Voorhees Senior Living

Lois

We liked Voorhes Senior Living because it was affordable, which was the primary driving factor. They offered varied levels of care. The biggest reason was, in New Jersey, Medicaid will pick up the tab if you run out of money, so the spenddown for Voorhees Senior Living was two years. In other words, my mom had to pay privately for two years. She had enough money for two years, so six months before she runs out of money, we would file an application with Medicaid and she would stay in that room. Ideally, she would have lived out her life in that community and in that room regardless of the level of care that she needed. The place was beautiful and it's been just renovated. Everything was new. It's absolutely gorgeous. The food was good. We had lunch there. It was very clean. The staff was very friendly. My mom never actually moved in physically, but I'd give them a five-star because they were so accommodating. She had gone into the hospital and we signed all the contracts and I said, "I don't want to lose the apartment. When do you want me to pay?" The staff said, "Just wait. Let's see how things go and when she moves in, then you pay." She said in the past they would have people pay and then something happened where they never actually moved in and it takes corporate 90 days to refund the money. They were just very thoughtful about everything and very easy to work with, very helpful, very knowledgeable, and provided us a bunch of information related to Medicaid and resources that we could use when it would come time for us to apply for Medicaid on behalf of my mom. My mom didn't like the chicken noodle soup, which I didn't try, but the spaghetti and the jambalaya were good. The place was beautiful. It had new carpets, new furniture, and new paint. The colors were gorgeous. It was the only community we ever went to because it ticked all the boxes. We were happy with it.

Provider Response

Tom T

My mother who was born in 1920 and my brother who has serious medical issues have been residents of VSL for several years. I have to give a shout out to Stephanie the Marketing Director who is now wearing multiple hats including helping families of residents ZOOM connect with her personal iPad. Alexandra and Sheree have been helpful with nursing issues. Angela has the challenging job of conducting this disparate orchestra of providers to keep the residents, staff and private duty healthcare workers functioning as safely as possible. And Jennifer at the entry has been resolute in her difficult job at the front line of screening and directing traffic. I can't imagine how hard it is for the staff who are providing meals and cleaning despite having to juggle personal responsibilities with their own families. We are grateful. As difficult as these times are, there is comfort in seeing that the incidence of COVID-19 outbreaks at VSL as reported by the NJ Long Term Care Facilities to the Communicable Disease Service of the NJ Department of Health is lower than at other ALFs (Assisted Living Facilities). We pray that we can all get through these difficult times and hope that a vaccine, testing capabilities and effective treatment proceed expeditiously so that we will be able to get back with regular visits with our loved ones. I worry about my mother and brother all the time and place my trust in VSL to help them and us get through these difficult times.

Larry

My mother moved to Voorhees Senior Living, which is in a much smaller place than the other community we visited. The rooms were much closer to the dining room and other common areas. We ended up taking a unit that's on the first floor, so my mother is near the common areas like the lobby, nurses's station, dining room, and the common room for activities. The size and scale of the place is very attractive, and physically, the place is very nice and the atmosphere very pleasant. The people were very pleasant and the cost is much cheaper than the other place we saw. We had lunch there and it was very good.

Jackie140224

Vorhees was very nice and had apartments. The living room was a little small, but I liked that it had a full kitchen and a shower. We were looking at a two-bedroom apartment. We were there around lunch time, and the food smelled good. The people were sitting around and said hello as we went in. The staff seemed very pleasant and explained things to us.

My observations

My mom has been living at Voorhees Senior Living for a while and I visit often. My experience has been that her room is kept clean. The floors are always vacuumed and mopped. The carpeted portion is shampooed on a regular basis. I have never seen her trash cans overflowing. The staff who work with the residents on a daily basis seem to interact with the residents in a very positive way and are always very nice. As other reviews have noted, the front desk staff - very welcoming and helpful; the driver, Guy, is very sweet - your loved ones are in good hands when on the road with Guy; Michele, the activities director, does an awesome job. Any concerns I have had have always been addressed. I would recommend this place.

satisfied for now

Nice looking facility, wooded setting with large pond in front receives positive comments from people whether they live there or not. Building is well lit inside, nice dining area, decent size rooms, most with nice view out of windows. Food has been a problem, mostly lack of consistency, some days it's good, then other days not so good. I believe management has tried to address this problem. Nursing is bit of a problem. Some of the nurses are excellent and caring who will do extra for the residents, others display lack of interest and just do the basics. Nursing dept. is not run as well as it could be and I have been told by someone who is in the know on such matters, is not in full compliance with N.J. regulations. Housekeeping is an issue, not very good. My relatives room is very dirty, with very little real cleaning done, despite what is said in rental agreement. Toilet and sink are usually cleaned daily, but not always. Center of bathroom and kitchen floor get mopped, again usually daily. Center of carpet gets vacuumed, sometimes. There seems to be no real cleaning of the unit, even on a weekly basis. Room trash cans sometimes spill over onto floor from not being emptied. The relatives family will have to help clean the room, so bring your own mop, bucket, vacuum, and duster. On the more positive side, management is hard working and seems to be dedicated. They will listen to and address your concerns in a timely manor, just not all of them. Some matters are just not dealt with, and I have no idea why given their normal concerned response. Ladies who work the front lobby desk are excellent and kind, and will deal with a question or request quickly. Bus service is good, Guy, the bus driver, is excellent. The activities director is a very nice, caring young lady who does a very good job with the many activities for the residents and functions on some weekends where residents families are invited to the facility. The activities dept. is perhaps the strong point in the facility, with few know complaints. Many of the aids who help take care of the residents are very caring people who do a good job. My relative says that they depend on them for many things and appreciates the work they do. They have a difficult, demanding job which I believe that they, like the housekeepers, do for low pay. The cost of staying at this facility at it's current rates is reasonable given some of the problems. If you are considering moving to one of these facilities its important to keep your expectations realistic. These are for profit corporations and your relative is one of many people staying there. They are staffed by people who have no personal connection to your relative and likely don't make much money for such a demanding job. If one of these facilities meets your basic standards for decent care, consider it an acceptable place. Acceptable may be as good as it gets, as even moving to another place that will have a hard time meeting the claims set forth in the glossy brochure, probably won't be the answer. I give Voorhees Senior Living an above average satisfactory rating based on the fact that many people who work there in all the depts. try very hard. All businesses have many employees who work, very hard, and some not so much. Even with the noted problems, give this facility serious consideration, problems can always be dealt with if you complain enough, and the setting is very nice looking.

Provider Response