The Virginian

Debbie S.

2021-02-14

My mother moved into the Virginian in Fairfax, VA last week. From the initial visit to see the facility through the signing of the paper work, Jenna Ballard has been a godsend. Jenna has personally looked after every step and made my mother's  transition so smooth! She had a welcome basket with my mother's favorite treats, and a "Welcome Home" sign waiting for her the day we viewed the place. She arranged for my mother to get her 1st Covid Vaccine, prior to moving in, meeting her at the door and staying with her throughout. Then the day we signed the paperwork, she and her coworkers had champagne to celebrate. She has checked on my mother regularly. I am not so sure this is her job, as she is in sales, but she continues to be so supportive, keeping me in the loop, and never fails to forward me information, answer my texts or calls, every day of the week and at all hours. She is so sweet kind and hard working! The Virginian is fortunate to have her working there, and the residents too!I have to give a special shoutout to all the employees, from the women at the front desk, to the nurses, aids, doctors, dining staff, engineers, & the rest of the sales team. They have all welcomed my mother so graciously, and made her living there enjoyable, despite the COVID restrictions still in place. Another special shout out to Cameron Cousin, the exec chef at The Virginian. what a nice guy. He personally delivered her food on the 1st day to welcome her, asking if she had any other requests. He came back with extra dessert and drinks. I am so happy she is enjoying the meals, and the food quality is on point. My mom is happy and safe living there, and I know she is in good hands when needed. I look forward to the next year and watching the transition of The Virginian as they renovate and update! It's going to be beautiful!

Yolma T.

2020-12-15

My family are so very grateful for all the loving care my mother received at The Virginian. The staff always seemed so caring towards the other residents as well. They were always willing to listen to us and were more than happy to assist my mother with anything she needed.We observed firsthand the professionalism and concern exhibited by staff for those residents requiring special care. We will be forever grateful for the care, love and attention given to my mother in her final days. On behalf of my entire family and all those who loved her I will forever be grateful for the staff who truly went above and beyond the call of duty. -Yolma Torres

Patty S.

2020-07-29

My mother was in the nursing unit and became very attached to many of the nurses and CNAs, and also to her physical therapy coaches in the PEP program. The activities leader for the nursing units was wonderful. Many people were very kind to her. However, when Lifecare Services took over the management things got worse. They eliminated one of the nurse manager jobs, and began short staffing her unit. Where there had been three CNAs at all times on the unit, it slipped to two many days, because they would take a CNA from the long term nursing unit she was in and send them to the short term rehab nursing unit. They upset many of the families and residents by taking away the clothing protectors used at meals because they looked too much like bibs and were undignified. Having food on your clothing for the rest of the day is not dignified either. It took two months to replace an ice machine on the unit that could not be repaired, however at the same time they were able to purchase a brand new bus and a Tesla for transportation of the more able residents. They totally upended the food services, supposedly making them high end, but the wonderful dietician who immensely helped my mother left. In short, appearances became more important than care under LCS. We kept my mom there because of her attachment to the staff. Also, they hired a new executive director who seemed a big improvement from the first one LCS had placed at the Virginian. We figured we could keep up with things by visiting everyday. Then Covid came along and it was not possible to visit. Mom passed away in April. We could not see her the last six weeks of her life. There was good and bad at the Virginian and it still haunts me that I could not monitor her care at the end.

Marilyn S.

2020-07-22

My mother, who had been a resident at The Virginian Retirement Community, in Fairfax, for almost ten years, recently passed. I wish to express my heartfelt appreciation and gratitude for the outstanding staff and exemplary care which was provided to my mother. My husband and I consider The Virginian part of our extended family. Again, thank all of you for all of the provided tender loving care. We recommend the "Virginian Experience" highly when encountering retirement and extended care for a loving family member.

Be Z.

2020-07-20

New owners of the place couldn't possibly be worse than previous owners. I hear the previous owners were a not for profit  organization while the current one is a for profit org. I'm not sure why a not for profit would be better.  My biggest gripe is the sales  staff tells families what they want to hear, they paint a great picture - the problem is it has nothing to do w/ the reality of living there.  The reality is a nightmare. They had a Dr who would give my father horrible drugs without consulting or even informing my father's regular Dr.  I wish Medicare would investigate this place.

Bob R.

