St Camillus Health/Rehab Ctr in Syracuse, NY

Pros

• The staff at St. Camillus are very friendly and the therapists are very good.
• Residents progress with expert therapy and enjoy the activities.
• St. Camillus staff are wonderful to residents and families feel they are in good hands.
• St. Camillus truly cares for patients, treating them with love, humor, and dignity.
• The admissions team provides compassionate, clear explanations and makes families feel at ease.
• The facility is clean, well-organized, and welcoming.
• The physical and occupational therapy teams are fantastic and professional.
• The recreation team brings joy and meaningful activities that make the days brighter.

Cons

• The food service is terrible, always cold and never what was requested.
• For nearly $17,000 a month, it should be way better.
• They lost all of the dad's clothes in the laundry, with no explanation.
• The staff were incompetent and rude, treating residents as an inconvenience.
• The brain injury unit has nurses and aides who are extremely rude and do not care about the patients.
• The facility seems to be racing to be the worst rehab facility in Syracuse, with overworked and disconnected staff.
• The food is awful and consistently cold, and residents wait long for basic care.
• Infection control protocols are non-existent, with staff failing to wash hands and showers not provided when needed.
• A supervisor argued with a family while a patient waited in a soaking wet diaper for over an hour.

Review

St. Camillus Health/Rehab Center in Syracuse is best suited for families prioritizing aggressive post-acute rehabilitation and a warm, family-like atmosphere. The strongest argument for this community is the rehab-and-therapy engine: skilled physical and occupational therapists, capable aides, and a culture that many families describe as caring and personable. Numerous residents, especially those in rehab and hospice-adjacent care, progress with therapy, regain mobility, and enjoy activities that keep them socially engaged. The setting also offers open, flexible visiting for families and a sense of being part of the patient’s daily life, which matters when recovery hinges on motivation and support.

Those who may want to consider alternatives include families with high needs for consistent frontline care and stringent operational reliability. A sizable portion of reviews flag serious concerns about staffing levels, communication gaps, and care consistency, especially on certain units. The brain-injury unit and some nursing- or social-work interactions are repeatedly described as overburdened or abrupt, with reports of delayed showers, missed meals, and perceived indifference. Several families report disjointed information about therapy progress, which can undermine confidence during crucial transitions. For dementia or high-safety needs, these patterns may push families to compare other local options.

The core pros, expert rehab, attentive therapists, and a general sense of dignity and warmth, often offset meaningful drawbacks, but only when families can look past sporadic operational hiccups. Therapy teams receive frequent praise for professionalism, motivation, and the ability to keep residents moving forward. Several accounts highlight compassionate CNAs and nurses who make patients feel seen, sometimes describing staff as a “family” to the resident. On the upside, the facility is clean, welcoming, and well-maintained, with gardens to visit and strong activity programming. Yet when communication falters, or when basic needs like timely meals, cleanliness, or laundry are questioned, the benefits thin quickly.

Cost and value are unavoidable lenses in the decision. Some reviews note the monthly price, reported around the high teens, to be difficult to justify given the perceived gaps in staffing and consistency. Others acknowledge that when the therapy is effective and the environment feels supportive, the overall experience can still feel worthwhile. The most telling tension is between the very visible, high-quality rehab moments and the more mixed, sometimes troubling, frontline care stories. The juxtaposition makes it essential to probe specifics: unit-by-unit staffing ratios, meal service reliability, laundry handling, and how results and progress are communicated to families.

Before choosing, prospective families should insist on a frank, on-site conversation with the unit managers and therapy leads. Ask for current staffing schedules, patient-to-staff ratios, and a concrete plan for discharge or long-term goals. Observe meal times and kitchen service, tour the brain-injury unit if relevant, and request recent quality and safety metrics. Request a named point person for daily updates and check how concerns are escalated and resolved. These steps help separate the days when care feels cohesive from those when fragmentation becomes the true risk.

In the end, St. Camillus delivers meaningful value for families who prize strong rehab outcomes, a welcoming atmosphere, and ongoing opportunities for family involvement. It remains a reasonable choice for post-acute recovery and hospice-adjacent care where the therapy team can be relied upon and where the culture emphasizes dignity and kindness. However, for families prioritizing flawless staffing reliability, consistent food service, and uniformly compassionate care across all units, especially for complex brain-injury or dementia needs, there are legitimate reasons to look elsewhere. The most prudent path is to tour with a prepared list of unit-specific questions and to compare neighboring facilities that consistently demonstrate staffing stability and smooth day-to-day operations.

This part of Syracuse, New York, offers a convenient and diverse range of amenities for seniors looking to live in the area. With several pharmacies, hospitals, and physicians nearby, access to healthcare services is readily available. In addition, there are various dining options including fast food establishments and sit-down restaurants for those who prefer to dine out. Parks such as Burnet Park provide a peaceful outdoor setting for leisurely walks or picnics. Public transportation options like Centro Transit Hub and Amtrak make it easy to get around the city. Additionally, cultural attractions like theaters and cafes offer opportunities for entertainment and socializing. Overall, this area provides a well-rounded environment for seniors seeking a vibrant community with essential services within close proximity.

Pharmacies

• Wegmans (0.6 miles)
• Wegmans (1.5 miles)
• Gifford & West Pharmacy (2.4 miles)
• Syracuse Community Pharmacy (2.7 miles)
• Walgreens (3.2 miles)
• Medicine Shoppe (3.4 miles)
• Walgreens (3.9 miles)

Restaurants

• McDonald's (0.6 miles)
• Little Caesars Pizza (0.6 miles)
• Burger King (0.7 miles)
• Taco Bell (0.7 miles)
• Coleman's Authentic Irish Pub (1.5 miles)
• McDonald's (1.6 miles)
• Five Guys Burgers & Fries (1.7 miles)

Places of Worship

• Apostolic Church (1 miles)
• St Elias Orthodox Church (1.4 miles)
• Islamic Society of Central New York Mosque (3.7 miles)

Physicians

• Onondaga Hearing Services (1 miles)
• Upstate University Hospital Community Campus (2.5 miles)
• DeRoberts Plastic Surgery (2.5 miles)
• Syracuse Community Health Center Incorporated, Infectious Diseases Department (2.7 miles)
• The Vision Center (2.7 miles)
• Titoff, Victoria Upstate Neurology Clinic (3.1 miles)
• Neurology Infusion Center (3.1 miles)

Parks

• Burnet Park (1.1 miles)
• Clinton Square (2.8 miles)
• Scenic Hills Park (3.5 miles)

Hospitals

• Upstate University Hospital (2.5 miles)
• Upstate Golisano After Hours Care (2.5 miles)
• University Hematology/Oncology (3.2 miles)
• Syracuse VA Medical Center (3.3 miles)
• Crouse Hospital: Human Resources (3.3 miles)
• Suny Upstate Medical University University Hospital (3.3 miles)
• Bio Essex & Humanities (3.3 miles)

Transportation

• Enterprise Rent-A-Car (2.5 miles)
• Centro Transit Hub (2.7 miles)
• Amtrak (3.5 miles)

Cafes

• Cafe Kubal (2.8 miles)
• Original Grain (2.8 miles)

Theaters

• Regal Destiny USA IMAX & RPX (2.9 miles)