Commonwealth Senior Living at Hampton

Sandra

We were able to work something out with Commonwealth Senior Living at Hampton. My mom has been there since 2017, and overall, we were pleased with the care she received. But with the COVID situation, staffing was short. Those are things that were beyond everybody's control. We're thankful that our mother did not develop COVID while she was there and is still there. The short staffing is problematic, but I don't think it's unique to Commonwealth Senior Living at Hampton. I think there's a shortage of certified nursing assistants everywhere you go. We were satisfied overall. But I do think something that we attempted to achieve simply because of the cost of memory care was to get the Commonwealth Senior Living at Hampton to add a keypad-controlled exit because our mother wandered out and that was the trigger for us to start looking for something else. We didn't want to put her in memory care, but the more we looked at her behavior and compared it to what are the sort of classic signs that it's time to go to memory care, we realized that's where she needed to be. I just think rather than wait for somebody to wander on the assisted living side, that a keypad-controlled exit would be good for everybody because it would not prevent those residents who are capable of going and coming on their own from being able to do this and continue to do that. It simply means that they would know the key code and they could carry it in their purse or their wallet, at the same time, it would prevent someone like my mother from having been able to walk out because they don't have the staff to monitor the doors. It's on camera, but if they don't have staff to watch the camera, then a person like my mother could do exactly what she did, which is open the door and walk down the sidewalk. I think that would be a smart thing to do rather than wait for a time when you aren't so fortunate, and the resident goes missing or is a victim of crime. My mom will be moving into memory care. She is still in assisted living, and we are praying that she doesn't go out again. I told them that I don't think that she was trying to escape. I think she just pushed on the door and the door opened and so she walked outside. I don't think she was trying to escape per se. Overall, we were pleased with the care that my mom received. When we were at the height of COVID, it was difficult for our mother because she had a private room and they required all the residents to remain in their room all day and they would bring their meals to them. But they did not want them to come out of their room and walk up and down the hallway or eat together in the dining room. Our mother became depressed. She said that she felt like she was being imprisoned for a crime she did not commit. Now and then, she'd come out of the room forgetting she was not supposed to, and some staff person, much younger than my mother, would raise their voice at her and that upset her. She just celebrated her 92nd birthday, and so she felt very disrespected because of that. So that was not good, but that particular person is no longer there. There is some staff who bonded with her and vice versa, and they used to tease her. It was really good. As her cognitive functioning declined, and there was such a high turnover in staff that it was hard for her to bond. But because I know the range of what you could get in terms of assisted living, overall, we feel very fortunate that our mother still is independent, walking, and eating and those kinds of things. I would rate the activities higher than a 5. My mother would interrupt a conversation with us to get to the activities. She'd say, 'I need to go. They're starting their activities.' And she just loved participating. They would sometimes take them out on the van and let them see the town and what was going on. She loved the activities. She also likes the beauty salon. They would give the residents complimentary manicures and she likes that. You can do your laundry yourself or if you're less able to do that, then you can for a fee get them to do your laundry weekly. That was nice, but sometimes they couldn't do it on your assigned day. Like my mother's assigned day was Wednesday, but my sister might go in and discover the laundry hadn't been done. Frankly, it was a reflection of being short-staffed. My point is, some families like to take the laundry home and do it themselves, and then others like to have them do it, so we preferred to have them do it.

Provider Response

Linda

My aunt stayed at Commonwealth Senior Living at Hampton. She was in memory care. They were accommodating. Her room was comfortable looking. She had a shared room and she had lots of space. She was only there for eight days. We didn't get to use all the amenities, but they had a beauty shop, they had an onsite doctor, and they had meals and snacks available during the day. I thought it was a reasonable value considering its memory care. The staff was always responsive to what I needed. The dining area was spacious. You had rooms for wheelchairs to move around. People were able to eat in groups. They were very nice. Another thing is that they were also segregated by gender, so it was not crowded at all. The facility looked great. In memory care, they were clean and well maintained. I was there almost every day during my aunt's stay, and there was always somebody with a mop cleaning up and they clean up right after the meals. I thought they did an excellent job. From what I looked at, the food was adequate for what people were capable of eating. They made accommodations for people who could not chew. They're very flexible. The only drawback is you got to be firm about what's the base price and what are the add-ons. It's somewhat all-inclusive, but you have to ask about what all the expenses are.

