New Castle Health & Rehabilitation Center

    32 Buena Vista Dr, New Castle, DE, 19720
    2.7 · 46 reviews
    • Assisted living
    • Memory care
    • Skilled nursing
    AnonymousCurrent/former resident
    1.0

    Neglectful, unsafe facility; uncaring staff

    I stayed at New Castle and my experience was mostly terrible. Nurses and administration were uncaring, rude and unresponsive - missed checks, multiple falls, delayed 911 response, residents left soiled, clothes missing and poor hygiene were common. Communication was awful and I felt management dishonest and money-focused; the place often felt unsafe and neglectful. The one bright spot was the rehab/therapy team and a few CNAs who were caring. I would avoid this facility unless you plan to monitor your loved one constantly.

    Pricing

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    Amenities

    Healthcare services

    • Activities of daily living assistance
    • Assistance with bathing
    • Assistance with dressing
    • Assistance with transfers
    • Medication management
    • Mental wellness program

    Healthcare staffing

    • 12-16 hour nursing
    • 24-hour call system
    • 24-hour supervision

    Meals and dining

    • Diabetes diet
    • Meal preparation and service
    • Restaurant-style dining
    • Special dietary restrictions

    Room

    • Air-conditioning
    • Cable
    • Fully furnished
    • Housekeeping and linen services
    • Kitchenettes
    • Private bathrooms
    • Telephone
    • Wifi

    Transportation

    • Community operated transportation
    • Transportation arrangement
    • Transportation arrangement (non-medical)

    Common areas

    • Beauty salon
    • Computer center
    • Dining room
    • Fitness room
    • Gaming room
    • Garden
    • Outdoor space
    • Small library
    • Wellness center

    Community services

    • Concierge services
    • Fitness programs
    • Move-in coordination

    Activities

    • Community-sponsored activities
    • Planned day trips
    • Resident-run activities
    • Scheduled daily activities

    2.72 · 46 reviews

    Overall rating

    1. 5
    2. 4
    3. 3
    4. 2
    5. 1
    • Care

      2.0
    • Staff

      2.0
    • Meals

      1.3
    • Amenities

      1.0
    • Value

      1.0

    Pros

    • Strong therapy and rehab team
    • Compassionate and dedicated CNAs/aides
    • Some excellent nurses and doctors
    • Clean, sterile facility reported by multiple reviewers
    • Extensive activities and programming
    • Adherence to CDC guidelines and visible COVID precautions
    • Friendly, accommodating front-line staff and door greeter
    • Attentive admissions director and proactive managers in some cases
    • Good security and controlled entrance
    • Consistent positive rehab outcomes reported by many families

    Cons

    • Repeated allegations of neglect and inadequate daily care
    • Multiple reports of resident falls and delayed or absent response
    • Medication errors and wrong medication administration
    • Failure to promptly call 911 or delayed ambulance response
    • Instances of injury (e.g., head injury requiring staples) and death with poor follow-up
    • Unchanged diapers, lack of bathing, clothes not changed for days
    • Bed sores / open wounds and dehydration risk from lack of feeding
    • Missing, stolen, or misplaced personal belongings
    • Dishonesty about care status (e.g., short-term vs long-term placement)
    • Poor or inconsistent communication from staff and administration
    • Understaffing and slow response times, especially nights/3rd shift
    • Rude or unhelpful administration and some nursing staff
    • Food reported as cold, poor quality, or needing to order out
    • Allegations of elder abuse and calls to avoid facility
    • Inconsistent quality: excellent rehab but poor medical/nursing care
    • Technology and operational shortcomings (calls not returned, message dishonesty)
    • Restrictions/requirements for visitation (advance notice) reported as inconvenient

    Summary review

    Overall sentiment in the reviews is highly polarized, with frequent and passionate praise for the therapy/rehabilitation teams and certain front-line staff coexisting alongside multiple, serious allegations of neglect, mismanagement, and unsafe care. A substantial subset of reviewers describe excellent rehab experiences — calling the therapy team "wonderful," crediting staff with "rehab miracles," and describing attentive CNAs, nurses, and an accommodating admissions team. These reviewers commonly note a clean, well-kept facility, visible infection-control measures, plentiful activities, and strong security practices at admission.

    However, an equally large and vocal group of reviews describe severe and recurring problems with basic nursing care and safety. These complaints include residents being left unattended after falls for hours, failure to lower beds or remove geri-chairs, diapers left unchanged for long periods, lack of bathing or clothing changes for days, and cases of medication errors. Several reports describe critical incidents such as head injuries requiring staples, seizures with no timely assistance, and at least one death where families report poor communication and no follow-up. Reviewers explicitly mention delayed or absent 911 calls and paramedics expressing skepticism about the facility's reports — raising serious safety and liability concerns.

