miles)
• Stewart's Discount Drugs (0.6 miles)
• Walgreens (0.7 miles)
• Food City #665 (0.8 miles)
• Kroger Pharmacy (1.8 miles)
• Eddies Drug Store (4.6 miles)
• Reams Drug Store (5.5 miles)

Physicians

• Pigeon Forge Medical Clinic (0.4 miles)
• Urgent Care of the Smokies (1.5 miles)
• Dollywood Family Healthcare Center (1.5 miles)
• CMG MTN View FMLY Med (1.8 miles)
• Foothills Family Practice (1.8 miles)
• UT Primary Care (4.5 miles)
• Sevier Heart Center (4.6 miles)

Restaurants

• Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen (0.5 miles)
• McDonald's (0.5 miles)
• Corky's Bar Bq (0.5 miles)
• Old Mill (0.5 miles)
• JT Hannah's Kitchen (0.5 miles)
• The Old Mill Restaurant (0.5 miles)
• Buzzed Bull Creamery - Pigeon Forge (0.5 miles)

Cafes

• Old Mill Bakery Cafe (0.6 miles)
• Sweet Momma's Café (0.7 miles)
• The Island Creamery (1.4 miles)
• Wild Bear Tavern (1.4 miles)
• Starbucks (1.9 miles)
• Black Rifle Coffee Company (3.1 miles)
• Starbucks (3.3 miles)

Parks

• Patriot Park (0.7 miles)
• Sevierville City Park (4.9 miles)

Hospitals

• Leconte Medical Center (5.1 miles)
• LeConte Medical Center Cafeteria (5.1 miles)