Westminster at Lake Ridge

I chose Westminster for several reasons. It is the right size for me, about 400 residents. I also love the rural setting that surrounds Westminster but also permits access to urban areas. One can visit Occoquan, a quaint artsy village, or travel further to Fairfax or Springfield. Westminster offers not only apartment but also cottage living. I’m in a one bedroom cottage with a den which allows me to have a large living area with enough wall space on which to hang my many paintings. I don’t like to cook so I really appreciate having dinner daily in the dining room. Dinner is a great way to meet other residents and conversations are lively and interesting. There are plenty of activities to keep me busy and my mind active. Because I sang in a choir before moving to Westminster, I quickly joined the Westminstrels singing group here. I enjoy walking the many paths around Westminster. I am also able to continue teaching ESOL at my church. There is enough variety of activities that anyone could choose what interests them. The staff are so helpful and nice. I feel like I am on a continuous vacation!

Over the holiday I went to visit my aunt at Westminster at Lake Ridge. She is in the memory care unit that is called "The Neighborhood" - no idea why. When I walked in I could not find any staff. There was an elderly patient sitting in a wheelchair, slumped to the side, almost slid off the seat. This person obviously could not get out of the wheelchair, and did not have the strength to correct their sitting position. While I checked around for help, the patient continued to call out Help, Help. Finally I went to the person and said I would help, but the poor thing was obviously terrified. I made sure that a fall was not imminent. On my continued search for my aunt and some staff I encountered more people confined to chairs, in various places in the center. Someone was beating on the locked door to the neighborhood. Over the years my aunt has received good care in Assisted Living, and I have met very kind people working there. The problem is nursing care and memory care. There is not enough staff, and what they do have are barely able to keep up. They are severely understaffed and it is a chronic situation. Recently, it has become dramatically worse, there have been cutbacks, and I am very worried about her future. I also discovered that the Executive Director, head of HR and a significant amount of nursing staff are now also suddenly gone. The marketing department does a great job selling people on the amenities of this place, but I think if more people took an unscheduled tour of the assisted living and memory care areas, the last beds they will be provided there, they would be afraid to give control of their last days to these people. I was horrified and brokenhearted at the conditions in which I found my aunt and the even worse conditions in which I found her fellow patients. I honestly have no idea what to do. I need to share this, if only to remind people to dig deeper into the future of care here.

We decided several years ago that a Continuous Care Retirement Community (CCRC) was the best life plan for us. After reviewing many choices online and visiting a couple of locations, we selected Westminster at Lake Ridge. We wanted to live in an independent cottage with easy walking access to onsite amenities such as a gym, dining, and recreation, all of which we found at Westminster. The health services offered are varied and will provide us with care through any stage of our life. Once we made our decision, the administrative staff has stayed in touch with us and is always available to answer any of our questions. We like that there are opportunities to talk with those already living there as well as to meet others on the wait list through social events or informative sessions. That Westminster is close to family is an added bonus for us. We look forward to becoming a permanent member of the community when the time is right for us.

My mother was sent here after surgery to recover. When she needed to use the bathroom, she rang the bell and no one would come to help her. Most of the night staff seemed irritated when asked for help. There was one woman who was very helpful but only worked a few days a week. I spent the night with her some nights because she had some memory problems and was a fall risk. Once my mother went home she had internal bleeding from being given an extremely high dose of aspirin. I will never put her through that again.

I've been living at Westminster at Lake Ridge. It's pricy, but there's three levels of care. I'm still in independent living and I will either go to assisted living or the nursing center when I deteriorate more. It has been a wonderful place for me to live. I am the Bridge Director here. We also have bingo, mah-jong, dominoes, card games, bocce ball, pickleball, and book clubs. The people are very devoted and very loyal. The place is over 20 years old and many of the staff members have been here 16 to 18 years. We have daily meals, which includes lunch or dinner. We have a cafe that's very popular with the staff and some of the residents for breakfast and lunch, which is an extra cost depending on your living status. The assisted living is a lovely area and they have three meals a day and three levels of living depending on what your needs are. The staff is fantastic.

My wife and I have been residents of Westminster at Lake Ridge (WLR) for nearly two years. The food is very good, the grounds are well kept. We are in independent living but we have used the on-site medical staff and we have used the on-site physical therapy staff and found them all very knowledgeable and responsive to our needs and questions. Our life here is less stressful than when we owned and maintained our own house. We have a growing family of friends and acquaintances in the WLR community. There are lots of activities on and off campus to keep us busy and we can be as active as we want to be. The maintenance staff shovels the snow and cleans the gutters and mows the grass and cooks the meals and relieves us of all of those homeowner tasks that took so much time and effort before we moved here. We appreciate our new life style and we can concentrate on living into our old age with someone else doing all of the heavy lifting for us.

I had experienced a very physician who discharged my loved one with pneumonia. Patient nearly died. Disgrace. Physicians hired part-time here are either unqualified or simply don't care due to their concurrent medical practices, but they sure charge enough $$$$$ for their sub-standard care. Not at all happy with this place. Urgent need for major changes for physician/night crew oversight. Patient ring bell all night with no help! 24-hour care is not being adhered by nursing staff. Although, patients are charged for 24-hour care. Check your bills very carefully!

Westminster in Lake Ridge is in a beautiful setting. Their dining area is like a nice restaurant. The reason we didn’t go in there is because they require a very large amount for a deposit. They have cottages for couples on the grounds outside Westminster, who can use the amenities being offered there.The rooms were nice, pretty wide, and a good size. They had one- and two-room apartments, as well as the cottages. The food was delicious. Everything about Westminster was beautiful, from the room to the facilities to the restaurant to the whole area. They had people who come to the table and fill your glass of water every time you blink. It was really very nice.