The Best Memory Care Communities in Roanoke City County, VA

"Cardinal Senior Living is very small. The staff was very welcoming and knowledgeable. The exterior was very well maintained. It's not extremely secluded, but it's not close to a road. There were lots of flat areas for residents to walk. They have a small beauty shop for residents. The facility is more like a house, so it has lots of small areas. Those are the two things that made us choose a different facility. It's also darker and has darker walls. It does not have many large windows, and the gathering space for residents was small with narrow hallways. For our mom, who's used to being able to be out, we just think she would not be out as much as she normally is. We felt like that would be very confining for her. Also, she kind of fit in between their two places. Her memory is not good enough really to be in assisted living because she would have what's called a wonder guard; she would have to wear that. It would automatically lock the doors that she tried to go out, so that that was not very ideal. The memory care people were much more severe and profound than she is. She is very verbal and mobile, even though what she says isn't true. She would not have anybody there to interact with. They have several very nice outdoor patios and covered porches for their assisted living people. They had a small garden that was secure for the memory care. Because mom would need the security, she really couldn't go out onto the covered patios that they had for assisted living; there would be no one to watch her. She could wander off. There just wasn't an in-between for her at Cardinal. The tour was great. They answered all of our questions. They anticipated what questions we might have, showed us things that we might need (but might not need). They showed us everything regardless, so that we would have an idea of everything that they offered. They take their residents on field trips, which is very nice."

"My brother has been in Wheatland for about three months. It is a really nice place. No problems whatsoever with the staff, they've been okay. It just stood out more than the others. It's recommended by friends or by the people we had there. Some of Norman's friends had been there and one of them had a relative that was living in one of the facilities. The food was really good when we went over there. He has early stages of dementia so he's in the dementia wing which is not quite as nice because they keep the doors locked up all the time. They can't get out. Where he is at now at assisted living, and home health care comes to give him therapy. With the special needs that he has, Wheatland is about $5,000 a month. "

"I think that Our Lady Of The Valley is an excellent and inspiring place for people who need help to stay. Recently one of my relatives stayed here for an extended period of time, after being diagnosed with a chronic disease which kept her from being able to care for herself. Our Lady Of The Valley is special because it is rooted in the faith of Christianity, and it is also sponsored and funded by the Catholic Diocese of Richmond, Virginia. The employees all seemed nice and also seemed to have a genuine focus on the health and well being of all of their residents. Further, Our Lady Of The Valley is one of the most beautiful assisted living facilities that I have ever visited. It is my hope that if I ever find myself living in one of these facilities, Our Lady Of The Valley may be the one that I choose. "

"We have known Friendship Manor for years because we've kind of grown up in this community since the 60's. It's a massive facility now all over the valley. The people that we talked to were excellent. They answered all our questions regarding Medicaid, the facility, and services. I can't say anything bad about the staff. The staff interacted with residents. The lady who took us around was very informative. However, the whole facility is basically a hospital floor. Residents are only allowed to have a hospital bed. They cannot bring in any chairs or recliners or anything from their home. They were well taken care of, that was obvious. It was clean, but the actual facility offered nothing as far as homeyness or being welcoming. It literally was a hospital floor that they left exactly the same and put a memory care residence in. The staff who toured us was very accommodating. She worked with our schedule, and she was extremely knowledgeable. She knew what mom would need and what they could offer. She was very helpful with Medicaid, with any of the processes there, and guided us as if we were going to need that to help supplement her being able to pay for this. Honestly, it was $8,400. We were just flabbergasted. It would have been very sad because there was nothing there: no flowers and no garden. They had a 4th-floor balcony as their outdoor area that was completely concrete, nothing inviting or welcoming at all with it. I was just very disappointed with what we saw there. We would never have considered it for her. I felt like the care level was very good though. The staff interacted with the residents. I didn't see anyone sitting alone like what you think of people doing in a nursing home in memory care. You'd kind of think of them being pushed aside. The residents in Friendship were all in various areas where they could be monitored by staff. I don't feel like there was any problem with actual care. I think they were very well taken care of."