2020-07-20

Beware!  If you care about your loved ones do not send them here!  The lobby looks very nice.  There are activities for the higher functioning residents.BUT, if you need a little more assistance you will be resented and made to feel unwanted.  My mother insisted on leaving because of the rude treatment by staff.Stay away.  Your parents deserve better.

Owen D.

2020-03-26

Response to The Virginian...I will not delete this post because future residents and family members need to know about this place. LCS has been managing The Virginian going on a year now. To blame in on the old owners after being in the building for months says a lot-no accountability. Let me ask you a question why wouldn't you know if you manage the building??? Isn't Dogwood aka "the basement" part of The Virginian??  Ridiculous...I will NEVER recommend this hell hole. DO NOT PUT YOUR LOVED ONES HERE...

Elle E.

2019-08-19

The Virginian was owned by a non-profit foundation called The Temple Foundation until this June, 2019. It has now been sold to a very large for profit corporation called Focus Healthcare Partners and Life Care Services. My mom lived in the Virginian for more than a year and moved out on her own account.The Good: The Virginian is on a large campus with beautiful grounds with an on-premises rehabilitation facility and is a continuing care community, meaning that there is care available from independent living to assisted living to memory care to a full service nursing home. The people who work at the Virginian directly with the residents are, for the most part, very patient and attentive to the residents.The Bad: The Virginian underpays their employees considering what the residents are being charged. The rates for living there are high for the basic services and the resident will be charged extra for nearly everything else. Fall and break a hip so you can't go down to the dining room to get the meals you paid for? Expect to pay over $11 per meal to have it brought up two floors to your mom or dad's apartment or they can just go without for six weeks but don't expect that the amount is going to be deducted from their monthly bill despite the fact the management know exactly how many meals were eaten on the premises. Management is always trying to find ways to save money (I'm sure it will be much worse now being run by a for profit company), so don't be surprised if a dinner your mom invites you to have with her that costs her $17 for your company turns out to be hot dogs. If your parent falls and breaks a hip but doesn't qualify for Medicare's skilled nursing services, being told just to rest to recover by staying at home, no one from the Virginian staff who isn't getting paid billable hours via Medicare to be there will ever show up in their apartment. Your parent can spend six weeks being seen only for therapist visits. I had to drive to Fairfax every single day to deal with my mother because she broke her hip and no one else came. I had a nurse call and tell me after she had fallen, "You need to take your mother to the doctor." When I asked why she couldn't take the transportation from the Virginian to the doctor's office, I was told that she couldn't walk. I told them that OBVIOUSLY, she HAD to go to the ER since I don't have the ability to transport a non-mobile person in my car, as I don't own an ambulance. I was still forced to micro-manage my mother's care despite her living in facility specifically for the elderly, which is what I thought we were paying for.As the other reviewer mentioned, the residents are quite cliquish and can be actually incredibly cruel. I thought that men would have an easier time of, being at a premium in a place that is nearly all female, but apparently not. My mother faced exclusion and being told on a daily basis that she wasn't welcome to sit at a table with some of the other residents. This was expressly against the rules of the Virginian. The other residents told her they were saving a place for someone else -- again, against the rules. Then they told her it was because they didn't want to talk to her supposedly because she was going deaf -- this when virtually everyone there has some degree of hearing loss. No one wants to force their company on other people so they can be shunned and ostracized. Mom stopped taking meals in the dining room completely. She would either get dinner and bring it back to her apartment or skip eating altogether, which negatively impacted her health. Literally no one on the staff there noticed or cared. You wouldn't think octogenarians would get such joy from running a Mean Girls' club, but you would be very wrong. There is a huge amount of backbiting gossip and judgmental snark going on every day. My mother is very outgoing and extroverted and after far more than one year in the Virginian, she had not made one real friend. She begged me to let her leave there and so I did. I doubt the Virginian staff can or could do anything to address the appalling rudeness and extravagant cruelty of the smug collection of very privileged women who live there, especially given they believe their age is license to say and do whatever they want. Ironically, my now 91 year old mother's health has improved dramatically since leaving the Virginian. She's much happier and better off as well as saving thousands of dollars a month living in a condo with a concierge who has been more helpful than the desk staff at the Virginian. It was worth to her to lose the $10,000 community fee she had paid to move in to leave.0/10, would not recommend.

Jack S.

