Waterview Center in Cedar Grove, NJ

Pros

• The Waterview staff are attentive and caring.
• The administrator is very helpful and promptly addresses questions.
• Some staff members are wonderful.
• The staff are very helpful, kind, and supportive.
• The therapy department is outstanding.
• The transition to memory care was warm and accepting, easing the adjustment.
• The staff are truly outstanding and treat patients with dignity.
• They handled the COVID situation well compared to other nursing homes.

Cons

• The food quality and its nutritional value are appalling.
• New ownership has led to continual corner-cutting in food, staffing, and supplies.
• The staff are overworked, underpaid, and miserable.
• The dementia unit is overcrowded and dirty, with residents sitting in crowded rooms.
• Rooms are cramped and below industry standards, with floors dull and cleanliness lacking.
• The food is not only unappetizing but also offered in small portions with little protein.
• There is a complete lack of communication between dietitians and patients, and between staff and families.
• Call buttons take forever to get a response, leaving residents waiting.
• Administration is criticized for neglecting dementia care and ignoring safety concerns.

Review

Waterview Center in Cedar Grove is best suited for families prioritizing rehabilitation potential and selectively warm, attentive staff in a setting that feels inviting. The facility presents well on the surface, with pleasant common spaces, outdoor areas, and a layout that supports a quieter, studio-like room for residents who want privacy. The strongest case sits with short-term rehab or dementia-care episodes where therapy teams and certain aides deliver meaningful engagement and steady progress. In late-stage needs or for families seeking flawless consistency across all shifts, however, Waterview Center often falls short.

Alternatives should be strongly considered for those who must have uniform quality in all areas, especially around food, cleanliness, and staffing. Multiple reviews flag persistent problems: food that is unappealing or insufficient in protein, meals that feel generic, and portions that leave families worried about nutrition. Cleanliness and upkeep are recurring concerns, including reports of odors, dirty rooms, and aging infrastructure that has not consistently met expectations. If predictable, reliable call-bell response, rapid issue-resolution, and a consistently high standard of daily living are non-negotiables, this community warrants a careful compare-and-contrast with other local options.

The core pros, genuine, caring care in several units and a therapy-focused environment, do carry weight, but they are unevenly distributed. On the rehab side, therapists and nursing staff in some instances are praised for hands-on attention, early mobilization, and visible effort to support walkers and re-learned ADLs. In memory care, seasoned aides and nurses can be outstanding, offering warmth, dignity, and a respectful approach that gives families peace of mind. The facility’s exterior and common spaces can be appealing, and some families report meaningful social and therapeutic activity when schedules align with their loved one’s interests. These positives can offset some days of subpar service, but only to a point.

Yet the negative experiences are loud and persistent enough to reshape risk assessment. Staffing ratios are repeatedly described as insufficient, leaving aides overwhelmed and residents waiting long times for assistance. This translates into call-bell delays, intermittent attention, and a sense that caregivers are stretched too thin to sustain individualized care. Food quality and menu variety are consistently cited as weak, with some families noting small portions and limited protein, a hard hurdle for long-term residents who require steady nutrition. Cleanliness issues, outdated rooms, and room-sharing arrangements that feel cramped further undermine the perceived value, particularly for families paying premium rates for long-term care. The pattern here is not a single bad week but a recurring theme that colors every visit and every transfer.

For dementia- or memory-care placement, Waterview can deliver meaningful moments when a stable team is present, yet administration and scheduling gaps undermine even the best staff. Several families commend the memory-care team for kindness and personal attention, but point to day-room crowding, inconsistent activity offerings, and supply shortfalls that hamper overall quality. In short, Waterview’s compassionate care is real and appreciated, but it is not reliably scalable across every shift, every unit, or every day. Pros at the bedside do not always translate into a consistently safe, clean, and nutritionally satisfying environment for every resident.

Practical takeaway for families: plan a two-step due diligence. First, tour the rehab and memory-care units separately, noting staffing patterns during peak hours and requesting the administrator or director of nursing to discuss staffing ratios, meal programs, and cleaning protocols in detail. Second, ask for concrete examples of problem resolution, maintenance of rooms, and medication-management practices, including how concerns are tracked and communicated to families. If these conversations reveal uniform strengths across shifts, Waterview offers a viable, hopeful option. If they reveal ongoing gaps in nutrition, cleanliness, or staffing, alternatives should be pursued with urgency.

In the end, Waterview Center is a candid study in tradeoffs. It works best for families who can tolerate occasional inconsistencies in food quality, cleanliness, and staff coverage because the caregiving, when present, can be genuinely warm and effective, especially in rehab and certain dementia-care moments. For those prioritizing a consistently high-standard dining experience, spotless surroundings, and unwavering staff responsiveness, the evidence points toward exploring other communities first. The decision should hinge on how central reliability is to the loved one’s day-to-day life and how aggressively one plans to partner with administration to close any care gaps.

Pharmacies

• CVS Pharmacy (0.8 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (1.2 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (1.2 miles)
• Walgreens (2 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (3 miles)
• Walgreens (3.2 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (3.3 miles)

Restaurants

• Mercado Cafe & Kitchen (1.1 miles)
• Applegate Farm (1.4 miles)
• Egan & Sons (2.6 miles)
• Faubourg (2.8 miles)
• Cloverleaf Tavern (3.3 miles)
• Yard House (3.3 miles)
• McDonald's (3.5 miles)

Parks

• Anderson Park (1.1 miles)
• Edgemont Memorial Park (1.7 miles)
• Eagle Rock Reservation (4.1 miles)
• Degnan Memorial Park (4.2 miles)
• South Mountain Reservation (4.3 miles)
• Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park (4.6 miles)
• Rutherford Memorial Park (5.3 miles)

Cafes

• Starbucks (1.2 miles)
• Paper Plane Coffee Co. (2.7 miles)
• Panera Bread (2.9 miles)
• Starbucks (4.6 miles)
• Panera Bread (4.7 miles)
• Starbucks (6.2 miles)
• Starbucks (7.5 miles)

Transportation

• NJT - Watchung Station (1.9 miles)
• NJT - Brick Church Station (6.2 miles)
• East Orange Station (6.5 miles)
• NJT - Hawthorne Station (7 miles)

Physicians

• Summit Medical Group (2.8 miles)
• Women First Health Center (3.9 miles)
• Care Station Medical Group (4.7 miles)
• Summit Medical Group (4.9 miles)
• Retina Associates of New Jersey PA (5.2 miles)
• Paterson Community Health Center (5.4 miles)
• Summit Medical Group (7.7 miles)

Theaters

• Cinemark (3.2 miles)
• AMC Clifton Commons 16 (4.5 miles)
• Dreamscape at AMC Garden State Plaza (8.5 miles)

Places of Worship

• Clifton Blue Mosque (4 miles)
• Bais Torah U'tefilah (4.7 miles)
• Ahavas Israel (4.7 miles)
• Immaculate Heart Of Mary School (6.7 miles)

Hospitals

• St Joseph's Regional Medical Center (4.3 miles)
• Saint Barnabas Medical Center (7.8 miles)