Rockingham County Nursing Home in Sandown, NH

Pros

• The staff is wonderful, caring and compassionate.
• Ernest P. Barka Assisted Living Facility is fantastic.
• The rehab floor has been recently redone and the care remains outstanding.
• The facility offers a welcoming environment with nice sitting rooms, a plant-filled atrium, and a pleasant outdoor area.
• The care team remembers residents' preferences and happily accommodates anything special families bring.
• Rockingham County Adult Medical Day Program is a wonderful, affordable alternative to nursing home care, with medical supervision and activities.
• Residents are treated with dignity and respect, and families feel confident in the care provided.

Cons

• The facility is described as inconsiderate and discriminating, denying admission due to a patient's past psychiatric history.
• It is alleged to be unprofessional and biased against mental health, with claims of discrimination and poor treatment.
• The building is criticized for having half of it shut down for years, attributed to inadequate staffing.
• The reviewer states the facility "sucks" and would never recommend it to others.
• It is suggested that administration focuses more on billing and insurance than on proper staffing and patient care.
• The practice of requesting decades-old medical charts is viewed as excessive and unreasonable by the reviewer.

Review

Rockingham County Nursing Home in Sandown is best suited for families seeking a warm, resident-centered environment where staff form genuine bonds with residents and families. It shines for seniors requiring ongoing, hands-on care, rehab support, dementia or Alzheimer's care, and end-of-life hospice services. The community earns praise for a caregiving culture that puts dignity and personal attention first, with the ability to deliver compassionate support across the continuum from short-term rehab to long-term residency. For families prioritizing a home-like atmosphere where staff are consistently praised for kindness and accessibility, this facility often delivers results that feel more personal than what is found in larger, more impersonal settings.

Pros that consistently stand out are the people and the care philosophy. Reviewers repeatedly call the staff wonderful, caring, and attentive, noting that caregivers make an effort to involve families and make them comfortable during visits. The ability to reach the care team and receive timely answers is repeatedly highlighted, as is the comfort of knowing a loved one is in capable hands. Rehabilitation offerings and therapy options are described as strong across both acute rehab and long-term care environments, with families feeling confident that their loved ones are being guided toward meaningful activity and recovery. The atmosphere - often described as welcoming and "homey" - helps residents feel secure and valued, which can be a decisive factor for anyone weighing long-term placement.

However, multiple reviews flag serious concerns that prospective families should weigh. A single, highly critical account alleges discrimination against a patient with a past psychiatric history, suggesting a policy of denial that conflicts with the needs of many families seeking 24/7 care. Other criticisms point to structural and staffing challenges: a substantial portion of the building on the long-term side is described as outdated or understaffed, with references to areas that have remained shut down for years. Food quality also emerges as a weakness in some reviews due to an outsourced provider, even as nutritional adequacy is less controversial. Taken together, these concerns create real caveats for families that prioritize seamless operations and modern amenities.

The strongest offset to these cons is the care culture and the outcomes observed by families. Hospice care, when needed, is praised for its compassionate approach, with caregivers providing dignity and comfort at the end of life. Families report that their loved ones improve in terms of responsiveness and well-being when possible, and that staff consistently show respect and warmth, even during challenging declines. The rehab and therapy focus remains a reliable strength, with families noting that their relatives receive attentive, professional intervention and that communication remains open. The presence of welcoming spaces, such as atriums and outdoor areas, alongside a documented commitment to treating residents like members of a family, helps offset some of the transitional discomforts associated with aging in a traditional nursing home setting.

Alternatives are worth considering for families who want a different balance of amenities or who have specific preferences around modern interiors and dining. The site also hosts an Adult Medical Day Program, housed within the same facility, which provides supervised activities and medical oversight during weekday hours and can serve as a lower-cost relief option for at-home caregivers. For those seeking a more contemporary feel or a dining experience that features in-house provisioning, or for families wary of potential staffing gaps that could affect daily operations, exploring options with a more modern infrastructure or different culinary arrangements may be prudent. Tour experiences noting an institutional vibe should be a red flag to balance with firsthand observations of staff performance and resident outcomes.

Overall, Rockingham County Nursing Home represents a well-founded choice for families who value a nurturing, relationship-driven approach to senior care and who can tolerate, or even overlook, some operational limitations in exchange for consistently strong caregiving. It is less ideal for families that demand a flawlessly modern facility, highly consistent dining quality, or zero tolerance for allegations of discrimination or occasional access limitations. A careful site visit - focusing on current staffing levels, the rehab/long-term balance, and the specific needs of the resident - will illuminate whether this community truly aligns with a family's care goals and budget. For many, the payoff is clear: care that feels like family, delivered with genuine commitment, even when some bells and whistles are missing.

Restaurants

• Center Scoop (4.2 miles)
• Tuckaway Tavern and Butchery (5.7 miles)
• Burger King (6.9 miles)
• Memories Ice Cream (8.2 miles)
• Orient Pearl (8.3 miles)
• Applebee's (8.9 miles)
• McDonald's (8.9 miles)

Pharmacies

• Walgreens (4.8 miles)
• Hannaford Pharmacy (5.6 miles)
• Rite Aid (5.6 miles)
• Hannaford Food and Drug (5.7 miles)
• Walgreens (5.8 miles)
• Walgreens (7.3 miles)
• Walmart Pharmacy (7.3 miles)

Cafes

• Honey Dew Donuts (4.9 miles)
• Starbucks (11 miles)
• Starbucks (11.1 miles)
• Heav'nly Donuts (11.2 miles)
• Me & Ollie's (11.7 miles)
• Starbucks (12.7 miles)
• Starbucks (13.1 miles)

Physicians

• Klunk John MD - Elliot Primary Care-Raymond (5.5 miles)
• Pain Care (5.9 miles)
• Sleep Institute of New England (6.5 miles)
• Core Pediatrics-Plaistow (8.2 miles)
• Dartmouth-Hitchcock Derry (8.4 miles)
• Women's Health Associates of Derry (8.6 miles)
• New England Heart Institute (9.1 miles)

Places of Worship

• St Joseph's Church (6.7 miles)

Parks

• East Derry Historic District (6.8 miles)
• Griffin Park (12.3 miles)

Hospitals

• St Joseph Hospital Ob-Gyn Windham (11.4 miles)
• Whittier Pavilion (13.3 miles)
• Elliot Hospital Surgical Day Care (13.4 miles)