"I chose Richfield Living in Roanoke for my brother because it has a comprehensive care facility and memory care, so that he could get both aspects of what he needs. He would be able to stay there for the length of his life if he needed to because as his condition worsened, they could provide care for him at that stage too. It's brand-new, and he's currently in memory care. He just got there, so we're still feeling things out. They seem to listen to me when I make my wishes known to him. Although I realized that his day-to-day care and needs probably don't match what I think he needs because of the condition that he has. At least they listen to me, and we are getting better medical care than we were previously getting. I like that. I haven't had a chance to get to know too many of the staff, but the ones that I have were courteous and seemed to care for him. We'll see how things go as time goes on. They have complete physical therapy, so they can help him ambulate again. They are also able to take care of his medical needs as far as a catheter goes, where the other place couldn't. My goal is for him to get rid of that catheter, so that we're able to get medical treatment with that goal in mind. If he pulls the catheter out, they could put it back in again. They can get his hair washed. He had a beard, but they shaved that off so I'm not sure why they did that. Except maybe they asked him if he wants them to shave it off, and he said, yes. They said they have a hair salon, which is good. They have the ability for him to go outside in nature rather than just stay inside. They have an outdoor area where he can walk with grass and trees and that kind of thing. "

"I toured Salem Terrace Harrogate. The ground was very well-kept. The place isn't new, but it looked fairly new. It was very well kept. The rooms were small, but they were clean and attractive. I spoke to the marketing guy, and he was very nice. I didn't get to see any activities. I mostly went down where they had the dementia unit, which is only one floor in their building dedicated to memory care. When I walked into the entry area, it was very attractive. It looked spacious. It was well-lit. They had nice grounds outside for the memory care patients. As far as the dementia unit, it looked a little more institutional. I would only say that because it was just one big area with rooms around the outside. Some of them had little fake porches, which was nice, but it just struck me as more institutional. From what we needed, it wasn't somewhere that was going to work for my sister. The staff was fine. He answered all my questions. He was very friendly. He answered my questions about their dementia unit, but I didn't get the feeling he was that tuned into the needs of dementia patients. The facility was clean and well-kept, but I didn't care for the layout for dementia patients particularly. "

"My friend moved into Carrington Cottage at Botetourt Commons before he died. He got great care there. The place was so immaculate. It was a really nice, appealing place. Absolutely outstanding and the staff was fantastic. He was in a single room and it was very large in comparison to what he had before. The bathroom was set up to accommodate handicaps like him, and it was very well kept. He got a very nice comfortable bedm and it was one of those air mats that pumps up and down so you don't get bed sores and all that. The facility was just first rate, and it's the best I've seen around here. Everybody in every room seemed to have somebody with them, walking them down the hall, and keeping them active. There were lots of activities for them that I wished we could have put him in there earlier, but we were kind of led astray on the other place. They went over and above, especially the young lady that helped us move in. She was the marketing director and she was absolutely excellent. She went out of her way to make sure that he had a dignified and comfortable last few days for both he and his wife. Although it's probably a little pricier than some we looked at, the level of care we got was above and beyond."

"I liked Richfield Living-Salem Campus. The staff was very friendly. It was very clean and secure. It's a nice place. They have a place where memory care residents can go outside and get some fresh air if they need it (of course with people monitoring them). It was beautiful. They have staff available at all times to make sure everybody's okay. They have a day room where they have activities. They also play games, and have different people come in and play music for them and they dance."

"The Community used to only be open to Elks members, but it's now open to patients in general. It had a nice small-town feel to it in terms of the staffing. The whole community kind of backed the place with Christmas decorations, so the community members were not isolated and were embraced as a whole. I saw their dining room laid out. It was very well spread out for their tables. It's an older building, so there were some minus features."

"Welcoming atmosphere! Food is excellent in comparison to others I have been to. All inclusive pricing is excellent. Staff are friendly, facility is clean and appears well kept. 1 bedrooms are spacious. Family night events are well planned and prepared. Activities are fun and engaging. "