Overall sentiment is mixed and highly polarized: a substantial number of reviews praise the facility, staff, activities and environment, while a significant minority recount serious problems with staffing, responsiveness, dining, and management presence. Positive reviewers describe a clean, modern, and attractive facility with engaged residents, meaningful activities (arts & crafts, Wii), integrated religious offerings and a chapel, and individualized attention. Multiple reviews call out loving, kind, and helpful staff, and a few note the presence of full-time clinical staff (RN and CNA) and a functioning rehab program. Some families reported outstanding experiences, including five-star lunches, an arts/crafts organizer, and aides who showed compassion and good hands-on care.
However, recurring negative themes point to systemic issues that materially affect resident experience. Understaffing and low morale are frequent complaints; reviewers report delays in basic assistance (including slow responses to bathroom calls), inconsistent briefing of staff about residents' needs, and visible frequent cell phone use by staff while on duty. These problems translate into reports of poor care quality for some residents: water not being kept in rooms, hydration concerns, and delays that can be distressing to residents and families. Several reviewers used strong language—rude, disrespectful, ignorant—to describe interactions with staff in those instances, and multiple reviewers explicitly stated they would not recommend the facility.
Dining is another major area of divergence. Some residents and visitors experienced high-quality, restaurant-style meals initially; one review explains that excellent meals were provided for roughly two weeks. However, several reviews describe a clear decline in food quality tied to staff changes (specifically the retirement of the food service director), with meals becoming cold, inedible, or reduced to inadequate options (one family reported a resident receiving peanut butter sandwiches). Weekend food service is reported as inconsistent. Conversely, other reviews praise food service and lunches, indicating variability over time or across units/shifts.
Facility and programming receive generally positive remarks: the building and common areas are described as clean and attractive, and residents are frequently noted as engaged and happy. The presence of organized activities, religious integration, and rehab offerings are strengths. At the same time, there are important safety and accessibility concerns in the reviews — mentions of accessibility/handicap issues and worries about emergency exits suggest that some families encountered mobility or egress issues that need clarification and possible remediation.
Leadership and operational oversight are raised repeatedly as areas needing attention. Reviewers reported executives and management not being regularly present, a front desk unmanned on weekends, and a perceived lack of accountability. Several comments urged that the facility "needs a wake-up call," pointing to a pattern where positive elements (compassionate staff, clean facility, strong programs) are undermined by inconsistent execution, poor coverage, or lapses in basic care. Notably, some individual staff members received specific praise (for example, an aide named Matthew was described as compassionate), indicating that good caregivers exist but may be unevenly distributed or insufficient in number.
In sum, St. Clare–Newport has clear strengths — clean, modern facilities; many devoted and caring staff; active programming; and, at times, very good clinical presence and dining. However, frequent and specific complaints about understaffing, inconsistent care responsiveness, declines in meal quality, weekend coverage gaps, and occasional rude behavior create a mixed overall picture. Prospective residents and families should weigh these polarized experiences carefully: visit in person multiple times (including weekends and meal times), ask about recent staffing levels and turnover, inquire specifically about the current food service leadership and weekend coverage, verify emergency and accessibility accommodations, and request references from recent families to understand whether the positive reports reflect the current, consistent standard or whether the negative patterns persist.
