Distinctive Living

Finding Mira Vie was made easier because A Place For Mom connected us. Touring and interviewing was also smooth. Signing the paperwork and moving in were not pleasant or smooth experiences. The director was cold and somewhat passive aggressive. There was no welcome packet or documentation to tell us and our mom the names, titles and contact info of staff. In the year my mom has lived there the staff turnover has been constant. It was a blessing when the nasty director left. It was months before she was replaced by someone permanent. He was great but has since left. There is yet another interim director. It was sad and shocking when the head nurse was suddenly gone. EVERYONE loved him! He was FABULOUS at his job! After a bit of time he was replaced by another very good nurse. Surprise: she is also no longer on staff. Another interim person is there. Communication is HORRIBLE. They either don't share info or fill us in after a bit of time. We have learned how the system works and accept it for what it is. My mom is really happy. She enjoys the activities and has made lovely friends. There are staff members who really care, enjoy their jobs and truly make a difference. We value them. Overall, my mom is safe and enjoys life there. So my sister and I are happy and comfortable with our choice.

I would rate it a 3. Food was OK. Staff was under staff. They forced fed people and they didn't like it. The dining area always had spilled drinks and was sticky all the time it would be nice if they would mop after every meal. Because people with dementia spill. It happens. It takes two seconds to mop up the floor. Their activities were actually really good. They try to get residence involved all the time. They had a lot of activities and music. A lot of the staff, especially the activity staff were great. But most of the employees there did not speak good English, and cannot communicate with the residence or myself. That was very frustrating. Residence are already confused, so not understanding what people are saying to them is not OK. My mom has been in other places before, this place was better. I don't think there's any place that's actually really really good. I had to get my mom's teeth pulled, and I told five staff members not to give her food or drinks the night before or the day before and they did not listen and gave her food and drinks. I had to reschedule her appointment because they did not listen to what I had asked. Again, I think the best part of their place was all the activities they offered.

The biggest thing they could improve on is hiring more aides that speak English and have more compassion. There is a very large communication gap which is frustrating to older adults.

The Director had dementia. he food quality went signicantly downhill when the Mira Vie took over from the [community removed]. They are understaffed with 1 Registered Nurse. I had to call an ambulance myself because the unfamiliar staff that takes blood pressure are incompetent. Activities were very good. The fact that they use IPPC pharmacy was a major hassle. My loved one was consistently deprived of adequate hydration that landed her hospital on more than one occasion. I didn't eat there my loved one did so I can't say specifics; the quality and volume of food was significantly reduced. They ran out of chicken noodle soup the one time I did dine there. I relocated my loved one to another facility in Paramus in February of this year.

This building is welcoming, light and airy, and conveniently located with a “being in the country” feel. There are some real bright spots regarding staff and resident services. The nurses are knowledgeable and responsive. The common areas and resident rooms are clean and well maintained, laundry is done with care, and the dining department is helpful with changes in dietary needs. The aides are generally helpful, but often seen congregating in the medical office. Our family has concerns with administrative staffing. In just over 2 years, there have been 3 nursing directors, 3 directors in sales/community outreach, and 4 activity directors. These employees left abruptly with little/no communication with family. There has been no dedicated receptionist for almost 6 months. The front desk is often vacant with a bell on the counter for “service.” Residents and their families build relationships with employees. It’s concerning to have this frequency/manner of turnover.

These answers are based on experience in November 2024, before my mother's stroke. When she first arrived in May of 2024, prior to the changes that evolved after Mira Vie took over. [community name removed] run facility was much better, and most of the best staff members left. While they certainly slipped in Quality they are not horrible.

They just got rid of the director. Going through a transition. As long as not much care is needed, it is ok. Some of the staff are really caring, but is hard for them to get good med techs. A number of residents have left.

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.