Distinctive Living

The housekeeping was abysmal. I cleaned the room and bathroom when I visited. Some of the aides were positively lovely but there were a few that were cruel and unhelpful. The front desk staff during the day were pleasant and helpful. [name removed] (a nurse) was excellent.

I've found in my dealings with quite a few facilities while dealing with my fathers health issues they all talk (administrative side) a good game but once you sign and are in the facility that same attention is not close to what was advertised. I'm a pretty laid back and a patient guy but anytime we would request anything as important as ants in his room and as little as getting his name plate board outside his door fixed it was like pulling teeth. Staff was hit or miss but I feel that's anywhere, some of the aids were absolutely wonderful while others were not great. They really need to be paid more if any of these facilities want consistent and good help in such a tough and challenging job. Side note, my father was in the memory care unit which turned out to be a fancy term for nursing home. My issue isn't so much with the facility it is the cost and the service not matching the cost in my opinion.

This facility is not reliable currently. It looks great but things are very unorganized and management seems overwhelmed. Numerous staff have shared concerns about the care the residents receive. Communication is poor. If you have a loved one who needs MINIMAL support and oversight this facility could work for you. Otherwise I would look elsewhere.

Everyone was very friendly and helpful! Any lower marks has nothing to do with the staff!

It was the grand piano and the beautiful décor. I thought the assistant living was awesome until we got there, but I honestly, again cannot rate it because we weren't there long enough. Everything changed when we went to memory care from the food they feed these poor seniors and zero consistency with activities, laundry, communication, and safety. I would recommend AL but never memory care.

The residents and facility are nice. And many staff members are lovely but not all. Communication between the administration and families is mediocre at best. Questions are not answered in a timely manner and upper administration doesn’t take responsibility for their lack of attention. On-boarding needs improvement. There is no welcome packet. No explanation of who to contact for different questions/issues. And not at all apologetic about not providing this info. Nursing staff is great. Wellness Nurse is attentive, responsive and warm. He did welcome my family members upon move-in and assessed them. He made my sister and me feel very comfortable leaving them in his care. There seems to be other staffing issues. Since my folks arrived on [date removed], there have been at least three changes to administrative staff. Overall, my folks are safe. My mom enjoys many of the activities and the other residents.

You walk into the building and sometimes greeted by the front desk sometime not. I never see the Executive Director around. The staff aren’t smiling and they seem as though they don’t want to be there. I see [name removed, the jack of all trades everywhere. He is the sweetest and kindest person there. I also always see Shawna running around. This place really has potential but something needs to change.

It presents well with a very friendly and happy and helpful staff. In my opinion, they are understaffed actually it is a fact, One staff member should not be in charge of over 100 assisted-living clients upstairs. That is unsafe. Also, there are lines to the elevator every meal with clients sitting in the hallway for long periods of time. Again due to being understaffed in my opinion for the amount of money that is handed to them, it would be appreciated if they hired more employees. It presents well during the day at meals, but I would suggest going there a few times unannounced. Again, one of the better places in New Jersey, unfortunately but for the price unrealistic, do not have enough staff at hand it is not fair to the client or employee that is overworked or under cared for.

Things were going pretty good until [name removed] fell from his wheelchair. Hospice was called and he was admitted to the Hospice facility. Hospice told me that [name removed] needed a facility with skilled nursing, not assisted living and memory care. So [name removed] went to a snf. I asked for a refund for days remaining and was told no. Said I needed 30 day prior notice. How was this suppose to happen? So I did not get a refund. Very disappointing.

The staff here is lovely and welcoming. However, this wasn’t a great fit for my Dad. He really needed a lot of care with everything: toileting, personal care, eating, etc. They just didn’t have enough staff to provide that much care in a timely manner.

Facility is nice but needs updating. Especially in the dining room area. Staff is very friendly but not real responsive in answering questions. Especially for families who live out of the area. I would recommend this facility only if family is local.

The price was raised by $[name removed] a month in less than a year. The staff though nice and caring are always changing and leaving. The Chelsea was sold to a new company that is taking over next month. I would not recommend to anyone

The staff is friendly however; they are short of help. I feel they should not charge what they are charging if they can't find the help. For example, my loved one should be getting showers 2-3 times a week. Due to short staffing, she may miss a week or only get one that week. It is also difficult to get a hold of workers there. They don't return calls promptly. They also lost some of my loved ones laundry and then put it in her closet. They never told her it was there, so she was looking for it for a week. She seems to like it and made some nice friends there. She also runs a prayer group.

My loved one previously lived at The Chelsea at Clifton. I think that the general staff is very hardworking and that the facility is a clean place that resembles an upscale hotel. They have a great Activities Director who truly does her best to plan fun things with the residents. They also have very good food, from what my loved one said. However, there is room for improvement at this facility. There is a lack of communication between upper management and families.

We toured The Chelsea at Toms River when searching for a place for our loved one. This facility was just okay. However, it didn't seem as clean as some of the other facilities that we toured. They didn't offer many activities. The atmosphere wasn't great, the residents were just kind of hanging out.

I have a bad taste in my mouth because of the management. I have been calling about getting money back and they will not answer or give me a call back - it is very unprofessional of them. They do not know how to treat a customer or honor a contract. They will not answer any questions, we are waiting for a refund and they will not answer us at all, by email of phone. This was the main issue we have had with The Chelsea.

The community really has been unresponsive to the changes of medications for my loved one. My loved one's care needs are not being met by the community. I think the staff are nice; however, for whatever reason it is not working out for my loved one at this community.

I would recommend the community, but I believe the community is unorganized when it comes to staffing throughout the community. I was to be on a call with the community and they have repeatedly been late to the calls with the family about my loved one's care plan. The community does reach out to the family with questions or concerns about our loved one when appropriate. The meals are being served in the dining three times a day.

Everyone seemed to be dull and doing nothing and it was not active. I didn't see happiness in anyone's eyes and sitting there in space. This was just not what I was looking for for my loved one.

Covid distorted a lot of things for us during her short stay here. I would tell others to just do your diligence and make sure you get insight from people who have actually had their loved ones here. I still think it is a good place, its just understanding the whole process. Do not discount the additional services needed while looking because that can really drive the cost significantly.