Provider Response

James

We chose Commonwealth Senior Living at Hampton for my mom because of the location and customer service. The staff is good and the food is good. They have activities like playing cards, reading, Scrabble boards, crossword puzzles for people with memory care. They have good activities for them all. Senior living is very expensive. They have an indoor salon if people want to get their hair cut, they've got a nice gazebo, a nice lobby, and walking courtyards. It was nice and clean.

Provider Response

Marilyn

I went to Commonwealth Senior Living at Hampton. I like that they're close knit with all the team members. Everyone was welcoming, answered all the questions that I had, and it was very nice and clean, no odors. She said that they have transportation or a bus that will take the residents to different places if they need to go. They do have activities, and they have a salon.

Provider Response

Jackie

I checked out Commonwealth Senior Living at Hampton. I was not impressed with it. I just felt like it was small. I walked up, and I can't remember the name of the series that was on when I was growing up, it was an all girls school, and there's three gentlemen sitting there, and that was the show that was playing. I just thought it was a little bit on and off. Maybe one of the gentlemen did want to watch it, but it didn't sit right with me. I checked out the memory care. I also looked at the senior and the assisted living, which was across the hall. The people that I spoke to, Heather and Dawn, they were very informative and very, very helpful. When I went to the actual areas, I saw a presence of the care, but I didn't see any interaction. I saw a room. It was not really an apartment. It was basically assisted living. There was a room for my parents to stay in. It's more like a studio versus what they're calling a room. They did have dining rooms. They did have somebody for occupational therapy; they come to them and assist with that. They had a hairstylist that comes in, which was nice. They have a podiatrist coming in. They are there pushing to do things and have support in different areas, which I thought was nice. When I was talking to them, I was excited. When I actually started viewing the people in there, and what I needed is assisted living for my mom, I determined that that probably wasn't a good option for my mother. She more so needed assistance. If and when my dad woke up in the middle of the night, per say, or he was getting a little out of hand for her, then at that point she would need assistance. That would be the only thing to help her with my father when he's going through his sundowning. The facility was a little older and dated.

Provider Response

Diana

Originally I went for a memory care at Commonwealth Senior Living at Hampton, and thank goodness I had my aunt with me. I spoke to the executive director, and oh my goodness, I was very impressed. He took her from the care with a wheelchair, he gave her ice cream, and he was just phenomenal. From his interaction with her, he figured that she really doesn't need as much memory care as assisted living. He walked me through both facilities, and I could tell that the people in memory care seemed much more far away when it comes to their main capability. I was kind of in agreement with him that the assisted living environment is better for her. The facility is absolutely beautiful. The staff is very friendly. I left with a very good impression. The rooms are OK. They call them apartments. It's a large, comfortable room. I like that the bathroom looked comfortable. It fits in a wheelchair. You can roll the wheelchair into the shower. It looks very spacious and comfortable. I like the window and the light. That's something that I really like about a room, that it would be getting the natural light. I saw two rooms, one was a double occupancy, and one single occupancy. The building was immaculate. It looked very, very clean. it looked as if it was painted yesterday.

Provider Response

Karrye

I visited Commonwealth Senior Living at Hampton with my dad. He actually knew a lady who's living there, so I think he's going to be more comfortable in that place because he knew someone already. His main concern was that it's expensive, but we'll figure it out probably in the next few months or so. It has a very welcoming atmosphere. The staff seemed very warm, friendly, congenial, and caring about their residents. I liked them. They were very accommodating, and I even got follow up emails and calls from the director who took us around. There was a big glassed-in porch, where people could just sit and look out on the world. I liked that idea because sometimes you just want to zone out, and that's a perfect place to be able to do that. There's a place to get your hair done and a dining room that was open and airy. The smell has always been a concern, but the place smelled nice. They clean it a lot. They have a whole calendar of activities. Because of COVID, they're not doing so many out of the building activities. For now, they could only do remote types of activities, like virtual wine tastings. It's just the residents didn't seem to be very perky, but it could be because it was late in the day. Maybe earlier in the day they were perkier, or it's just because of COVID. I thought the facility itself was nice. They showed us a studio, but it's actually quite a big room for a studio. There was a separate bathroom, which was nice.

