Overall sentiment across the reviews is mixed but leans positive in many respects. Multiple reviewers repeatedly praise the facility for its cleanliness, pleasant smells, and well-maintained spaces. Several comments highlight professional, hardworking, kind, and attentive staff who provide skilled clinical care, rehab and therapy services, and compassionate support for recovery. Many reviewers describe good meals, comfortable and spacious rooms (especially in newer or recently built areas), and a broad selection of activities that include church services, singing groups, dinner parties, and live music. The presence of a dementia/memory unit and long-term care options is noted positively, as is the existence or planning of a new Sentara nursing home building that some reviewers describe as beautiful and well thought out.
However, a notable cluster of serious concerns appears across other reviews. Nighttime understaffing is cited specifically, with one reviewer reporting delays in bedtime assistance after 11 PM and expressing fear of falling as a result. That same report described a situation severe enough to require calling 911. Several reviews call out management-level issues naming roles such as the director of nursing, social worker, and nurse manager; these comments indicate that at least some families or residents are dissatisfied with administrative responsiveness or leadership. These safety and management concerns contrast sharply with the many accounts of excellent care, producing a pattern of inconsistent experiences.
Facilities impressions are also mixed. While newer or recently planned buildings receive high praise for room layout and aesthetics, other reviewers describe an older building that feels dated and could benefit from brighter, cheerier decor. This split suggests that the campus may include multiple buildings or phases, with newer construction showing clear improvements in resident comfort and design compared with older wings.
Dining and activities are strong points: reviewers consistently report good food and a lively activity schedule that supports social engagement and spiritual needs. Staff-related comments are overwhelmingly positive in many summaries — staff are described as friendly, smiling, helpful, and encouraging — but the repeated mention of understaffing during certain shifts and specific management concerns tempers that praise and points to variability in staffing levels or supervisory practices.
In summary, Sentara Nursing Center Chesapeake appears to deliver high-quality aspects of care for many residents: cleanliness, compassionate staff, robust activities, decent dining, and effective rehab/dementia services, particularly in newer areas. At the same time, there are important and recurring concerns about nighttime staffing, delayed assistance, fall risk, and administrative shortcomings. These issues have led at least some reviewers to not recommend the facility. Prospective residents and families should weigh the strong positive attributes against the reported safety and management problems, ask specific questions about current staffing patterns (especially at night), observe both older and newer areas if possible, and request recent incident and staffing records to ensure the facility’s present operations align with their expectations and safety needs.
