River Hills Health and Rehabilitation Center

PLEASE heed this warning! Do NOT send your loved one to this place to die! My poor mother was sent here by the Kerrville hospital, after falling in her home. One of the nurses, [name removed], left her unchanged, and soaking wet, all night long. The staff watched my mother unable to eat for four days, without giving her an I.V. or assistance with her food. She finally passed, after spending ten days at this horrible place. I hope my words help save someone alot of heartache.

I'll start with the great. The rehabilitation side of this facility, from its director of rehabilitation to its rehab staff, was top notch, as was the overall center administration staff. I don't believe we could have found better on either score. ....On-the-other-hand, that "great" failed to offset, (#1) staff doctor, (#2) some of the nursing, & (#3) social work, sides of this facility. To put it mildly, it is sorely lacking in these areas. The "victim" was a close family friend, who was suffering the adverse effects of several ill-advised drugs given by doctors during & after a fairly routine and successful procedure. The adverse effects from the “during & after procedure” drugs sent our friend into a physical & mental/memory tailspin that has required extensive rehab to recover from. He was removed from these drugs in a temporary rehab center, but upon admittance to River Hills, was prescribed more drugs with many of the same “adverse warnings” as had previously caused his damage. Additionally, he was prescribed another dangerous drug for a non-existent “high cholesterol”. He was further diagnosed with Dementia and prescribed a very dangerous “psych med” for symptoms that had themselves been caused by dangerous drugs. This claimed dementia has been steadily diminishing week-by-week as those drugs are slowly flushed from his body. Although some of the nursing staff was caring and considerate, there were some who had little if any sympathy for a patient who truly needed rehabilitation rather that to be doped-up so that they were less “trouble”. There are many professions available that do not “require” some degree of empathy and sympathy. These few nurses were routinely rude and indifferent to this patient and his friends who were simply trying their best to “look out” for his interests in light of the damage that had already been done by “professionals”. The social worker, instead of filing a complaint with Adult Protective Services (APS) against the recklessness malpractice of the doctor, filed one against the friends who were desperately trying to protect him from further harm. APS to their professional credit found no basis for the charges by the social worker. On behalf of any nursing staff, I must say that Nursing in general, is very often caught in an untenable position between the interests of a patient and the possible greed of pill-pushing “doctors” who are often “educated far beyond their common sense”. To put it simply, if our friend had been left to the whims of highly educated “healthcare professional(s)”, he would probably have had little chance of any recovery and may have ended up a vegetable, …or worse. Once again, I would recommend this facility for its rehab side, but would be very cautious and wary about the rest. I have two suggestions in choosing a rehab facility, shop for (#1) a doctor with common sense about the use of dangerous drugs, and (#2) a staff social worker who actually puts the interest of the patient first and foremost rather that satisfying the doctor. Good Luck in rehabbing your loved one; you will need it. PS. Toward the end of our friend’s stay here I found out that a family member of my son-in-law who had been here in recent times also had to transfer to another facility for some of the same reasons that we moved our friend. (Note: The disappearance of “well marked” new clothing was also an ongoing problem.) Please Note: This Review is solely the opinion of one who dealt with these issues for 2 months or so. The facility addressed has “solicited” this review by their posting and presence on this website.