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About Alcoeur Gardens
Choosing the best elder care is a family decision. And when it’s time for help, Alcoeur Gardens is a place where you or your loved one is treated like family. We pride ourselves on providing a home away from home in a secure, safe, clean, and beautiful environment.
We don’t own or build large facilities for a reason. We fundamentally approach the philosophy of elder care with three words…
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Compassion, Dignity, and Respect
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While Alcoeur Gardens is licensed and surveyed by the NJ State Department of Health and Senior Services, as well as the County Board of Social Services and meets all mandated requirements for Residential Care facilities, we pride ourselves on exceeding government standards and mandated requirements.
We don’t look at your family member as an entry on the ledger sheet. Our approach is a more personalized form of care that allows our staff to really get to know your loved one and give them the individualized attention, dignity, and respect they deserve.
Meet The Alcoeur Team
​Denise Van Tassell, R.N. B.S. LNHA CALA
Denise founded Alcoeur Gardens after having earned Nursing and Biology degrees from CUNY Staten Island and New York Regents College. She went on to gain years of experience working in various hospitals and nursing homes. With a natural love for seniors she was so often frustrated by the institutional feel in senior care facilities that twenty years ago she decided to strike out on her own and create home-like alternative-living facilities for the memory impaired. From one facility, Alcoeur Gardens has now grown to include several new, clean, comfortable home-like facilities in Toms River, NJ and Aberdeen, NJ.
Aside from her roles as Chief Operating Officer and Founding Partner of Alcoeur Gardens, Van Tassell is also a Certified Assisted Living Administrator (CALA) and Licensed Nursing Home Administrator (LNHA) and the President of Varis Health Consultants, a company approved by the Department of Health and Senior Services to provide education for Nursing Home Administrators in the State of New Jersey.
Christy Minetello, L.P.N. BAÂ C.A.L.A.
Christy Minetello is the Owner/Operator of our Aberdeen location. Following in her mother's footsteps, Christy went on to receive her Nursing degree and starting working as a Marketing and Nursing Director for the Toms River & Brick locations.
Christy is an avid member of her community and is an active member of the PTA. She serves on the Matawan Chamber of Commerce Board. She is married with three sons who keep her constantly busy, and loves every moment of it. Christy loves spending time with her family in Florida and is always on the move with her boys travelling soccer teams.
Deanna Tuccio, R.N. B.S.
Deanna Tuccio is our Director of Quality Assurance at Alcoeur Gardens as well as the Owner/Operator of our Aberdeen location. Deanna has worked along side her mother Denise since she was twelve years old, starting as an Activities Assistant. A passion for working with the elderly began at a young age propelling her career in healthcare from Activities, to Dietary, to graduating from Brookdale Community College as a Registered Nurse. Deanna gained valuable experience working as a Director of Nursing before coming to Alcoeur Gardens, where she finds joy working in a smaller setting allowing her more one on one time with the residents.
Aside from her position at Alcoeur Gardens, Deanna lives in Manalapan with her husband and two children. In her spare time she enjoys cycling, traveling, spending time with her children, and going to bingo with her mom.