Southern Ocean Center

    1361 NJ-72 West, Manahawkin, NJ 08050
    • Assisted Living
    • Memory Care
    • Skilled Nursing

    Clean, caring staff; excellent rehab

    I'm very pleased with this clean, well-maintained facility - secure entry, bright welcoming decor, and peaceful outdoor spaces. The staff (from admissions and social work like Christine to nurses, aides and outstanding PT/OT teams) were knowledgeable, cheerful and genuinely caring; rehab went well and meals felt restaurant-quality. I recommend this place for compassionate, professional post-acute and long-term care.

    Loved one of resident
    Jul 2026

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    Amenities

    Healthcare services

    • Activities of daily living assistance
    • Assistance with bathing
    • Assistance with dressing
    • Assistance with transfers
    • Coordination with health care providers
    • Medication management
    • Mental wellness program

    Healthcare staffing

    • 24-hour call system
    • 24-hour supervision

    Meals and dining

    • Diabetes diet
    • Meal preparation and service
    • Special dietary restrictions

    Room

    • Cable
    • Fully furnished
    • Housekeeping and linen services
    • Kitchenettes
    • Telephone
    • Wifi

    Transportation

    • Transportation arrangement (medical)
    • Transportation to doctors appointments

    Common areas

    • Beauty salon
    • Dining room
    • Garden
    • Outdoor space

    Community services

    • Move-in coordination

    Activities

    • Community-sponsored activities
    • Scheduled daily activities

    Reviews

    4.55·(146)

    Overall rating

    1. 5
    2. 4
    3. 3
    4. 2
    5. 1
    • Care

      4.3
    • Staff

      4.5
    • Meals

      3.0
    • Amenities

      3.5
    • Value

      2.5

    Pros

    • skilled physical, occupational, and speech therapy
    • compassionate and attentive nursing and aide staff
    • dedicated and responsive admissions and social-work support
    • helpful front-desk and administrative personnel
    • comfortable private rooms and quality linens
    • accessible nurse practitioner and physician assistant coverage
    • engaging activities program and visitor-friendly courtyard
    • clean and well-maintained common areas
    • individualized rehabilitation and discharge planning
    • welcoming atmosphere and celebratory resident events
    • infection-screening and visible safety measures on entry
    • instances of high-quality, restaurant-style meal service

    Cons

    • understaffing leading to delayed response to resident requests
    • inconsistent medication administration and pharmacy continuity
    • variable meal quality and limited special-diet accommodations
    • sanitation and room-cleaning inconsistencies
    • gaps in clinical oversight and delayed physician or PA response
    • inconsistent infection-control performance during outbreaks
    • property and laundry-management deficiencies
    • outdated room infrastructure and maintenance gaps
    • inconsistent communication and management responsiveness
    • privacy and staff-conduct concerns
    • unreliable phone and call-bell systems
    • incomplete discharge coordination and documentation

    Summary of reviews

    The reviews present a polarized but consistent set of patterns: many families and clinicians praise the facility for rehabilitation expertise, compassionate bedside care, and an overall welcoming atmosphere, while a significant subset identify operational weaknesses that affect day-to-day reliability. Strengths most frequently highlighted include robust therapy services (physical, occupational, and speech), engaged social-work and admissions teams, helpful front-desk staff, a pleasant courtyard and activities program, and visible infection-screening procedures at entry. Several accounts emphasize clinicians such as nurse practitioners and therapists who contributed to successful recoveries and clear discharge planning.

    Care quality is described in mixed terms. Therapy services are a consistent bright spot, with many families crediting structured, individualized plans that supported return-to-home goals. Nursing and aide staff are often characterized as compassionate and attentive, though reviewers also describe uneven responsiveness at peak times. A recurrent operational concern is understaffing that manifests as long call-bell waits and delayed assistance; linked issues include medication-administration lapses, pharmacy continuity problems, and occasional delays in physician or PA assessment for clinical changes.

    Dining and dietary accommodations are another area of variability. Several reviewers praised restaurant-quality meals and improvements in food quality, while others described cold meals, missed meal deliveries, and a lack of tailored options for restricted diets. Activities and communal features — including seasonal decor, events, and outdoor visiting spaces — are frequently noted positively and contribute to family satisfaction when present and active.

    Facility condition and housekeeping show mixed feedback. Common areas and grounds are often described as clean and well-maintained, and the facility receives repeated credit for attention to presentation. At the same time, reviewers raise sanitation and room-cleaning inconsistencies, odor concerns in select areas, and lapses in laundry/property handling. Some rooms are described as dated and in need of maintenance or updating; phone and call-bell system reliability was also raised as an operational gap.

