Castle Manor Nursing & Rehabilitation Center

Debra

My brother was at Castle Manor Nursing & Rehabilitation Center twice, both times for short term. What we liked the most was the fact that they have a really good physical therapy available. There's plenty of staff, so you're constantly getting the care that you need, whether it's to get showers or meals brought to you. They actually have a smoking area, and my brother's a smoker, so there's a patio that he was able to go to or to be taken to in order to smoke. His needs were met, and that they were really good about getting his laundry done. The managers were available onsite, whether it be their coordinators or their senior nurses. Everything about that facility was positive because they were able to address stuff in a timely manner. They even had a little bird aviary right in the front lobby. They have a nice, large entertainment area where the guests can get together with the person they're visiting, and they can watch TV. They have a library, and they have people come in to sing, dance, and give presentations. There are plenty of community events going on. A lot of people didn't like the place, but the reason they didn't like it was the variety of food, because you don't have menu choices. There's very limited parking. You have to park nearly a block away and then hike down a hill, and it's pretty unsteady for people who are older trying to access the place to visit friends and loved ones. Security was good. During daylight hours, they had someone watching the door in the lobby, and people signed in and out. Especially during COVID, people were asked to check their temperatures to make sure they weren't running a fever. So they took really good precautions on monitoring people coming and going. Doctor access was also a problem there. The first time my brother was there, he was never seen by a doctor. I think part of their challenge is the fact that they were pretty crowded as well. They did the best they could with what they had. There's plenty of room for improvement. They had a high staff turnover. Many were excellent, but you had more that were just there because that was where they wanted to work for whatever reason. They weren't really there as caregivers. We had a good experience with most of the head nurses, and we had some good nursing experiences, but for every good nursing experience, there were at least three bad ones. My brother hated the food. Family and friends were bringing him food. It was dated, but maintained and clean. Everything that was needed was there.