Provider Response

Tom

My wife is at Commonwealth Senior Living at Hampton and it's been excellent. The staff there cared greatly for the individuals. Her room is a studio and it's completely satisfactory. They have a courtyard. Visitation is very easy, it has been relatively unstructured, and it has been very open for me. I visit her every day. I know they have activities, but I am unaware of whether she participates or not. It is all on the first floor so there are no stairs, and the value is excellent. Their efficiency apartment is not furnished, so we had to furnish it. They do provide linens and that's a nice feature. But they only provide linens for a single bed, and nobody owns single beds anymore. They provided me with a single bed, then I got some chairs, a small dresser, a mirror, and a few pictures and things from home, which I put up on the walls. I got a lamp and some other things to make an efficiency look nice. It was very easy to go down to a little furniture store and pick up a few pieces or grab a few pieces from home. The bed has a relatively uncomfortable mattress, and my sister-in-law brought a cover over there to put over the mattress to soften it up, which was nice. My wife has never really complained about our sleeping arrangements over the years, she's very, very flexible about things, and everything has worked out well.

Provider Response

Jessica

Commonwealth Senior Living at Hampton felt more like a nursing home, and one side smelled like urine and feces. The residents didn't seem too happy, and they seemed really depressed. The person during the tour was very friendly and very helpful in walking us through the cafeteria, both sides of the facility, and the little sitting area for them to look out the window. The lobby was a little outdated, but it wasn't that bad. The assisted living side was okay, but the memory care side needed some attention.

Provider Response

Agnes701603

Commonwealth Senior Living at Hampton was very clean, and the people seemed very nice. The rooms were OK but small. I did not see anything wrong with them.

Anonymous101487

Commonwealth Senior Living is basically at the same level other communities. The staff members were very friendly. The amenities and activities were adequate. They were doing a cooking activity where they had the residents making muffins.

Debbie823747

The person at Commonwealth Senior Living spent a long time with me and answered all of my questions. The place was clean and neat. There were people going about, but at the same time, it left my heart heavy because I knew it was not going to be right for us. I was really very sad at the thought of having to go into senior living when I saw this place.

Robin150518

I liked the idea that they separated the men and the women in the memory care at Commonwealth Assisted Living at Hampton. The staff seemed really engaged with the residents. It wasn't a matter of just dropping the food in front of them and leaving them. They are talking to the residents and joining the residents' conversations. Another thing I liked was the whole staff just seems very friendly and welcoming, and you could tell they cared about the residents. It was a family feel. The facilities, particularly back in the residential area, were a little rundown. The rooms themselves were not bad.

Provider Response

Rick43

My father is in Commonwealth Assisted Living at Hampton. I like its closeness to us. It's a little bit more expensive than other places, but it serves all purposes. They have crafts, they go to different churches, they have bands that come in, they've got a pool hall there, and other things for them to do. The staff was very accommodating.

Cynthia115188550

We visited Commonwealth Assisted Living at Hampton. It was near the mall. The cleanliness of the facility and the friendliness of the staff impressed me. The rooms we were shown were furnished, though we didn’t quite get into whether or not they could bring their own furniture. They have a chart for some things they can be involved in every day, like crafts, singing and appropriate exercise (chair aerobics). A resident was playing the piano when we came in, which was impressive. We saw the dining area, but we didn’t try the food. The facility just seemed a little older and not too modern.

Barbara115472450

I was impressed with the cleanliness, décor, and the welcoming the staff provided at Commonwealth. The amenities looked good on the outside. The rooms were clean and well-kept. However, I witnessed some activities only after I placed my relative there, and I’ve had to move her because I wasn’t satisfied. Some of the staff members were not as kind as they could have been.

Provider Response

Caring4677

I thought Commonwealth Assisted Living was pretty good, but they decided to put my mother in a nursing home. The staff was pretty good. It’s an older facility, but they are up to date on everything. The location is near my home.

Anna22

I took my mother to Commonwealth Assisted Living. The first time we went there, it was very clean, and everybody I met in there was very nice. The lady that’s in charge of admission was very nice and helpful. My mother has no complaints about anything. The surroundings were very clean, and everybody there so far has been very nice.

Provider Response

Deborah C.

The person evaluating my mom and the person selling both came out to our house. The process was more in unison that any of the other facility's process. It all seemed like it was gonna work out, but she never made it there. The day my mom was supposed to move in to assisted living, she had an aneurism to the brain. They had more levels of care. They were willing to try her out in the assisted living section. If that didn't work, then she would've been placed in a memory care unit. They were more flexible and the staff was very flexible as well. Their assisted living and the memory unit were on one level right next door to each other. They were true to their word. Since my mom never made it there, we got our money back quickly. They're very knowledgeable people who made the effort to take care of my mom. They were aggressive about making sure we had whatever we needed. They help us overcome our objections, questions and obstacles. It seemed like it was the right fit. The rooms were big and nice. It just felt right.

Provider Response