Newport News Baptist Retirement Community DBA The Chesapeake

Nurses do the bare minimum. They will literally dehydrate your loved ones intentionally to minimize changing diapers. This establishment is very expensive but the value for the money is atrocious. Staff walks from room to room just to appear busy but are not doing anything. They hide in empty rooms and play on phones all day.

Spoke with Maurice, that is one patient man. Very professional and understanding. (Coming from a managers standpoint)

The Chesapeake is best described as a lifestyle option for retired adults who are highly functional and very capable of independent living. The positive points that are noted in other reviews, such as the updated facility and friendly staff, are all true, and for prospective residents who still have their faculties and want to live among white Christian people, the Chesapeake could be a great choice. If you have an elderly parent who is suffering from cognitive decline or has untreated mental health issues, the Chesapeake will not be an appropriate place for them. You will be much better served to get your loved one an appropriate diagnosis and move them to a facility that will address their specific needs. My brothers and I made the mistake of thinking that the continuity of care offered at the Chesapeake would ensure that my mother could get into assisted living or memory care as her needs evolved. On the contrary, my mother's dementia-related paranoia and verbal abusiveness got her kicked out of the Chesapeake. We then moved her to a top-notch memory care facility that has been so much more able to accommodate her needs and figure out a way to work with her. (I will also note that the memory care facility has no religious affiliation, but it is related to the top-ranked university in its region.) The phrase "there is no hate quite like Christian love" comes to mind each time I get a fundraising email from LifeSpire, the related foundation. I have now unsubscribed from their list, because they aren't going to get any money out of me, because the Chesapeake got to keep quite a hefty chunk of the buy-in fee that we paid to have our mother living there for all of nine months. Hey, she wasn't easy for my brothers and me to deal with for our entire lives either, but we couldn't wash our hands of her like the Chesapeake's management did. ETA: The Chesapeake’s response was that my family voluntarily moved our mother. We did this because the management kept her out of assisted living due to her mental health issues and also said that she was no longer welcome in independent living due to being abusive to her caregivers, so we had to find another solution. My family found the memory care facility on our own initiative, because it was clear that no further help would be forthcoming from Chesapeake management.

I'm super frustrated with this facility. I had a great couple of initial phone calls and meeting with admissions regarding my dad moving to the facility but I have not heard anything back since. I coordinated to get my Dad's health and physical over to them, requested some pricing information, and attempted multiple times to leave voicemail or talk to the administrator and have heard nothing in response. I'm hoping this review turns into a positive interaction with the facility as I was very impressed in my initial walkthrough

I know several residents of the Chesapeake and they love it. But when the mother of a close friend had to go there for rehabilitation after an illness, I was very impressed. My father in law had to stay a couple of months in another facility in NC and while the staff was friendly and helpful, the Chesapeake's decor and atmosphere is so much better! Everyone we spoke with was smiling and very professional. I believe both environment and helpful staff are critical to the healing and well being of the residents.