Heritage at Port Washington

Pros

• The Heritage Health Service team was cheerful, friendly, and helpful.
• They provided the needed services and helped her return to her apartment in a short period, which was her goal.
• The team's care and dedication were recognized and appreciated by the family.
• The facility's staff and service have been consistently praised by the family since August.
• The facility is described as great, with a great staff.
• The staff treated the resident with kindness and caring, and went above and beyond to support her recovery.
• The Port Washington location is noted for having a very dedicated staff.

Cons

• The facility is a horrible choice to send a loved one.
• The quality of care at the facility is atrocious.
• The staff are careless and disrespectful toward residents and families, with neglect.
• Nurses have no clue about basic catheter care, leaving a resident in the same position for over 12 hours.
• The place needs to be shut down.
• The facility is dark, dreary, uninviting, outdated, and reeks of urine.
• A CNA allegedly hit a resident, leaving them with a black eye and a fat lip.

Review

A wide range of experiences has emerged from people writing about Heritage Health Services in Port Washington, Wisconsin. On one hand, several families describe a facility and a staff team that provided timely, compassionate, and effective care. They credit Heritage with taking in loved ones after other places declined them, delivering the needed services, and helping residents achieve important goals such as returning home quickly. In these accounts, the staff are portrayed as cheerful, friendly, and genuinely helpful, with one reviewer calling the team "wonderful" and another praising how they responded to questions and went "above and beyond." For many families, the facility has been a place where their relatives received the attention and support they needed to begin recovering and to return to their own apartments. The sentiment is that, when things went well, Heritage stood out for kindness, attentiveness, and overall care quality.

Several reviews reinforce this positive view with recurring themes. Families repeatedly mention that their loved ones were treated with kindness and respect, that staff were patient and communicative, and that the rehabilitation and nursing teams provided meaningful assistance during recovery. A common thread is appreciation for staff dedication, the sense that the team cared for residents as individuals, and the belief that the facility overall maintains a good standard of care and service. Comments such as "great facility, great staff" and remarks about staff answering questions thoroughly and being helpful frame the facility in a favorable light for many families, especially those whose relatives were able to stay long enough to experience steady progress and improved condition.

However, the reviews also present a starkly contrasting picture. A substantial portion of the feedback is strongly negative, with reviewers characterizing Heritage Health Services as a poor choice for a loved one. In these accounts, reviewers describe neglect, a lack of medical knowledge, and insufficient caregiving abilities. Specific criticisms include improper catheter care, residents left in uncomfortable positions for extended periods (sometimes hours), and overall neglect and disrespect toward residents and their families. Words like "atrocious," "unacceptable," and "careless" appear in these accounts, along with complaints that basic care tasks were not performed and that safety and dignity were compromised. Some reviewers allege that the facility is dark, uninviting, outdated, and that odors (notably urine) pervade the environment, contributing to a negative first impression and ongoing concerns about cleanliness and infection control.

Safety and behavior concerns also surface repeatedly. Several reviewers claim issues with how medications were handled, including delays or errors, and even instances of theft or misconduct by staff that seriously harmed residents. One particularly troubling claim describes a caregiver stealing a family member's credit card, followed by police involvement and an investigation; another reviewer recounts a CNA allegedly hitting a resident, resulting in a black eye and a bruised lip. The recurrence of such allegations - ranging from poor caregiving and missed medical needs to inappropriate conduct by staff - feeds a narrative of inconsistent staff performance and gaps in accountability. Multiple reviews also allege that residents were not given adequate showers or grooming, that rooms were small and crowded, and that personal belongings were not safeguarded, all of which contribute to a perception of a facility where basic dignity and privacy may be unevenly upheld.

