Patient & Visitor Guide

Preventive Medicine & Rehabilitation Institute

Christiana Care's Eugene du Pont Preventive Medicine & Rehabilitation Institute at Pelleport offers a range of programs designed to promote health, prevent disease and minimize disability. The services offered at this facility include:

History of the Eugene du Pont Preventive Medicine & Rehabilitation Institute at Pelleport

Christiana Care's Eugene du Pont Preventive Medicine & Rehabilitation Institute is headquartered in Greenville, Del., on the grounds of what was once a majestic estate of the du Pont family.

In the late 1800s, William du Pont built a 25-room Victorian mansion on the estate that he named Pelleport, after one of his family's ancestral homes in France. The du Pont family occupied the estate for many years, but by 1951 it had been vacant and deteriorating for a quarter century. It was then that Eugene du Pont Jr. and his fellow heirs deeded the 10-acre estate to the Wilmington Memorial Hospital in memory of his parents. The dilapidated house was demolished, and the 60-bed Eugene du Pont Memorial Convalescent Hospital was erected in its place.

The new hospital, opened in 1955, was the first of its kind in Delaware to offer long-term care and treatment for patients with polio, brain and spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis, arthritis and limb amputations. In 1957, the hospital officially became a rehabilitation center for the physically disabled and continued to provide both inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation services for the next 34 years.

Deterioration over time forced the closure of Pelleport, but the commitment to provide rehabilitative health care remained. In July 1994, the Pelleport property and more than $15 million dollars were approved for use by Christiana Care to provide a full range of community-based preventive-medicine services. During the renovations that followed, the character and style of the old hospital were carefully preserved, with its handmade brick exterior, slate tile roof, oak-paneled library and selected, original antique furnishings. The stacked-granite carriage house that stands behind the main building today is part of the original du Pont estate.

Today, the modern, 47,700-square-foot facility includes a 100-seat conference room and a medical and health-information reading room. Visitors to the Eugene du Pont Preventive Medicine & Rehabilitation Institute can see historic photos on display that show the facade, entrance hall and drawing room of the original Pelleport mansion.

Eugene du Pont Preventive Medicine & Rehabilitation Institute
3506 Kennett Pike, Wilmington, DE 19807 directions
302-661-3000