Brookdale Lake Ridge

Steven

I went to Brookdale Lake Ridge. It's nice. It is pleasant to be in a place where the people and staff are cheerful. It's nice for the residents to have activities. The dining room looks nice. I think it was the director who showed me around. It might have been the woman in charge of sales. She was quite nice and very pleasant to the residents. I could picture her interacting with my wife in a nice way that's important. The facilities were quite nice.

Lisa

My mother liked Brookdale Lake Ridge because of the diversity. They had men and women there, and they had all different nationalities and backgrounds. She felt very comfortable there. While she was doing the tour, some of the residents embraced her and told her that this was a great place to live and she enjoyed them. If they're willing to come out and say this is a great place to live, then they must mean it. The staff during the tour was very professional and very knowledgeable, had worked there for several years, and gave us a very nice tour. My mother liked the facility and she liked the size of the rooms. You can have pets there, so she liked that as well. They had a garden outside. They do all types of activities all day and my mom enjoyed it. I saw a studio. It was a two-room kind of apartment, but they called it a studio. It was nicely laid out. When you walk in, you walk into the kitchen. They had a full kitchen and then you walk into your front room and then you have storage and closet space. Then you have your bedroom in the back, however, you want to set it up, but she liked it.

Linda

I went to Brookdale Lake Ridge. They had a lot to offer. The visiting hours are good. I asked about the COVID testing for visitors, they answered all the questions, and they were outstanding. They have RNs on site which is great and they're licensed by the state. The place was very neat, very clean. The people seemed to be very content. Everybody seemed to be happy. So I was very comfortable there. I thought it was great. We just couldn't afford it because it was a little bit out of my sister's price range. I would recommend friends and family to it. The staff is very friendly, very professional. I visited the cafeteria and I looked at the menus and all that, but I didn't get to eat.

Megan

I toured Brookdale Lake Ridge for my parents, and I liked it very much. It was very well kept. The issue is it's private, and it's a lot of money. It was beautiful and well run, and they had really good, tenured staff. It was clean and it smelled good, and I think that matters in the world of care facilities. They had a multitude of activities that the people living there could do, from gardening to cooking lessons to beer tastings. I was really, really surprised and happy. But overall, the level of cleanliness was outstanding. I saw the assisted living. The memory care was a different section, which I guess we could not walk around due to COVID. The staff were really outstanding and they're all friendly. I observed all the people having lunch. The food looked good and well prepared, everyone looked happy, and they were kind of socializing while having their lunch. They had pretty good customer service on the phone too. Their up-front personnel were good, and their phone follow up was good too.

Joe

Brookdale Lake Ridge's memory care community has been outstanding. My wife is there. It's smaller, I think it's well run and the aides are very caring. My experience has been very good. It's well-kept but it's older. There's always a lot of activities going on though. When I'm over there or when they do FaceTime calls with me, I get from my wife's private aide that they have activities they participate in. The price is significantly cheaper too compared to the other ones we have looked at. I'm very pleased with the care my wife gets.

A.F.

I visited Brookdale Lake Ridge in person, but they only let you peep into the front door, and they take you around the back near the basement in the room. They showed us a couple units. From what I saw, it looked nice and clean, and when they took us downstairs to the basement it was nice. The outside was also nice. I like that it's close to all of our current doctors, it's close to where I live, and it fits the budget. The meals are included. She even wanted us to come for lunch. They will take the residents to their doctors' appointments, which is really important.

Kathy

The staff at Brookdale Lake Ridge is very positive, very involved, very caring, and they make certain that you feel comfortable. I've had more calls from them in the last two weeks than I've had from the last place that my aunt was in, and she was there a year. They offer them activities from morning until night. There's always people out and about, and there's always somebody from the community there with those individuals. I can't say enough good things about it. They have a menu they choose from every day, and the food is really good. We're paying less money now than we were before for a whole lot more service and attention.

Dr. Ware

Brookdale Lake Ridge had the best deal of all the places I looked at. Their regulations for the staff are much more rigid because they do fingerprints and background checks. All CNAs have to take a licensing exam, not just a certification, and they have to come from a reputable school. The senior management staff is very good. I am very pleased with the staff because they are really good in working out accommodations. They also have an activities director that's phenomenal, so the seniors always have something to do every day. The place is just as good as the management. They have a chef there that cooks food that tastes 5-star restaurant quality. He is phenomenal. They have a very diverse population there, which is good. It is also important for Brookdale that their residents know the names of the staff on their floor.

Anonymous875351

My wife has been at Brookdale Lake Ridge for almost three years now. The place itself is great. The only problem that I have ever had is that the staff changes so rapidly. I had already established a good rapport with the director of wellness and then all of a sudden, he's gone. I didn’t know that he was gone until I asked three weeks later, which left me with not knowing who to discuss any problems that my wife had. Instead, I went and talked to the nurse, Samantha, who was extremely helpful, but one day I went to talk to Samantha, and they told me that she too was gone. My wife had a stroke and couldn’t go to the dining room, so they used to bring the food to her room. They never asked her what she wanted and never brought her a menu until after Christmas because I complained. Then they started to bring her the menu so that she could pick the entrees and side dishes that she would like to have. It’s been much better for the last three months. They bring in people who sing and do bingo, show movies, or have entertainment in the front lobby. The front lobby is always full of activity, which is not as conducive to the residents as if you had a special place to have those activities. It is always in the middle of the traffic. Other than that, the permanent staff is very nice and very understanding. My wife needs help bathing and sometimes they forget. Two weeks went by and my wife didn’t get her bath. When I started to complain, the guy was gone and I didn’t know who to talk to.