2018-07-26

Review on the Virginian, Fairfax VA.  Our mom who is 99 and lives with us, just returned home to us from over 5 weeks of in-patient rehab, post surgery, at the Virginian, after falling and  breaking her hip.  Words of praise like extraordinary, outstanding, caring, professional, and even loving, just don't do service to the care our mom received over this period.   Many in our family and group of friends thought "OMG, this is it for her," based on how often our aging parents just don't have the will and energy to keep fighting the daily grinds of life after such an accident.  Yet, in our opinion, while our mom is known for her grittiness and competitiveness, we believe the value the Virginian staff brought to "the table," far exceeded either what we expected or even thought possible.  And it made a HUGE impact on the morale and willingness of mom to hang in there and do the work required to get back home. Without exception, every single one of the many who served mom were "serving up their A game at every opportunity."  Their encouragement, sense of humor, occasionally tugging mom's chain (who also pulled their chain), amazing ability to judge just the proper therapy to suit her ability and mood, were incredulous to watch.  Of the 50 or so combined OT/PT sessions, her daughter or son-in law, attended some 95%.  So, our opinion is not based on a few random encounters where the staff might have been on best behavior.  Rather, the staff, to a person, truly cares about the welfare, both physical and mental of each patient.  Our mom even raved about how good the food is, especially the soup. Ha!  We objectively rate the Virginian 10 stars out of five.  Some of the wonderful superstars included, but are not limited to Lauren, Shirlea, Kirsten, Teresa, Heidi, Alisha, Hoi, Aida, Dorothy, Nantaka, Santigie, Baisama, Emanual, Adina, Chris, and Ashley- a volunteer.

Alberto Borges M.D.

2021-12-01

Great place to retire!

Lisa Devlin

2021-12-01

Got 2 calls from The Virginian within 3 hours today so called back. My 94 year old Mother is a resident there for 9 years. Called back and was told by their receptionist that they had no idea why I was contact and they could not help on this in any way including contacting my Mother via phone. They said no one was there that could help on this and made no attempt to find out why I was contacted.

Maureen McCarthy

2021-07-01

Loved meeting with Alton, he was very knowledgable and answered all my questions.

Mark Director

2021-07-01

We have known and worked with The Virginian for approximately 12 years, first with/for my mother-in-law and more recently for my wife, and all of our experiences there have been extremely positive right from the start. My MIL was in Assisted Living for about 7 years and then Memory Care for several months, and finally in their nursing home unit. We are currently working with them for a studio in the soon-to-be-finished Phase 1 renovations of their Memory Care unit. I have been working closely with Allison Vassberg in their Marketing Department for my wife's placement and she has been fantastic about answering questions, arranging a hard-hat tour of the unit (the construction crew is still working so these have to be coordinated in advance), and providing a wealth of information as we get closer to the move-in time. Besides being extremely professional, she has also been very pleasant and as helpful, accommodating, and supportive as she can be to make my wife's move as easy as possible. One of the reasons we chose The Virginian is the low turnover of its staff. Many of the caregivers and support people who we knew from when my MIL moved in are still there and they know us, always greeting us with big smiles and warmth. This holds for the nurses, CNAs, housekeeping staff, kitchen staff and maintenance staff, as well as many of the management and social worker team. They treat us like family and that is truly appreciated because in a way, we are family caring for a loved one. Thank you Allison and The Virginian staff.

Marilyn Fitzgerald

2021-06-01

We have looked at a dozen continuing care retirement centers in Northern Virginia and nearby Maryland. We have a soft spot for the Virginian because my parents lived there happily for over 10 years -- enjoying their final chapter with lovely friends, attentive administrators, and a caring community.We became interested in living there ourselves when we received information about the 56 million dollar renovation that is underway. Recently we visited to learn more about the community. Alton Ward in the Marketing Department is the epitome of professionalism. He has answered scores of our questions and been so patient with our quest.We highly recommend this beautiful community, close to the fabulous Washington DC area, and neighboring shops and restaurants. We're so anxious to see the completed renovation in the upcoming year.

John Turner

2021-06-01

A wonderful place with caring staff and friendly residents. After visiting other assisted living facilities in the area, The Virginian stood out as the most comprehensive and professional.

