Many of us have visited Castle owner Robert Castelli for our orthotic and prosthetic
needs. Robert is the son of Dr. Robert Castelli Sr., who has been practicing podiatry in Woodhaven since 1989, and Kim Castelli, who has lived in Woodhaven since 1978. Castle has been around since 2005 and is not to be confused as being part of Dr. Castelli’s practice.
Mr. Castelli is a certified orthotist and prosthetist. You may be wondering what an orthotist and prosthetist are—an orthotist is a clinician who designs and fabricates medical supportive devices for the body, such as knee, back, neck and wrist braces. A prosthetist is a trained healthcare professional who designs and fabricates prosthetics. A prosthesis is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part. Robert customizes each device to fit his patients' needs. No brace or prosthesis is the same.
To become an orthotist and prosthetist, Robert attended Stony Brook University and then received certification at Hartford University in Connecticut. Afterwards he completed an 18-month accelerated dual-discipline residency.
Castle’s main customer base consists of diabetic patients, seniors and children. Diabetic
patients often have problems with their feet and require special footwear, or, in some unfortunate cases, their foot problems have lead to amputations, which subsequently means they need a prosthesis.
Castle is an advanced office, utilizing new technology, such as its structure scanner, which takes a 3D scan of the patient and generates precision dimensions of a patient's body. This process speeds up the casting and fabrication procedures as the entire scan can be finished in only a few minutes, compared to the older fiberglass and plaster casting method, which is significantly longer and messier.
Robert’s favorite patients are kids; he recalls a little girl with an ankle-foot orthosis (AFO) who asked for a cute, kid-approved, patterned brace. Rob was able to do a transfer pattern on her brace of cats with glasses. The little girl liked it so much, she named one of the cats after him!
Robert shares an office space with his mom, Kim, who does mastectomy fittings for breast cancer patients. They both stay up-to-date with their dynamic fields by attending regular continuing education (CE) seminars and national association meetings, such a recent one in Atlantic City.
Kim grew up in Woodhaven and has a deep-rooted history in the area. Her father owned a candy store in neighboring Cypress Hills and her mother and aunt worked at the old Haven Theater that use to exist on Jamaica avenue, before 1980.
Kim and Rob describe Castle’s business as doing well, their only issue--dealing with lengthy insurance time frames to approve devices for patients, which can slow down the process of obtaining a prosthetic or orthotic.
When he is not occupied attending to orthotic/prosthetic patients, Robert is playing with his new son, Luke, out in Long Island, where he resides with his family.
Though they no longer live in Woodhaven, the Castellis are still active members of the community, supporting events such as the Woodhaven Development Corporation’s annual street fair.
Robert is genuinely passionate about his work and is resolute in aiding people with their orthotic/prosthetic necessities. If need be, do not hesitate to contact him at Castle!
Castle 86-20 Jamaica Avenue Woodhaven, NY 11421 Office: 718.441.5621