Arbor Terrace Mountainside

Reviews

Cleanliness

Care services

Staff

Meals & dining

Activities

Value for cost

My mother-in-law had been living independently, but in summer 2020, it became clear that she needed memory care in addition to assistance with meal preparation, bathing, laundry, and cleaning. My husband and I were very worried about her and about her transition to assisted living. The staff at Arbor Terrace Mountainside (ATM) allayed our concerns with their combination of hyper-competence, helpfulness, and personal warmth. The physical space was relatively recently built so the common space looks like a nice hotel lobby with a gas fireplace and good lighting fixtures. My mother-in-law's room is also well laid out with a large, accessible bathroom, good closet space, and two windows that look out onto a courtyard patio. My mother-in-law has already received her first dose of a coronavirus vaccine and will be receiving her second dose soon. I feel like she is getting much better, more regular medical attention at ATM, than she was receiving when living independently. The ATM staff really held our hands to help us navigate the moving in process during a pandemic. They responded quickly and thoroughly to our many, many questions, and really went the extra mile to help my mother-in-law feel welcome. I think they fully deserve this five star review.

My son chose Arbor Terrace Mountainside because he thought the facility was nicer and closer to my home than other places. The room sizes are small, but it is just enough for what I need. they also have other options on room sizes. The food has gone downhill due to the virus. The red meat has been cut down. I would recommend this facility.

Before COVID, I would see my Mom two or three times a week. The staff is always friendly and helpful. They always take excellent care of my Mom. If there are any changes in my Mom’s status the staff always calls. The staff is there for my Mom during her most difficult times. The transition from independence to needing help is not easy. Many seniors are confused. I know my Mom is kept safe and is well cared for at Arbor Terrace at Mountainside. I do not regret moving my Mom into Arbor Terrace at Mountainside. I am especially grateful that staff was fully committed in preventing a COVID spread.

I am extremely pleased with this community. My parents are in Bridges and they are safe, well-cared for, comfortable and given their meds at the correct times. The staff is wonderful, no matter what shift. I cannot imagine what their life would have been like during this current health crisis if they were elsewhere; there are no horror stories to tell here. There have been ZERO cases of covid-19 in this community due to the excellent care plan that was in place early on. Even though direct visitation is not possible yet, there has been great communication. There were weekly emails from corporate headquarters supplemented by bi-weekly Zoom meetings with the the executive director of the community. Weekly communication via Zoom has enabled our family to keep in touch with my parents throughout. We have gotten to know many of the staff by name and vice-versa. It is a warm and inviting place and I can't wait until I can visit again in person—not only to see my parents in person, but to thank all of their many caring caregivers.

Shortly after Arbor Terrace opened in Mountainside NJ in 2018, my mother moved there from another assisted living facility. Mom moved because Arbor was more affordable, given her particular needs. We were very happy with Mom’s previous residence, but Arbor has been a step up in every way. (1) Unlike other assisted living facilities, Arbor Terrace has THREE communities: Assisted Living (independent), BRIDGES (mild dementia), and Evergreen (advanced dementia). My mom is in Bridges, which is perfect for her. While she is free to socialize, eat, and share activities with the Assisted Living residents, things are arranged so that it’s often more CONVENIENT to hang out with the Bridges gang. This promotes friendships among the Bridges folk. AND it makes it easy for the staff to give them extra attention. It’s brilliant. (2) It’s been my experience that everyone working at Arbor Terrace Mountainside genuinely cares about the residents. I mean EVERYBODY. They demonstrate extraordinary alertness, energy, dedication, caring, and compassion. During the Covid-19 crisis, they worked some serious magic to keep all the residents healthy. It definitely feels like the Arbor staff and my family are all on the same team, working hard to take the best possible care of my mom. (3) Nursing director [name removed] and visiting physician [name removed] are excellent. (4) The food at Arbor Terrace is very good. I’d be happy to eat there myself everyday. (5) Funmeister [name removed] and his crew are inspired! The engagement activities are many and varied. Mom loves the fact that they show a great movie every night. (6) The building is gorgeous, new, and well-maintained. I particularly love the Bistro area of the lobby – Mom and I hang out there, playing Scrabble, snacking, and interacting with the passersby. The coffee and snacks are freshly made. (I come for my mom, but I stay for the muffins.) (7) The management never coasts; they are constantly making changes to improve things. They hold quarterly meetings to solicit input from families and keep them informed. (These became biweekly Zoom meetings during the Covid-19 crisis.) The executive director [name removed] is very approachable.