The negative reviews also touch on broader organizational concerns. Some reviewers imply high staff turnover and a lack of consistent leadership, suggesting that these factors contribute to uneven quality of care and attention. Additional complaints include subpar food quality, delays in timely delivery of medications, and insufficient monitoring of residents' medical and emotional needs. Several accounts express profound distress over the experience, with one reviewer describing their father's deterioration due to neglect and another worried about what would have happened if a loved one had remained longer at the facility. The tone of these reviews is candid and emotional, reflecting a perception that some days at Heritage could be acceptable and other days deeply troubling.

Taken together, the reviews reveal a facility capable of delivering compassionate, effective care in some cases, while simultaneously facing serious accusations of neglect, safety incidents, and poor conditions in others. For families considering Heritage Health Services, Port Washington, these narratives underscore the importance of a careful evaluation of the facility's practices, staff training, patient safety protocols, and oversight - and of seeking direct, in-person assessments, talking to current residents and families, and reviewing recent inspection findings and grievance records. The stories emphasize that experiences at Heritage can be highly variable, with success stories and warnings coexisting within the same facility.

This part of Port Washington, Wisconsin offers convenient access to a variety of amenities essential for senior living. With multiple restaurants, cafes, pharmacies, physicians, hospitals, places of worship, and parks within close proximity, residents have easy access to all their daily needs. The diverse dining options range from fast food chains like McDonald's and Arby's to more upscale options like Fork & Tap and Yummy Bones BBQ & Catering. Additionally, the presence of well-established healthcare facilities such as Aurora Health Center and Lakeshore Eye Care Professionals ensures quality medical care for seniors. The abundance of parks and nature preserves nearby also provides opportunities for outdoor recreation and relaxation. Overall, this area presents a comfortable and convenient environment suitable for seniors looking to settle in Port Washington.

Restaurants

• McDonald's (0.5 miles)
• Arby's (0.5 miles)
• Hundred Mile House (0.8 miles)
• Yummy Bones BBQ & catering (0.9 miles)
• Fork & Tap (0.9 miles)
• Culver's (1.7 miles)
• McDonald's (3.2 miles)

Cafes

• Java Dock (1 miles)
• Starbucks (2.9 miles)
• Starbucks (6.3 miles)
• Flipside Cafe & Grill (6.5 miles)
• Java House (9.2 miles)
• Cedarburg Coffee Roastery (9.3 miles)
• Starbucks (9.8 miles)

Physicians

• Mark Fitzsimmons MD (1.8 miles)
• Aurora Health Center (2 miles)
• Zuccaro Cheryl MD (2.8 miles)
• Greenlane Family Practice (2.8 miles)
• Lakeshore Eye Care Professionals (3.3 miles)
• Great Lakes Family Vision (3.7 miles)
• Grafton Eye Center (5.9 miles)

Pharmacies

• Walgreens (2.8 miles)
• Walmart Pharmacy (3 miles)
• Guy & O'Neill (5.6 miles)
• Aurora Pharmacy (6.8 miles)
• Walgreens (7.8 miles)
• Walgreens (10.1 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (10.2 miles)

Theaters

• Saukville Cinema Saukville, Wi (3.3 miles)
• North Shore Cinema Mequon, Wi (12.1 miles)

Places of Worship

• St Peters United Church of Christ (3.8 miles)
• Vineyard Community Church (5.6 miles)
• Grace Lutheran Church Elca (6.6 miles)
• Our Lady of the Lakes Catholic Church (11.3 miles)

Parks

• Lion's Den Gorge Nature Preserve (4.5 miles)
• Cedarburg Bog State Natural Area (6.8 miles)
• Belgium Village Park (6.8 miles)
• Harrington Beach State Park (6.9 miles)
• Pine Street Park (7.3 miles)
• Lime Kiln Park (7.9 miles)
• Riveredge Nature Center (8.1 miles)

Hospitals

• Aurora Medical Center (6.1 miles)
• Aurora Sports Medicine & Rehab (6.2 miles)
• Ascension Columbia St. Mary's Ozaukee - Cedarburg (10.2 miles)
• Breastfeeding Support - Ascension Columbia St Mary's Hospital Ozaukee Birthing Center (10.4 miles)