Commonwealth Senior Living at the Ballentine

I've only taken a virtual tour due to covid but it looks nice & clean & staff are welcoming. Amy, the marketing director, have been wonderful! She is very easy to talk to & is so encouraging. She has texted me during covid just to see how we were doing since my mom lives with me. She has been very helpful.

I was not able to visit this facility. My 94 year old father is not doing well and I no longer need to search. The contact at this facility was very nice, informative and helpful.

My family has survived the last few months because of superb and compassionate support of the skilled nursing staff caring for my parents. The kindness of the ENTIRE Ballentine Staff is outstanding, beginning with [name removed] who set up my mom's room, to the cooks who learned her food preferences and to the activities directors who included mom in more activities than she has participated in in the past ten years. My dad was able pass with dignity because of their excellent care. Thank you all.

Started off good but quickly went downhill. The lack of permanent front desk staff, lack of weekend staffing, issues with personal care, lack of effective responsiveness from management and more made us make the decision to move our loved one after only a few months. Additionally, the rates are high for such a low quality of service.

I recently moved my mother out of The Ballentine. There is no oversight of health issues at this facility. She developed a staff infection in her eye that went undetected, loosing sight. She then suffered a stroke, also undetected. I was informed the floor staff does not evaluate residents. I implore all not to entrust your loved one to their care.

Beautiful! The staff was happy and caring! Lovely surroundings outdoors as well as indoors.

After touring a few places we decided to place my dad here. It offers him the care he needs and it provides my family the knowledge that he is safe and being cared for the way he should be. Overall we like the place it seems clean and the staff is very nice and caring. The communication between myself and them is good in fact one of the staff members had mentioned that it was one of the best transitions they have experienced and that was nice given my dads mental status. The property has 2 areas the first being the assisted living side and then the memory care where my dad is. they have actives for both sides and they keep the residents busy. The location is great because it is right next to my son's school and very close to where my wife works.

Bustling, comfortable place. Staff very friendly and warm. Residents were clean & engaged. Lots of activities, & connections to community were encouraged. Only negative - small rooms.

I had a very nice tour of this community. It is a lovely community with friendly people. I didn't find the community very attractive, it is an older building. From what I saw everything appeared to be nice and clean. This community does have a good reputation. The staff was kind and informative. It was lovely tour.

The Ballentine is a lovely community and the closest thing you will find to "home". My mother has been at the Ballentine twice; once last year as a trial stay, and then returned again earlier this year. She was so pleased with the love, attention and friendship during her first stay, when the need arose for a more permanent stay, she immediately asked to go back to the same facility she loved so much. The staff is so attentive to mom, which is very reassuring to me since I'm a couple hours away and only get to visit her a few times per month. My sister lives closer and we both have been pleased with most everything. We did have an issue with her temperature a couple months back, and the team immediately resolved the issue and was courteous in doing so. There have been some changes in the top leadership since our time there, but we have found the new folks to be incredibly kind, professional and committed to the residents and Ballentine families. The residents and staff all seem happy to be there - it's just a good feeling place. It is tough to think about the process of moving your parent out of there home and entrusting their every need to someone else, but I can tell you the folks at Ballentine are second to none, and truly treat not just our mother, but our family as if we are their's too. We didn't realize how much it would mean to us to feel this too. We couldn't ask for a happier, loving and beautiful home for our mother.

Think before you put your love one in this place. The Cna's are great and very friendly. But the Executive Director., And Sweet Memory Director. Are so rude if you need to talk with them they just blow you off. They spend all day in the Executive Director's office with the door closed and when it's open they talk to the staff really badly. They are very unprofessional in my opinion, My mother has been living there a very long time and I have never seen the building so bad. When you talk to head of t maintenance he looks at you like your stupid and does nothing about the problem.When you call cooperate They say sorry and they will look into it.

the Cna are great they try so hard to make the residents feel good. But the managment is really bad they treat the staff like dirt.. when there is family night the mangement sit in the office [Removed]. really good. the manager always has her door closed so family's are unable to talk with her. also the program cord is never doing anything but siting in the Ed's office. I did not know that mangement was there to make residents and residents family's feel like mangement was better then them. I'm really thinking about taking my family member out from there.. I feel sad there is some great worker there. But mangement needs to go.

The Ballentine is not a good place for your mother or family...in the last three months the buliding is like a ship in the ocean its going down with the tides....The Ballentine needs NEW Management, that person who is running the building needs more training in respect.

