By Paul Goldfinger, MD, Editor @Blogfinger
Ordinarily, Blogfinger would not take much of an interest in this story. However, when I went over there to get some photographs, I met a resident of FAM who was strolling about with her walker. She told me how happy she was living at that facility. She could see Fletcher Lake and the Ocean out her window.
The woman said that practically all the residents there loved the facility and she expressed fear that promises made might not be kept by the new owners. In particular she said, “If my money were to run out, they said that we could continue living there and that Medicaid would provide for their continued stay.”
So we decided to continue covering this story because, after all, these residents are Grovers like the rest of us who live in this beautiful historic town. We depend on citizen reporters who are familiar with the FAM to continue providing new information.
It occurs to us that perhaps the new owners of “Allegria at Ocean Grove” might be interested in inviting the community at large to get to know their residents as volunteers and friends.
Eileen and I gave a lecture there a year ago about preventing heart disease, and it was well received, although we had to do a little arm twisting to convince those seniors that prevention was in their best interest, despite their ages. Eileen spoke, as she usually does, about preparing heart healthy meals, but the audience found a bit of irony in that since they don’t cook anymore. But Eileen pointed out that they could share the information with their children and grandchildren who do cook and who might need such advice.
It is the sort of community involvement that we need more of in Ocean Grove, a town in search of its inner community.
We have acquired copies of two letters that were sent to residents to reassure them about the future of FAM. A Blogfinger citizen reporter sent us a file consisting of these two letters which were sent to the residents and their families. If you are interested, just click on the link below.
I only just learned about this through an Ocean Grove facebook page. My mother lived at FAM until her death in November, 2014, so it is not my problem, but I hope that the new owners keep the staff and that the good care continues. I am shocked mainly that the Methodist Homes would do this. They were going to renovate to make apartments for assisted living back in 2008, but it was postponed by the market crash. I do care about the residents and staff of the old FAM.
My mom is currently living in Francis Asbury – now Allegria. I did get a call from the facility and the woman at my moms table told me that her daughter got one too and is attending. I actually met the new owners in the building and was pleasantly surprised at how down to earth and caring they were.
As the responsible party for a resident, I have not been invited to the meet-n-greet. Far too much of this sale has been secretive. There is very little information on LinkedIn or other websites about SHP. No info on what other properties the run, and any reviews of their operations.
More interesting is that long-time Director, Rich Johnston has announced his resignation and move to another retirement community. A lot of us were hoping that Rich would be the glue to hold this transition together.
There will be a meet and greet with new owners on May 18. This is for families and residents, not the general public.
JW Thank you for following this story and sharing. —Paul @Blogfinger
PG: My mother-in-law resides at the former Francis Asbury Manor.
My husband and I visited the facility yesterday to see if we could meet the new owners based on the “invitation” in their letter to stop by and say hello. This was not to be. We were told by a staffer that the owners were meeting upstairs on the fifth floor, and not taking visitors. That’s when we were told about the May 18 open house–with food!
Another tidbit: There is a new chef and food service. Supposedly, the food is good.
This is what I know to date. Is it accurate information? I’m not sure. Communication hasn’t been good with this management transfer. Case in point: We read about the sale on Blogfinger. Other things I learned by reading the facility’s bulletin board
I’ll be over at The Allegria at Ocean Grove later this week, and if there’s any new information in writing (like an open house announcement), I’ll pass it along.
We were told yesterday (May 9) that the new owners will host an open house on May 18.
Editor’s note: JW, you say “We were told…” Who told you that and why do you suppose they are not advertising such an open house?
We haven’t heard anything and we are the largest single media source of OG information. Just yesterday we had 1,900 hits on Blogfinger (mostly about the fire story) but I am confident that most of those visits were from Ocean Grovers, and our census population is about 3,800 to give some idea of our reach. —-PG
Hmm. Interestingly enough the Sage Healthcare Partners site says the company was founded several years ago. It appears as if this will be their first assisted living community (no others are listed). And the site listed in the letter is not yet in existence.