Chelsea COO Roger Bernier participates in executive roundtable on wellness, NCAL, Las Vegas

Chelsea Resident Celebrates 100th Birthday on New Year's Eve

Zelda Shinderman with grandson Drew and his wife Kelly

(Montville, NJ)— Zelda Shinderman, a resident of The Chelsea at Montville since 2009, celebrated her 100th birthday with friends and family on December 31st, 2013.

Montville Mayor Tim Braden and Deputy Mayor Don Kostka were on hand to present Mrs. Shinderman with a proclamation declaring Zelda Shinderman Day.

Mrs. Shinderman, who was born in Newark, spent all her life in New Jersey, living also in Roselle and Linden. She spent many years working in her husband’s liquor store in Linden.

She was presented with a cake and enjoyed live entertainment and birthday wishes from her many Chelsea friends, her grandson Drew Shinderman and his wife, Kelly.

The Chelsea at Montville is located a 165 Changebridge Road.

Announcing The Chelsea At Forsgate, Assisted Living in Monroe/Jamesburg, NJ

The Chelsea At Forsgate, Monroe Township, NJ

(Monroe Township, NJ)-- Chelsea Senior Living is now the owner/operator of the former Residence at Forsgate assisted living community at 319 Forsgate Drive, Monroe, NJ, 08831. The property is now The Chelsea At Forsgate.

The Chelsea At Forsgate offers assisted living, Alzheimer's/memory care and a respite program. The Chelsea will have a limited number of Medicaid direct admissions available.

Robyn Barnes

The management team of The Chelsea At Forsgate will be led by Robyn Barnes, Executive Director, previously the director of the Alzheimer's/dementia program at The Chelsea At Bridgewater. Other team members include Diana Molimock, Director of Community Relations, Carol Giustino, Director of Health Services, Melissa Demarino, Director of Recreation, James Moody, Food Service Director and Mark Herman, Director of Building Services.

"We are very excited to be able to offer our programs in the Monroe/Jamesburg area," said Mr. Bernier. "Our team will strive to keep the standards at this community very high."

Chelsea Senior Living operates 16 other assisted living communities in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. For more information, visit www.chelseaseniorliving.com.

Thelma Stukes Turns 100 at Chelsea At Bridgewater

Thelma Stukes celebrated her 100th birthday at the Chelsea At Bridgewater, surrounded by friends and staff.

Ms. Stukes was born and raised in Mississippi in 1912, spending her formative years working on her parents' farm in Jackson.

"We didn't know we were poor," she said. "We had everything. We grew all our own crops, cattle, chickens."

At age 19, she moved to Somerville, NJ, to live with her sister and resided there for many years. Along the way, Ms. Stukes was employed as a lab technician and a home health aide.

She also traveled around the world. "Australia and New Zealand were very memorable," she said.

Ms. Stukes has outlived her five siblings and is comfortable at the Chelsea. She credits her longevity to working hard on her family's farm in her youth and remaining active throughout her life.

Chelsea Becomes Donation Center for Storm Survivors

Volunteers deliver a sofa to the Chelsea

Local residents can use the clothing

   The Chelsea At Toms River, 1657 Silverton Road, has become a donation center for everything from clothing to furniture for local residents who lost possessions during Hurricane Sandy. 

   At least three Chelsea staffers were displaced during the storm and actually moved into the residence themselves with their families. Among them was Nathan Williams, the Chelsea's Building Services Director. 

   "The National Guard had to evacuate my family," said Williams, who spent the night at the Chelsea when the storm hit. "My wife, three daughters and my dog used a ladder to climb aboard a boat because the house was surrounded by 4 feet of water."
   Williams' family moved into the Chelsea until their power returned and the water receded, a process that took more than two weeks.
   "Our company has been very supportive," said Helen Willis, Executive Director of the Chelsea.
   Willis said they first began collecting goods for their staffers, but it became much bigger. Volunteers from another senior community, Lake Ridge, began showing up in numbers with all kinds of donations including furniture, mattresses, clothing, toys and televisions. Volunteers and Chelsea staffers organized the goods into categories, the clothing into sizes, and opened their basement to the local community so storm survivors could pick and choose things to help them get by.
   "We publicized it on Facebook and local radio stations," said Amanda Black, Community Relations Director of the Chelsea. "It just took off from there."

