Moosehaven Named ‘Best of Clay’

Best of Clay 2024 Winner

Moosehaven was honored to be voted “Best Senior Care” and “Best Non-Profit Organization” in the 2024 Best of Clay awards hosted annually by the Clay Today newspaper.

Moosehaven has served Clay County for 102 years and is grateful for the continued support of our local community!

Moosehaven continues to be the very best at providing for our seniors, please read the following story which details the kind of care they receive from day one.

Copied and shared with permission of Linda Mulligan:

Moosehaven may have saved my life.

This may be a bit long….so please bear with me. As I hope all my friends know that my new(ish) husband Jim Parks and I moved to Moosehaven last fall.

For years I read Moosehaven residents say they wished they had not waited so long to come to Moosehaven because there is so many things to do, and as we all know how the stress of taking care of our “stuff” can suck the soup right out of you and all you have left in the tank is enough to sit in the recliner or take a nap.

Jim and I are both 70 and we want to enjoy the time we have left making memories instead of having to take care of a house and yard…you know…all the fun stuff of being a home-owner. Well I had lived in the same house in a rather secluded area in Central Florida for 26 years. I had my Doctors, my stores, and I knew where everything was. So the idea of moving to Orange Park/Jacksonville (big cities) was daunting to say the least. I could go on and on about the wonderful staff here, who actually told us, we are here for anything you need, and are more like friends than employees lead by our Angel Ms. Helen Taylor, but that’s not what this is about.

You see when you come into Moosehaven, whether you come in as a traditional resident or a New Life resident you are asked to meet with the Doctor on campus so they know what your particular issues may be and can be ready to treat you if needed.

The Physician here is Doctor Michael Stevens, who is also a part of the Baptist Health System, whereas in Central Florida its primarily Advent Health System. (side note, Doctor Stevens Father was the Moosehaven physician prior to Michael.) So I think its safe to say the Stevens family cares about Moosehaven residents.

So when we met with the Doctor I told him a couple of issues I have had checked out AGAIN just months before we came here by my old Doctor who told me not to worry, lets just watch and see. Dr Stevens immediately said lets get those looked at again. Being a newbie I didn’t know exactly how much can or is done in our wonderful on-campus lifecare center. He explained that if its something he feels needs specialty attention, he is extremely well connected with the Medical Community and knows who to send you to. And wow…what a fantastic medical community they have in this area.

Within a week I was diagnosed with two life threatening conditions one of which is cancer, Dr. Stevens sent me to the Baptist Hospital/ M.D. Anderson Cancer center after being biopsied at the Hill Breast Center. We were both amazed at how top notch the facilities are, the full staff of caring (really caring) staff that they have. I know that if I had not come to Moosehaven and just believed what Advent told me, my cancer would be much worse if not terminal.

When you are here you are not only with your Moose Family, you are connected to the whole Orange Park/Jacksonville community. You don’t have to navigate this blindly.

I’m sharing because making this move to Moosehaven is a huge decision in itself, but once you arrive, you discover so many benefits for people our age, and I hope it may help answer any questions or qualms you might have.