On October 20, 2016, WOBM 1160 & 1310 AM radio presents Wake Up with Jeremy Grunin radio interview with Denise Van Tassell, owner of “Alcoeur Gardens”. Listen to owner, Denise Van Tassell’s interview with Jeremy Grunin where they discuss her beloved Assisted Living homes for the memory impaired.

J: We are now joined in the studio by Denise VanTassell we are talking Alcoeur Gardens. And so when people first hear Alcoeur Gardens they think ok that’s great, what do they have, like mums and carnations… what do you grow at Alcoeur Gardens exactly?

D: Love

J: Aw, that’s nice. Why don’t you give people the overview. What is Alcoeur Gardens all about?

D: We are small assisted livings in Ocean County. We cater to Alzheimer’s patients we have 2 locations in Toms River and Brick and we are very small home-like with 19 beds. Very comforting for the families, very small environment.

J: And when you say “care” what does that entail? What does the day to day look like?

D: We are like any traditional assisted living only we are more personal, smaller. We provide 24 hour care that includes all your meals, your activities, medication management, physician oversight. Anything that they would get at home with their family, only they are in our home now.

J: How did this become something that you got involved with?

D: I’m a registered nurse and I’ve worked over the years in the hospital with patients suffering from different types of dementia. And I did work in traditional long term care type nursing homes and I just saw the need for something smaller and more personal for them, I wanted to provide a little bit better care.

J: So you had a passion for this and you realized you had a niche and that there was something missing in the market. You didn’t feel like the quality that availed itself was there.

D: Yes, well I worked in the hospitals for many years and I just fell in love with the geriatric population. Always did. My grandmother was my best friend. We played cards, drank beer, went to the track and had a great life with my grandma….

Please listen to the link above to hear the rest of the interview.