Chelseas Battle Hurricane Sandy, Personal Losses Among Employees

Missing siding at Bald Eagle

Manalapan's door blown off

  The worst weather disaster in decades slammed into the Northeast on October 29th, bringing hurricane force winds and devastating damage to New Jersey and New York.
   Chelsea Senior Living communities got through Hurricane Sandy with no injuries and relatively minor structural damage to buildings.
    But a number of employees suffered heavy personal losses including several whose homes became unlivable or were lost altogether.
   The Chelsea At Toms River appeared to be the hardest hit community with at least four employees who were temporarily housed in the residence because their homes were lost or heavily damaged.
   “We’re in this for the long term,” said Helen Willis, Executive Director of the Chelsea At Toms River. “We will open our doors to our staff as long as they need it and we are collecting furniture and other items for when they do find new places to live.”
   At least three other employees at three other buildings lost all or almost all of their possessions due to flooding or wind damage.
   Chelsea Senior Living is establishing an employee relief fund to help those who need it the most.
   “It is nearly impossible to put into words the gratitude we feel for all those employees who tirelessly gave of themselves to care for our residents,” said a statement issued by Chelsea Senior Living . “We are truly in awe of the selflessness, sacrifice, hard work and dedication that each of you showed during the disaster.”
   The fund was launched with $25,000 in donations from CEO Herb Heflich, Roger Bernier, President and COO, Deena Schaffer, Vice President and CFO and Healthcare REIT. Details on how to apply for assistance are being worked out now.
   There are many stories of employees working long hours and spending nights at the various residences to help our seniors with meals, medications and their general well being. Across the board, the level of caring by Chelsea employees was immeasurable.
   “It was truly a team effort and we are honored to work with each and every one of you,” said the statement.
   The hard work and dedication was not lost on the residents.
   “They worked diligently to meet our needs from the moment the emergency arose until they were certain that our safety and comfort was achieved,” said one resident in a letter to the administration of the Chelsea At Manalapan, “and it was done in a pleasant manner.”

Resident's Massage Therapy Attracts Customers In Need of Special Healing

(West Milford, NJ)-- When Mary Bennett moved to the Chelsea at Bald Eagle Senior Apartments in March, she brought decades of experience as a massage therapist with her. Instead of ending a rewarding career of helping clients, she set up shop in a small room right at the Chelsea.

"They said I'd need insurance and I told them, ‘of course I have insurance; I'm in business,’" she recalled.

Indeed, Mrs. Bennett, a Nationally Certified Massage Therapist, has a complete selection of brochures, business cards and a studio equipped with a massage table and soothing music. Her specialty is cranio-sacral therapy, a type of light-touch massage said by its devotees to relieve tension and reduce pain by promoting the flow of fluid between the head and the base of the spine, called the sacrum. The path of that fluid flow, say practitioners, affects every part of the body. Therapists use a series of light finger touches, often applying soft circles to specific areas of the body.

"The body tells my hands what to do," says Mrs. Bennett as she applied gentle pressure behind the neck of a familiar client, her husband Bill. "The body actually pushes my hands away as the tissue suddenly goes soft." She added this is one of seven types of "releases" facilitated by cranio-sacral therapy.

Mrs. Bennett has at least one off-site client who she sees in Newton, NJ, but her main base is at the Chelsea. Her husband credits his wife's healing touch with allowing a calcium deposit that was causing him leg pain following a service-related injury to dissolve and disappear.

While cranio-sacral therapy is not considered a mainstream form of treatment by the medical community, Mrs. Bennett says she has had plenty of satisfied customers over the years.

"They say 'You have good hands'," she said.

Husband Bill smiles and nods lightly as she applies gentle pressure to the base of his neck as soft music fills the room.