My mother has been living at Arbor Terrace Mountainside for 18 months. We are more than happy with everything about their facility. Mom has Alzheimer's and needs more care that the independent living offered on the first floor, but is not ready for the memory care unit on the third floor. Bridges, on the second floor, is a perfect level of care for her and those she shares the floor with. Arbor provides engaging activities. Mom is out of her room socializing, watching movies in the beautiful theater room, and doing fun stuff until close to bedtime every night. She has thrived at Arbor! The staff is warm, caring and competent. The facility is new and beautiful, and the food is very good. Arbor has done a remarkable job keeping residents and staff safe during the pandemic. Of the 29 senior long term care facilities in the county, Arbor is one of two which have had zero Covid-19 deaths. [Name removed], the president, has sent the families several long, detailed emails and phone calls keeping us abreast of virus concerns. The Activities director sends us weekly videos to keep us up on everything the staff has been doing to keep residents as happy and healthy as possible while they have been staying in their rooms during the pandemic. The staff been amazing. We are so happy we found Arbor.

My family (parents, myself and siblings) could not be more pleased with the quality of service and high standard of care provided to my Mom and Dad living at Arbor Terrace in Mountainside, NJ. From the very first time we visited the facility, we were greeted in a friendly way and provided with whatever information we requested. As residents, my parents have been taken care of by the staff with sincere affection and high professionalism. It is truly a home environment. My mother has needed special assistance and this has been given to her by staff with smiles and always a positive attitude. Arbor Terrace Mountainside is a sunny, clean and attractive facility and I consider my parents lucky to be able to live there.

My 90 year old mother with Dementia has been living at Arbor Terrace since it first opened in 2018. I would completely recommend to others to have their parent live in this beautiful, safe, warm, and engaging place. While no assisted living facility is able to take care of our mom 100% the way we would like them to, Arbor Terrace in Mountainside New Jersey comes really close. The whole team works tirelessly to care for our mom. From the doctors, nurses, care and activity providers to the kitchen, building and office teams they make our mom as comfortable as possible; she receives the attention she needs. When we have an issue, we bring it to Arbor Terrace’s attention and it gets resolved to our satisfaction. We are grateful to the Arbor Terrace’s teams for taking care of our mom during the Covid-19 pandemic and during this season of her life. Since we are unable to see our mom (and grandmother and great grandmother) during this time, the staff have helped us organize a Zoom call with her every Sunday. She is not capable of doing this herself of course, so the nurses set up the Zoom for her where she is able to see 15 of her family members at once. For us to get to spend time with her like this means everything in the world to our family, and for them to accommodate this specific request, we will be forever grateful! This is a simple example of the care and support that Arbor Terrace Mountainside lives to their residents.

Arbor Terrace in Mountainside, NJ, has provided a wonderful and safe home for my parents for almost a year. The staff — led by [name removed] and including [name removed] - are caring professionals that have kept us updated on guidance during this COVID-19 period and have held frequent Zoom calls to answer our questions. We truly believe Arbor Terrance has been the perfect place for them during the pandemic. I know a majority of family members on those calls feel the same way about Arbor Terrace. It truly is a wonderful place. Even before the pandemic, we felt Arbor Terrace was the best place for our parents.

For the past year, my parents have lived in the Bridges level of care at Arbor Terrace Mountainside. This is designed for memory impaired clients. They each have a personalized care plan. Their physical needs are met, their medicines are given, and their apartment and laundry are cleaned. This entire situation has provided me with great satisfaction and peace of mind for their safety, and health. Once COVID19 hit, I have been even more grateful. The proactive steps taken by the staff at AT have resulted in ZERO positive results in their residents. This is quite an impressive statement to make, in comparison to many other nursing facilities in NJ. They proceeded in a logical way, first by restricting outside contacts, then socially distancing the residents for meals and social events, testing them weekly as prescribed by NJ, contracting with therapists who only service AT Mountainside, communicating regularly with family members as to the status of events at AT, and testing their employees on a regular basis. The staff has worked extremely hard to keep the residents safe. Their outstanding record should speak for itself. I am very appreciative of their effective proactive decisions.

