Removing a Google review for an assisted living community

HHS lists nursing homes among the providers that are covered entities under HIPAA when they bill a health plan electronically. Many assisted living communities that provide housing and personal care with no insurance billing fall outside that definition, so ask your compliance lead which side you are on. In practice the answer for a public reply is the same: say nothing about a resident’s presence, health or care.

That includes the writer’s own parent. Families often expect a detailed answer, and a reply such as “your mother’s fall was reported to you within the hour” feels like transparency but tells the public who lives there and what happened to her. Reply that the community takes every concern seriously and that the executive director will speak with any family directly.

• A son or daughter upset about staffing, a fall, food or a rate increase.
• Siblings in a dispute over a parent’s care, one of whom never visited.
• A review that names another resident and describes their health or behavior.
• A former caregiver or nurse writing about pay, shifts or management.
• Someone claiming to write for the state survey agency or the ombudsman.
• A tour visitor who did not move in and reviews the sales process.

A family member’s account of their parent’s care is a real experience at the location, and so is a tour. Both stay. The review that names another resident is the clearest senior living case: Google’s personal information policy covers another person’s full name or last name and medical information posted without consent, and a roommate’s diagnosis is exactly that.

A former caregiver meets conflict of interest, which Google defines to include current or former employment. A relative who never visited and writes from a family dispute meets fake engagement, and Google’s conflict of interest policy names familial relationships. A writer who claims to speak for the state meets impersonation. Each one is argued from the review’s own words first, with a record added only where the words leave a gap.

• The review screenshot with the date and the reviewer’s profile name.
• For a former employee: hire and separation dates and the role, from HR.
• For a relative who never visited: your visitor log search showing no entries under that name, stated as a result.
• For a claimed surveyor: your most recent survey or inspection result and the date it was issued.
• For a named resident: nothing beyond the review. The words in it carry the case.

Note. Never send a resident’s chart, care plan or incident report to support a review case. If the case needs one, it is the wrong case.

Disputes between a resident’s children are common, and both sides sometimes post. The child who visits every week may write a harsh but fair review, and it stays. The child who lives across the country and has never been inside may write from what they were told, and that one has a case if the words or your visitor log show they never visited.

Do not take sides in a reply, and do not explain which child holds the power of attorney. Say that the community speaks directly with each resident’s designated representative, and leave it there.

1. 01

   Save the review

   Capture it before the writer edits it. Families often revise reviews after a call.

2. 02

   Report it in Google

   From your Business Profile, open Read reviews, select the Report icon, choose the reason and select Send report.

3. 03

   Audit the listing

   The free audit reads every low review and marks each with a clause and a fee class, or No rule broken.

4. 04

   Accept the sheets you want

   Nothing is filed until you accept. A declined case goes to a second filing at the same fee.