Overall sentiment about Spring Oak at Forked River is highly mixed, with strong praise for individual caregivers and specific services from many families, and serious, recurring complaints from others—particularly regarding the memory care unit, cleanliness, staffing levels, and management responsiveness.
Care quality and staff: Many reviewers repeatedly praise direct-care staff—nurses, CNAs, aides, receptionists and certain members of executive staff—for being compassionate, attentive, knowledgeable and willing to go above and beyond. Several families report that medical teams listen, that therapy services are strong, and that staff help residents participate in activities and maintain dignity (e.g., grooming before funerals). At the same time, there are consistent reports of understaffing and inconsistent care quality. Multiple reviews describe occasions when residents were neglected (sitting in soiled diapers or urine) or when staff were unavailable or on break. This pattern suggests variability by shift or unit and possible staffing shortages that materially affect care for some residents.
Facilities and safety: Reviewers describe a facility with two contrasting faces. Positive comments note a plush, hotel-like lobby, open layouts, wide hallways, spacious rooms, and amenities such as a gym, salon/barbershop, dining room, outdoor patio/gazebo and transportation services. The memory care unit on the second floor is noted for controlled access and some freedom for residents. Conversely, several reviews raise serious maintenance and safety issues: vents with mold, dingy walls, filthy floors in memory care, problematic elevators, and at least one reported dryer fire. There are also mentions of power-outage management failures (CPAP/power needs not addressed). These safety and sanitation concerns—especially where residents were reportedly left in soiled conditions—are among the most severe themes and contrast sharply with other reviewers’ statements that the building is very clean.
Memory care and activities: Activity programming gets mixed but generally positive mentions: singing, bingo, word games, light exercise, trips, movie nights, and holiday celebrations are cited. Many families appreciate that residents are engaged and that staff organize outings and social events. At the same time, reviewers raise repeated alarms about the memory care floor specifically: reports of filth, residents in soiled clothing or diapers, and severe staffing shortages on that floor. Some reviewers say memory care residents are happy and involved, while others describe a facility that fails vulnerable residents. This inconsistency points to uneven staffing, supervision, or possibly rapid changes in management or employee turnover affecting the unit.
Dining and housekeeping: Opinions on meals and housekeeping vary widely. Several reviews describe fresh, homecooked meals, generous portions, a varied menu and praise particular dishes (shrimp favorites). Housekeeping and laundry also receive positive remarks from some families. However, other reviewers characterize the food as terrible—microwave hot dogs—and report dining areas with urine/feces and filthy chairs and floors. There are also complaints that some dining staff are rough or lack training in kindness. The split in experiences suggests inconsistent service quality and possible variability across shifts or dining staff members.
Management, communication and administration: Multiple reviewers compliment certain executive staff members for being helpful and coordinating care. Yet there are also numerous criticisms of management: unresponsiveness to emails and letters, confusing form-signing and billing practices (including a required 30-day move-out notice and unclear extra charges), and poor handling of emergencies or resident needs (e.g., power outage response). Several reviewers describe stressful or unprofessional tours and inexperienced sales/tour staff who did not ask essential background information. These administrative inconsistencies contribute to family frustration and, in some cases, early move-outs.
Patterns and likely explanations: The reviews suggest that Spring Oak at Forked River can provide high-quality, compassionate care and a comfortable environment for many residents, particularly when staffing levels are adequate and specific staff members are engaged. However, there are clear, serious, and recurring reports of understaffing, inconsistent staffing quality, and failures in the memory care unit that pose safety and dignity concerns. The broad divergence in reviewer experiences—ranging from "highly recommend" to "not safe for my loved one"—indicates variability across shifts, units, or over time. Such variability often arises from staffing turnover, management lapses, or uneven training and oversight.
Bottom line: Families should weigh the positive testimonials about caring frontline staff, therapy services, amenities, and engaging activities against repeated reports of under-staffing, severe cleanliness and safety problems in memory care, and inconsistent management responsiveness. Prospective residents and families would be advised to tour multiple times, ask specific questions about staffing ratios (especially in memory care), request documentation about recent safety and sanitation inspections, clarify billing and move-out policies in writing, and speak with current families—particularly those with loved ones in memory care—to verify consistency of care before making a decision.