    A notable pattern is the contrast between the high marks for therapy/rehab services and the frequent reports of inadequate medical and custodial care. Many families report positive interactions with therapists, some CNAs, and occasionally with doctors and admissions staff, but they also note that nursing staff and administration can be inconsistent, unresponsive, or rude. Multiple reviewers described instances of dishonesty or misleading behavior — for example, being told a stay was short-term when it was converted to long-term without clear consent — and said messages were not relayed, calls not returned, or that staff denied requests for patient phone calls. Third-shift staffing problems were called out specifically (staff on phones, inattentive), which aligns with the pattern of falls and delayed responses occurring during off-hours.

    Concerns about personal property and hygiene recur: several reviews cite missing or stolen belongings, meals taken while residents were asleep, and clothing disappearing. Nutrition and dining quality are mixed in the comments — activities and social programming receive praise, but the food is often described as cold, average to poor in quality, and sometimes requiring families to order outside food. While some reviewers feel confident leaving a loved one for future stays, others warn strongly to avoid the facility, to monitor visits daily, or to never leave relatives there unattended.

    Management and communication are inconsistent themes. Some families praise proactive managers and an attentive admissions director who coordinate early family meetings and communicate well. Others report rude, dismissive, or unhelpful administration and a culture of blaming families or minimizing incidents. Operational complaints include poor technology, inaccurate messaging, and requirements for advance notice for visits that some find burdensome. Several reviews explicitly accuse the facility of prioritizing money over patient welfare, and some describe the overall environment as unsafe and in need of a management overhaul.

    In summary, reviewers paint a facility with real strengths in rehabilitation services, certain compassionate CNAs, and moments of strong, clean, well-run care — but also with recurring, serious safety and quality failures in nursing care, communication, and property management. The most common and consequential issues involve falls with delayed response, medication and care errors, hygiene neglect, missing belongings, and poor responsiveness from night shift and some administrative staff. These patterns suggest that outcomes at this facility are highly dependent on which staff members are on duty and whether families are actively engaged and monitoring care. Prospective residents and families should weigh the strong rehab capabilities and some excellent staff against consistent reports of neglect and safety lapses; if choosing this facility, insist on clear communication plans, frequent check-ins, and documented protocols for fall response, medication administration, and personal property handling.

    Location

    Map showing location of New Castle Health & Rehabilitation Center

    About New Castle Health & Rehabilitation Center

    New Castle Health & Rehabilitation Center is a nursing home facility that provides skilled nursing care and short-term rehab services for seniors who need care between the hospital and home, and it can also help those who are frail and dependent on nursing support each day, so if someone's looking for a place that has both regular nursing care and extra help with getting stronger after surgery or illness, this is the type of place that tries to meet those goals, and since they offer assisted living, memory care, personal care, and a continuing care retirement community, people can get a lot of different kinds of support in one building if needs change over time. The building has bedrooms and shared living spaces set up for residents; they also have activity areas and outdoor spots where residents can spend time, and there are spaces inside for eating together, which helps keep things social. Residents can find rehabilitation equipment and programs for things like post-surgical recovery, stroke, cardiac rehab, IV therapy, and wound care, plus therapy services including physical, occupational, and speech therapy, and the staff includes an interdisciplinary team that makes treatment and rehab plans tailored to each person, with a focus on helping folks move from the hospital back to home if that's possible. New Castle Health & Rehabilitation Center offers programs to improve mobility and reduce hospital visits, trying to raise overall satisfaction, which the American Health Care Association recognized in 2020. Amenities also include outdoor spaces and comfortable living areas, with resident activities, holiday events, and meals planned for good nutrition, but the facility has had quality inspection reports that show 40 total deficiencies, including 10 deficiencies in a November 2024 inspection where there were problems with infection control and nutrition, although no actual harm was found, just the potential for more problems if things don't improve. The center provides an average of 3.89 nurse hours per resident each day, though the nurse turnover rate has been 38%, and there are 120 certified beds available. It's owned by Saber Healthcare Holdings, LLC and managed by Saber Governance, LLC since September 2019, and is affiliated with the Saber Healthcare Group. Staff work with physicians to set up custom recovery plans after surgery and try to create an environment focused on the whole person, including emotional and social wellness, so residents who want extra support or need help with recovery can look at this place as an option, especially since they also have special pre-surgery and pre-registration programs to help people be ready for their stay and make the transition smoother, with care designed to improve life for each resident as much as possible.

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