Complaint Review: The Hearth at Hendersonville TN - Hendersonville Tennessee

If you’re contemplating putting a loved one in the Hearth at Hendersonville, TN, please read what I have written below and give it some consideration prior to signing a contract. This narrative is factual, and this information and pictures has been given to the Hearth. We had also installed, prior to Covid Lockdowns, a Hearth approved camera in the apartment due to early on issues. 

When I entered my father’s apartment for the first time in over a year on 3/6/2021 I was appalled to see how filthy the apartment was. There were five (5) of us that helped dad move out over a period of two (2) consecutive weekends. To a person, all five (5) of us were appalled at the lack of housekeeping. I found a moldy ham sandwich underneath the trash can liner. I also found another moldy ham sandwich in the refrigerator. The stench made me gag.

When I looked at the mattress, I observed a strong urine smell and found the mattress protector missing.



Per the Residency Agreement, the Hearth is responsible to launder a Resident’s bed and bath and linens.We found the mattress protector had been washed and wadded up in the bedroom closet. Urine stains were observed on the bottom of the mattress. I have the pictures. The mattress was destroyed. I also have pictures soiled chux that wasn’t laundered and slept on again.

The Hearth did not perform general housekeeping services as required by the Residency Agreement. The Hearth did not consistently perform laundering of bed and bath linens. This happened many times and I provided evidence.

We were not initially told that Dad’s neighbor had hit Dad with his electric wheelchair in the cafeteria. I fully understand that accidents happen. On 2/21/2021 I observed my father’s knees being X-Rayed on the room camera. I immediately called my sister and asked her if she was aware of this. She said that she wasn’t. As our fathers Medical Power of Attorney, she was not notified. It’s also my understanding that several other residents had been hit previously by the same individual.

Perhaps the worst example was when feces was squished on my father’s wheelchair, for who knows how long, and he’d been sitting in it. I have the picture.



This is just gross and completely unacceptable. I can understand how this could happen. However, anyone paying the least amount of attention would have noticed this. The smell alone would have been noticeable. If my dog’s craps in their bed, I clean their bedding immediately. This was brought to the attention of your CEO, and he never responded back to me.

Dad’s hygiene was a constant problem. The fact that tech’s charted and lied about giving him a bath is completely unacceptable. Yes, we were told that they were fired. However, this has been a pervasive problem and probably often goes unreported with residents that don’t have cameras in their apartment.

Additionally, my father was hospitalized on several occasions due to neglect. On his first hospitalization, the Hearth sent Hendersonville Hospital an outdated list of prescriptions. This could have had dire consequences. Luckily my sister, who is a nurse, noticed this and subsequently got it corrected.

My father also suffered from some respiratory issues. It has come to my attention, from former workers and current residents, that there may be some respiratory issues with the building structure. I’m currently investigating this and if factual will bring it to light as well.

From my perspective, for whatever it’s worth, most of the problems lie with your unskilled labor. There are many good and caring people at the Hearth. They are probably skilled and are compensated accordingly. While using unskilled (i.e., off the street) personnel, maybe the industry norm, you get what you pay for. Other similar facilities seem to be able to make it work.

All I can surmise is that senior management is more involved and supports local management with other resources (e.g., bonuses for good workers, better training, etc.). The CEO seems to be only concerned with the bottom line. This only works in the short term.

I have no sympathy for those that abuse the elderly. Whether it be by lying about bathing, poor housekeeping, poor food quality, lack of attention to needs, failure to respond to call button activation, lack of attention to proper hygiene, failure to wear masks, failure to make up bedding, failure to ensure bedding isn’t soiled at bedtime, chux not laundered or replaced, rudeness, etc. My father has experienced all of this at the Hearth and examples, pictures, and dates have been provided. I’m very upset that my father had to experience all of this during his last days. My father was a n**i Concentration Camp survivor. If he tells me that he was mistreated I know he knows what he’s talking about.

In summary, people need to know about these problems before they place their loved ones at the Hearth. My father was later moved, to Elmcroft in Hendersonville, TN and things were great. I sure wished I had put my father in Elmcroft from the get-go.