    Management and communication perceptions vary considerably. Positive comments cite supportive administrators, timely admissions, smooth transitions, and staff who go above and beyond. Contrasting reports describe unresponsiveness from management, billing or financial stress during interactions, and occasional concerns about staff conduct, privacy, and the tone of communication. Infection-control performance was generally visible at entry (screening, masks), though reviewers noted inconsistent outcomes during outbreak events.

    Overall, prospective residents and families are likely to encounter excellent rehabilitation services, capable clinicians, and a caring culture in many units, balanced against operational risks tied to staffing, medication continuity, meal consistency, and variable housekeeping/maintenance. Families prioritizing high-intensity therapy and active social programming may find the facility well suited; those for whom prompt bedside responsiveness, strict medication and discharge continuity, or consistently high dietary accommodations are critical should seek to verify current staffing levels, clinical oversight practices, and recent quality-improvement actions with facility leadership during a visit.

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    Medicare Ratings

    3·/ 5
    • Overall

    • Health Inspection

    • Staffing

    • Quality Measures

    Ratings from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (Care Compare). View on Medicare.gov

    Location

    Map showing location of Southern Ocean Center

    Southern Ocean Center is located at 1361 NJ-72 West, Manahawkin, NJ, 08050.

    About Southern Ocean Center

    Southern Ocean Center on Route 72 West in Manahawkin, New Jersey is a single-story nursing facility with 136 licensed beds and an average of 126 residents, and you'll find both private and semi-private rooms, which are all air-conditioned and have individual climate controls, so things stay comfortable, and they're pet-friendly here, so small pets are allowed, which is nice because some folks really need that company, and they even have beautiful gardens and courtyards to walk in or just sit outside for some fresh air. The center is part of Genesis Healthcare and has been working in New Jersey since 1949, and it takes Medicare, Medicaid, and most private insurance plans, and staff here offer skilled nursing, medical, and rehabilitative care for both short stays and longer-term residents, helping people after hospital visits or just if someone needs extra support all the time, and if a family member's away, they can provide respite care, plus they've got memory support and transitional care units to help with recovery or other needs, and you get resources like Powerback Rehabilitation to You, which is their approach to rehab care.

    Nurses provide an average of 3.50 nurse hours per resident per day at Southern Ocean Center, although there's a nurse turnover rate of 44.5%, meaning about half the nurses may change each year, but you'll still find a trained team on hand all day and night to help with health monitoring, medication management, and things like IV therapy, wound care, dental care, and more, with on-site nurse practitioners and attending physicians making sure residents get the medical attention they need, and there's outpatient rehab too, including physical, occupational, and speech therapy, especially after things like joint replacement or injuries. Residents have access to pain management, hospice care, palliative care, vision and audiology care, psychiatric care, and dietary support, and there's support for colostomy and TPN if someone needs those services.

    There are amenities to help life feel better, like restaurant-style dining rooms, in-room dining, or private dining spaces for visiting family, and complimentary laundry services, salon and barber shop, beauty care, as well as an emergency alert and response system, mail and newspaper service, pharmaceutical delivery, computer and internet access, an alarm system for security, and cable TV, plus comfortable lounge areas, activity rooms, social and wellness programs, events, and all sorts of cultural, educational, and religious activities, so people don't just sit around all day unless that's what they'd prefer. There's even an on-site case manager and discharge planner who helps set up care plans and makes sure everyone knows what to expect.

    The center has some problems on its record-there are 25 inspection deficiencies, including six from a May 2, 2024, standard inspection, five of which are related to infection prevention and indicate some violations of federal standards for protecting residents from infections, which is important to be aware of, and there have been deficiencies about resident rights, like not always telling residents and their representatives about transfers or discharges in time or letting them know about their rights to appeal, plus some issues providing pharmacy services and with licensed pharmacists, but these didn't cause actual harm, though they were marked as having potential for more than minimal harm, and some affected only a few residents while others affected more. Still, Southern Ocean Center keeps information about itself available online, belongs to the National Alliance for Care at Home, and has been advocating for elderly and disabled New Jersey residents for many years, and the mix of care options means different people may find what they need, though it's always good to look closely at reports, staffing, and care details before making a decision on any facility.

    People often ask...

    Southern Ocean Center offers assisted living, memory care, and skilled nursing.

    There are 12 photos of Southern Ocean Center on Mirador.

    The full address for this community is 1361 NJ-72 West, Manahawkin, NJ 08050.

    No, Southern Ocean Center does not offer respite care. Respite care in assisted living communities provides temporary, short-term relief for primary caregivers by offering professional care for their loved ones. It allows individuals to stay in an assisted living community for a limited time, giving caregivers a break while ensuring residents receive necessary support and assistance with daily activities.

    Disclaimer

    Mirador Living is not affiliated with the owner or operator(s) of Southern Ocean Center. The information above has not been verified or approved by the owner or operator. For exact information, please contact Southern Ocean Center directly. There is no cost for this service. We are compensated by the community you select.

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