My mom and dad have been residents in Bridges for a little over a year. While my mom was highly resistant to relocating ANYWHERE when my sisters and I first moved them, it was the best decision we could have made for their safety, security and overall well-being. The facility at AT-Mountainside is top notch and I have no complaints; having read through other comments, I am hard-pressed to understand the complaints. My parents have been so well-taken care of and tended to by kind and loving staff members. They always are clean, have clean clothing, their apartment is always neat and clean, their meds are administered in proper doses at the right time. Everything I have ever asked of the staff has been done with kindness and graciousness. I have visited at all hours (pre-pandemic) unannounced and have always found staff to be attentive. Lest this sound too pollyannaish, it is worth remembering that in life there is always going to be someone who may cut a few corners and not be on top of their game. However, they are the exception; not the rule. My mom can be tough, but all I ever hear from [names removed] is how sweet she is. I have dined at AT, and I think that [name removed] and staff do a great job; the meals look inviting, smell and taste delicious. It is so important to note that with all the horror stories about assisted living facilities in the age of the coronavirus, Arbor Terrace Mountainside had NOT ONE CASE!!! I wish I could visit in person, but the safety of the residents is paramount; the staff have gone above and beyond in trying to keep us connected while keeping everyone safe. We have weekly Zoom meetings with Mom and Dad; [name removed] set up a special meeting for Mom's 90th and even recorded a short video from the apt. while she lit candles on the cake for her. We had a special meeting for Mother's Day and an upcoming one for Father's Day. I am so thankful for the staff at Arbor Terrace and I appreciate everything that you do.

My aunt is in Evergreen and doing very well! She seems to stay very active (as much as she can be), and the staff is always engaged and smiling when I visit. Both of the nurses we met with regarding her care were lovely and really seem to have my aunt's best interest at heart. Arbor is an amazing property, aesthetically. I would definitely recommend to anyone with a loved one who needs a little (or a lot) of help in the aging process.

I would give no stars. My mother lived here for just over a year. They have 2 aids and a nurse for the entire floor. I witnessed many incidents of residents being neglected, particularly after dinner until bedtime when there were few or no family members to see what went on. The 2 aids would be sitting away from the residents ignoring them even when the residents requested assistance. My mother had a UTI, was dizzy as a result and fell and was taken to the ER and was fine. Rather than watching her after she returned, they left her alone and less than 24 hours later, she fell again, this time, broken hip, surgery and over a month in rehab. They only bathe them 2 x per week resulting in frequent UTIs. The food is inedible and cold as they bring it up from the first floor and it sits. They have minimal activities so my mother would fall asleep during the day then they would give her sleep medication that she would not have needed but for them allowing her to sleep during the day. We had frequent conversations with the director [name removed] to address all the problems and she was rude and dismissive. The facility is new and beautiful looking but don’t let that fool you, the care is terrible and unsafe. For the prices they are charging you can get better care elsewhere. We have switched to one on one full time home care at an equivalent price.

If I could I would give this facility zero stars. My father was a resident at Arbor Terrace for 5 months. When they accepted him into their community and performed their initial evaluation they know he was a diabetic on a sliding scale. They assured us they could take care of him. We even paid an extra $300 a month for diabetic management. The first thing they did wrong was keep him in the memory unit , even though cognitively he did not need to be there. Their explanation was "He needs more eyes on him for medical reasons". They should have told us that upfront. My father was lonely and depressed in the memory unit because he was with residents who were in the later stages of dementia and were unable to hold a conversation. He had no one to socialize with. When my father went to the hospital, and a short term rehabilitation facility for 3 weeks they left me a voicemail stating that they would not accept him back because he was not "medically appropriate " due to his diabetes. They told us 3 days before he was set to be discharged from the rehabilitation center. Arbor Terrace was my father's home. We sold his house to pay for his housing there. He had no where to go, and they didn't care. I asked if he could at least stay 2 more weeks. They told me no. They didn't even offer to help find an alternative facility. Again, they knew he had diabetes and was on a sliding scale for insulin when they accepted him as a resident. We also paid a $300 diabetic management fee. They never mentioned to us that he may not be medically appropriate until he was out of the building and did so with only 3 days notice. [Name removed], a nurse and director of their memory care unit is rude and unprofessional. She did not agree with my father's doctor's orders and refused to work with him and his office staff (even though he is a doctor and she is only a nurse). She told me she would not call and speak to the nurse in his doctor's office because she did not like her. It was her professional responsibility to speak with her to coordinate care and she refused. I did not have much interaction with [name removed], the executive director, but when I made her aware of what [name removed] lack of professionalism she didn't seem to care. Don't be fooled by the beautiful physical appearance of the property. While most of the med techs are very nice and take good care of the residents, the directors and leaders are unprofessional. This is a new facility and they clearly still have some "kinks" they need to work out. If they claim to have a diabetic management plan they need to know how to manage residents with diabetes or not accept them into their community.

Very nice facility. The two-bedroom units are amazing. But, a one bedroom is much smaller in every respect and disappointing by comparison.