The Gardens of Virginia Beach

I am researching for a care facility for my 94 year old father. The facility is very clean and has all of the levels of care that I am looking for. The staff are very professional and very informative. They really understand and demonstrate the care needed for all levels of care. I

I had a good tour of this community. The staff were friendly and helpful. It was an overall nice experience as I start this search for my loved one.

This facility is toxic and unsanitized. The air is hot and muggy. Very easily for residents to become ill. It has a foul smell similar to mildew. The ceiling is leaking in many areas. They have a several areas with growing mold, which they tried to paint over it.The residents room smells horrible. They have dead and alive beds throughout the building. The building looks great on the outside but don't be fooled. Nurses are negligent towards the residents. Most of the residents has a cough. I wouldn't place anyone in this facility. This place really needs to be inspected.

The Gardens is also an option for Dad. Currently, there is availability for a 1 bedroom at $3K per mo. If Dad needed the highest level of care (level 4) in assisted living the cost would be an additional $2700 per mo. The apartments are unfurnished. It's required to bring a bed, chair & nightstand but all other furniture is optional. They provide a microwave and fridge. Basic cable is included as well as laundry, housekeeping and food. The dining hall is open all day from 7am to 6pm which is a lovely option. Residents can eat when they want to vs being called to meal time. She said many residents thrive with this option. Wednesday nights Communion is delivered to Catholic Residents as well as Rosary services. The Gardens is a "for profit" residence. It does offer rehab services but medicare would only pay for his PT, OT nursing services. The apartment and add-ons would still be out of pocket.

Friendly staff & residents. Didn’t feel like a fit for my mom needs right now. Location wasn’t ideal for us. Older building & found rooms needed updating (which they were in process of doing).

My parents moved in and they are happy there. They have had to adjust from living on a 36 acre farm but they know that this is the best place for them. The rehab people are very nice and helpful and the nursing staff take care of them. If something is needed, the staff communicate that with me immediately.

I’m being prompted by SeniorAdvisor to submit a review so I am doing so. I must first say that dad stayed at the Gardens during early 2018 and the Gardens had hired new staff to oversee needed changes at the time. I’d recommend you check the VA Dept of Social Services website for complaints filed to check status and whether care has improved this year. I checked the site too late, only after I had realized my first impression was egregiously wrong, and had to file complaints myself. There were open complaints being addressed and had been for some time. My main complaint was with the care and dispensing of medicine, which are crucial. Bathing, therapy, and medicine dispensing was nothing like they’d promised. Even with our daily presence and reminders, countless oversight and errors occurred. Communication among staff was poor with an inadequate system in place. The most heartbreaking were the errors and delays in med dispensing, and the running out of meds to the point where doses were skipped. They lost track of one med and it completely dropped off dad’s list. Dad ended up choking on meds bec they weren’t dispensed correctly and ended up in the hospital. It wasn’t long before he passed. This facility is probably great for a resident not needing much medical care. We paid extra for advanced level care but this place wasn’t prepared or equipped for it.

Just left 3 days ago after one month respite. Facility cozy and rooms bright with large windows. Friendly staff. Do not recommend for respite unless things improve under direction of new Nursing Director. Significant cautions, particularly if medication is important for your loved one and if there is no one regularly there to advocate for them. Moved in at time (one month ago) when there was severe staffing shortage and disorganization and poor communication among staff and with residents and family. Despite our 6 hour daily presence and involvement, it took 13 days for dad to get his first scheduled bath. Rise time for the day ranged between 5 a.m. and 10 a.m. though resident requested 7 a.m. New Nursing Director recently arrived and is trying to overhaul. Scheduled bathing remedied. Rise time range improved a bit. Medication continued to be a problem until the end. Ran out of meds four times. Three times ran out before trying to refill. Fourth never refilled and dispensing accidentally stopped completely. Up until final days, frequent incorrect dosing of at least one of the meds and absence of one entirely. Dad was on special diet including thickened liquids but meds were dispensed with unthickened liquids for weeks until I caught it. While there, dad struggled severely with congestive heart failure and pneumonia. He aspirated meds when given multiple to swallow at one time. Had great trouble getting the lasix needed to help with his congestive heart failure. Had we not pushed, staff would have delayed for a week until traveling nurse came. We had similar challenges with treatment of his pneumonia. All diagnostics had to be requested by family. No indication that staff could/would have recognized problem and taken appropriate action on their own. The accidentally discontinued med and the misdosed one were crucial to his heart and swallowing conditions. Seems to explain why Dad suddenly developed uncontrollable congestive heart failure and pneumonia. His health was stable even before and after his fracture, surgery, and rehab. Health declined significantly only after arriving at the Gardens. By discharge, he had congestive heart failure and pneumonia in both lungs and we were debating whether to take him to ER instead of home as planned. Since he’s been home for three days, he’s begun to improve. Discharge note extremely riddled with errors: meds left off, misnamed, incorrect condition, incorrect and incomplete history (reported LEFT leg fracture when it was his RIGHT leg, other significant history omitted, current diagnoses omitted). This was important for dad who left for home therapies (PT/OT/ST). Errant report has caused a lot of confusion with home care admitting nurse and therapists. While at Gardens, we chose in-house therapy but would not recommend on-site PT/OT/ST unless there is no urgency nor need for predictability. Dad was there for recovery from fracture and was coming from a rehab facility. We’d expected no significant interruption in therapy but therapy was slow on starting with OT wanting to delay eval until a week post arrival. Additionally, we were unable to get the home aid prescription filled so when Gardens staff wasn’t available to give scheduled baths for two weeks, neither could we obtain outside help that was covered under insurance. Using an outside home therapy provider means more reliable and predictable visits, along with home aid for bathing. In-house therapy offers no such aid but has PT, OT, and ST, and makes available therapy room that is otherwise not available to visiting therapists. In-house therapists were very warm and kind. Nursing Director is very responsive and responsible and is in the process of implementing some significant and much-needed changes, but I’d recommend you do your own investigation. Ask residents and any family present about their current experiences. If your loved one’s health is stable and medication isn’t important to your loved one’s well-being, and if what your loved one needs is just warmth and affection, this is a sweet place.