I was so excited when my mother moved in the Ballentine years ago, now the place has NO core values within the last three months, When I walk in the buliding now you do not feel that friendly atmosphere anymore you feel sadness from residents and staff I am looking to move my mother out of there. I visit alot there. The activity department has fallen after they let Karen go she was the best, I miss Michelle in nursing she was the best. Lets turn to the dinning room, more help is needed two people serving morning, noon, and night meals. It takes forever for residents to get they meals to the table, they always running out food, and food is horrible. Upper management need a crash course in respecting resident and staff.. Please if you have family there slip in make sure your mother or father is getting what you are paying for activity, good food, housekeeping, and most of all respect.

The Ballentine was a great place.one time before they hired this new Executive Director she is very rude to residents and staff she fired all the old staff that was outstanding to this community. She never have time for residents or family members, when you try to talk with her she always keep the office full with department heads seating in her office you cant never talk to her alone..the new .Sweet Memory director she always in the executive office she never do anything with them...I am sad The Ballentine is no longer a place you can call home.for your parent..they run out of food they had a very good and wonderful actvity person who care and respected the residents and family members now she is no longer there the place is going down hill. I moved my mother out of there...and I would never recomment any one to live of work there.

Every one has gone out of their way to make my mother safe and happy while taking care of her physical needs. She is a private person and they have dealt with that well giving her time alone. They have not rushed her into events, but are taking things slow as they learn about her. The other patients seem well tended and some are very helpful as both Mom and I learn the ropes!

I placed my family member into this facility recently so there are some items that I cannot accurately review. After some initial difficulties in obtaining financing, the staff was very helpful in recommending some avenues for me. Although I am in the process of reviewing my options, they were kind enough to place my loved one in the facility. They, especially Stacy and Melissa, have gone above and beyond in making sure my loved one was welcomed and engaged. I hope that my loved one continues to adjust and eventually enjoy this facility and can only hope that her finances and her physical condition will allow her to live out her remaining years in comfort.

The staff are very friendly, and the atmosphere is very pleasant. My mother moved in in August, and she has settled in well. She is thriving in this environment. I would like to see the nursing staff to see that she drinks more liquids every day. There has been some staff turnover recently in management and in the kitchen, and I think that the food needs improvement. More red meat needs to be served, at least a couple of times a week, and the coffee needs to be improved. I understand that there are plans to make improvements. Overall, though, the level of care is very good, and the staff have been very kind toward my mother. They are responsive to resident concerns. t's a good place and a good value! It could be great with some adjustments.

My mother, Gladys, who will be 87 this June has been a resident at The Ballentine Assisted Living facility for over 2 years now. Earlier this February, it became necessary to move her into memory care. As the memory care wing at The Ballentine had not yet been completed, we had to make the choice to place her in a different facility temporarily until construction was completed. The incredibly kind and compassionate staff at Commonwealth Memory Care in Norfolk were nothing short of amazing in their professionalism in caring for my mother in what was an extremely stressful time. Directors Bay Armstrong and Jodie Brumfield Agner and their wonderful staff gave my sisters and I such piece of mind in knowing that our mother was properly cared for. Yesterday, through many hugs and tearful goodbyes, we left Commonwealth to move my mom back to The Ballentine. My mother was very emotional as she had gotten very attached to the staff at Commonwealth for the past two months and they to her. I got a chance to thank many of them personally and tell them how much their caring, love and compassion for my mother's situation meant to our family. Many were sad to see her go but they understood that The Ballentine was where she belonged. Before we got there yesterday, I phoned ahead to let them know we were on our way back. Imagine the look on my mother's face when she, already in an emotionally fragile state, looked up to see the staff in front of the building waving to greet her! It made her feel like a queen and of course, the tears flowed again. They were so happy to have my mom back and the welcoming party was just what she needed to lift her spirits. Needless to say, the new memory care wing at The Ballentine is beautiful, or as my mom described it, "Pretty swanky!" She is very glad to be back in her regular room and we got her back in just before the ribbon-cutting ceremony and reception yesterday afternoon. I am so proud of the work that my dear friends, Executive Director Christine Sena-Breitberg and Memory Care Director Tracy Schery-Martin have done in getting this facility ready to serve the area. So, I just want to say, on behalf of my family, a heartfelt Thank You to all of the healthcare staff that have been so caring and giving to so many. Your dedication to your job is so appreciated and we are so grateful for the service you've provided for my dear mother.

I enjoyed the ambience of this facility, the multiple sun rooms, outside gardens and activities, location, and staff. The attention to memory care is notable.