Provider Response

Jay482518

I looked at six facilities and of the ones I looked at, the one I liked the most was Brookdale Lake Ridge. The staff seemed very attentive and knew everybody by name. The studio rooms were very roomy, had nice windows, and seemed to be very bright. They repainted the place and cleaned the carpets before my father-in-law moved in. They had on-site physical therapy and activities throughout the day. There’s a beauty shop and barber shop on the facility. It seemed to be a very nice place.

Melinda C.367648

I love Brookdale Lake Ridge, but it is not a place I could ever afford to go to. The monthly fee is more than I make in Social Security. The residents were mostly retired military government workers. I really like that place. Everything is very neat and clean. The staff is very friendly. They have transportation if you can’t drive. The clientele is somewhat older, at least 15 to 20 years older than I am. But walking in the door, it’s a very elegant place. For those who need additional or extra help, they generally have two-door rooms, and the outside area is enclosed so people could still go outside, but they can’t get out. They have the park benches outside and a little garden area.

Ann738450

We went to Brookdale Lake Ridge and saw that the place was not well maintained. They had overflowing waste cans and a lot of debris in their yard. It looked a little rundown, but overall, it was OK. The people looked friendly, and the staff was cooperative and nice.

Margery1

Brookdale seemed like a very nice place, but I didn't really see a whole lot. It was very nice. We didn't see many people, unfortunately. Everybody was very nice and very pleasant. We didn’t have an opportunity to meet residents or to tour around much. The four-star rating may be unfair; it could be much higher if we had seen more.

Karen109374850

The apartment was probably could have some more storage, but it does have a closet and shelves in the bathroom, which is a nice option. It has new carpet and new paint. The facility is being remodeled, and that's nice. It is fresh and bright. They have been receptive to try to meet our needs; it has been a positive experience. I also like that they have a hydration station. They have afternoon snacks available, and they have water machines, coffee, and cake as well. They also have an old-fashioned popcorn machine, so there's always popcorn that people can grab. They have fresh fruits, orange juice, cranberry juice, apple juice, and lemonade. They seem to have a good social calendar. My mom is not up to taking part with it right now, but they do have activities. They have a couple of different music programs in the dining room that looks well attended.

Maria46

She was here for a year, and I wasn't happy with that, so I took her out of there and brought her home. First of all, my mother is basically Spanish speaking, the community didn't have too many people that speak Spanish, and my mother doesn't speak English. I put her there till her funds were running out and I couldn't afford to continue. The rooms were like closets, very small, and good only for a twin-sized bed and a dresser. The food was good, but they would just put the plate there, and if she ate, she ate; if she didn't, she didn't. I never saw her participate in any activity. She was always in her room. It was a nice place. It really is, but I don't really think that they fit her medical needs or anything like that.

Caring100358050

I would say it probably needs more lighting. It seemed a little bit darker. The lighting is a little bit dimmer. I would recommend it to have brighter and more cheery lighting. Otherwise the patients seemed like they were being cared for by the staff. The staff seemed like they were engaged. They were friendly and helpful. My biggest thing is that it is clean and smells clean.

Caring104294550

I can’t afford to live here but the people that are working there are beautiful. They gave me a nice meal. The setup of the dining area was also very nice. It did have a large room and a bathroom, and it didn’t seem like an older place at all. The facility was very nice; I just couldn’t afford it.

Harold12

What I like about it is that they had all the amenities that we needed. It was virtually brand new and it was reasonable in terms of proximity to my own home. The staff there was genuinely concerned and very helpful. I was there when the residents were finishing up their meals; they seemed to be satisfied, contented and pleased with it. For activities, they have bingo and other group games. I think they have sing-alongs and a variety of religious observances. They were excellent.

Lori20

I visited. The rooms were nice, the staff was nice, and I was so impressed with them. They seemed to have a lot of crafts and they take people out to the malls and do excursions. They seemed to have pretty good activities. The best thing about them is I think the people that I talked seemed really sincere and they did a good job of following up.

SOS

People were accommodating as far as showing up. I always want to go into the memory care units because I know that's where my mom is headed for sooner or later. So that's really my big interest on how it is in there. They have a good one. They have two memory care levels and one of them is closed up because one of them had some kind of a virus. I like their setup. My mother likes the garden and get outside a little bit. They certainly have an area where you can go outside, just relax and do a little bit of gardening. They had a really good setup. But the location was really busy. I wasn't comfortable with the spot. It was close to the road and everything.

C Martin

I am a part-time, private duty caregiver and one of my dear friends was placed in this facility when her family could no longer provide 24hr care. My family and I visit her at least one Sunday a month and fine the place to be quiet, clean, and brightly lit. Whenever we visit, there is some activity going on in the main reception area. This can range from the residents watching a movie, participating in a joyous selection of hymnals or they may be dining. Several occasions, we have come at a time when a nursing sister was in the midst of providing care. I observed from at least three different nurses that they had developed a good rapport with my friend. On our last visit, one of the nurses came in to tell my friend that her alert light was on and offered her assistance. During that conversation, my friend mentioned that she wanted her hair combed and the nurse said she would gladly come back to do it later. All in all, I think my friends daughter made the right choice in putting her in a place where she is truly cared for.