The staff was extremely helpful and considerate throughout the entire process. They all worked the process as easy as could be expected.

Was having problems convincing my Father that putting my Mother in memory care was the safest thing for her being she was out wandering and getting hurt so much. It got to the point that she fell and broke her neck and she was put into rehab. [Removed] at The Gardens was my answered prayer. [Removed] went out of her way spent much of her time talking to me and letting me open up to her about what I had been going through the last two plus years, she then had a private meeting with my Father and laid everything out for him and said if he wanted the best for his wife that he needed to make the decision and keep her safe. The facility is very clean, people are happy and involved in many activities throughout the day. I got a great room for Mom where she has a little living room, bedroom and bathroom with a shower. I feel like we hit the lottery when I met [Removed] as I have been trying for over two plus years to get my Mom in a safe place that will take good care of her and the nursing staff there is very kind and caring. I have been to many facilities in the past two years and as [Removed] said to me, when you feel it's the place for your parent you will just know it, and both my father and I knew The Gardens of Va. Beach was it! The first day I was expecting problems with Mom but she actually was very pleasant and fell asleep in her own bed and Dad and I left knowing we made the right decision for her. I can't say enough about everyone at the Gardens, I feel like we now have an extended family with everyone there. I also want to thank [Removed] the Senior Living Advisor at A Place for Mom she was a very big help to me as well in this journey, I will forever be grateful to her and [Removed] for the way they both have gone above and beyond for me and my family. Sincerely, [Removed]

I have no complaints of how things went during my tour of this place recently. I think the staff have done a great job presenting the community and made sure to answer any questions I had for them in detail. The floor plan was open and easy to navigate through. It was just not the right fit in the end decision for my loved one but I would recommend it to anyone

We had a good tour of this community. It is a nice facility with kind people. The experience went well overall. There were many factors that played into where to place my parents for their needs. My tour went well, but I did find another community that suited our needs better.

The move in and experience has been fine for my mom. They are wonderful and I like the staff, the care, the environment and everything else. I picked them for my mom because they were better than all the other communities I saw. When you walk in, there is a lot of people socializing and talking with one another.

My loved one is still adjusting a bit with her move to this community. She is coming along, but I do feel comfortable with her move here. She is safe, and receiving good care. They have a nice staff, and they are taking good of her, and her needs. Hopefully with some more time she will become more adjustment. Overall I'am pleased with all they have done for us, this is a nice community.

This place was great and [Removed] was very professional with everything this place is my no 1 choice for my mom now

The Gardens is a very lovely facility. The staff members and Directors are extremely friendly and willing to help in any way they can to make the new resident feel welcome. There are a variety of activities available to keep one busy and social. It is up to the resident to avail oneself to these opportunities. I didn't realize that there are PT/OT services available on the premises. There is an exercise facility to accommodate the PT, which is an important item for my father. The dining room is open all day. That way the resident can be flexible about eating times. That is a big plus! Weekly housekeeping and laundry are provided, along with a daily bed-making and emptying wastebaskets. Administering medicine was a big plus for my aging father, as there were many parameters to consider when taking various medicines related to his new heart condition.

So far everything is working out very well. My father has adjusted very well to this community. It is a nice and clean community. The staff is good, they have been great to work with. I'am very pleased with everything they have done for us. I know he is safe and good hands. They are providing him with good care. I would recommend this community.

The food at the Gardens of Virginia Beach is pretty good. Staff is great and overall, it is a pretty good facility. Location is convenient for us too.

The staff has gone out of their way in order to make my parents feel comfortable. They moved from a different city, so it has been a tough transition, but everyone has just been so nice and encouraging. They are slowly but surely coming around.

The Gardens of Virginia Beach is an excellent place for your loved one. I think they should change the way they do activities. More varied activities would be nice. The communication with the staff has been very good. The food needs improvement. The cooking staff just got fired, so I am hoping the food will get better. They also need more parking for visitors, and a bigger dining room. The dining room tends to get a crowded.