Karen Seegren

2021-05-01

My Dad just moved into assisted living after a time spent in rehab there as well. From the nursing staff to the physical therapists to the staff doctor my Dad was well cared for. Daphne was very responsive to all my questions and concerns.Many thanks to Jenna Ballard for all her efforts in communication and support while making the transition from rehab to assisted living. She was always responsive to any question or concern, from welcoming my Dad with homemade cookies to spending time with him as he made this adjustment.Move in day was smooth and seamless due to the efforts of Mary who made sure we knew what was happening all through that process. She was so welcoming and helpful to my Dad in getting him acquainted with the assisted living information which helped my Dad feel welcomed.This has been quite the journey and I am so thankful for the staff of the Virginian. God bless.Karen Seegren

Bud Luby

2021-04-01

The Virginian remains an important part of the quality of life for residents of Fairfax County and neighboring areas. Their foresight for the growth and the quality of their homes is excellent. Allison Vassberg, The Community Relations representative, did a superb job of explaining the current and future plans of The Virginian.

Cindy

2021-03-01

We found the Virginian after months of looking for an independent living facility for my mother. Jenna Ballard was my contact and so informative and helpful. She sent me virtual tours of the facility, and all the renovation plans that look fantastic. She was able to get me all the information my family and I needed to make an informed decision and my mother made the move to her new home. She was welcomed by all and has been treated with such kindness since her arrival less than 2 weeks ago. She loves every employee she has met so far, is just over the top with how wonderful everyone is. I highly recommend the Virginian and appreciate all Jenna and the staff has done to welcome my mother to her new home.

Debbie Schick

2021-03-01

My mother moved into the Virginian in Fairfax, VA last week. From the initial visit to see the facility through the signing of the paper work, Jenna Ballard has been a godsend. Jenna has personally looked after every step and made my mother's transition so smooth! She had a welcome basket with my mother's favorite treats, and a "Welcome Home" sign waiting for her the day we viewed the place. She arranged for my mother to get her 1st Covid Vaccine, prior to moving in, meeting her at the door and staying with her throughout. Then the day we signed the paperwork, she and her coworkers had champagne to celebrate. She has checked on my mother regularly. I am not so sure this is her job, as she is in sales, but she continues to be so supportive, keeping me in the loop, and never fails to forward me information, answer my texts or calls, every day of the week and at all hours. She is so sweet kind and hard working! The Virginian is fortunate to have her working there, and the residents too!I have to give a special shoutout to all the employees, from the women at the front desk, to the nurses, aids, doctors, dining staff, engineers, & the rest of the sales team. They have all welcomed my mother so graciously, and made her living there enjoyable, despite the COVID restrictions still in place.Another special shout out to Cameron Cousin, the exec chef at The Virginian. what a nice guy. He personally delivered her food on the 1st day to welcome her, asking if she had any other requests. He came back with extra dessert and drinks. I am so happy she is enjoying the meals, and the food quality is on point.My mom is happy and safe living there, and I know she is in good hands when needed.I look forward to the next year and watching the transition of The Virginian as they renovate and update! It's going to be beautiful!

Mike Dingell

2021-02-01

My mother went to The Virginian after surgery to rehab. Simply put... avoid The Virginian. The experience, from beginning to end, was atrocious. Communication with the staff was difficult and they couldn’t care less about patients and caregiving. I came to visit my mom and she had slipped out of her bed and had been lying on the floor for 30 minutes with the door wide open for all to see. If I could give The Virginian and their staff negative stars, I would.

mariam mostafa

2021-02-01

This is the best rehab team ever! I wish I could give them more than 5 stars! They gave us hope in helping my father who has been suffering with the effects of a stroke (paralyzed). We came to them one year and a half after his stroke as an outpatient. The treatment here was unmatched and far exceeded the services at INOVA rehabilitation centers. They defied the odds at helping a one year and a half stroke patient who was bed-ridden and a hopeless case yet they did not give up and helped him stand up!

Ashley Bean

2021-02-01

After a somewhat traumatic health setback, our loved one was placed in The Virginian for rehabilitation. Our family knew that we had to decide on a long-term solution as returning home wasn't a viable option.What's most appealing about The Virginian is that they offer different levels of care, including in-person rehabilitation and skilled nursing, in one building, via a rental model. Four star review as The Virginian's fee schedule is unfortunately not straight-forward and there are random price increases. For example, literally everything is an add-on/additional fee, which made budgeting somewhat difficult. This differs from other communities we looked into. We will be paying just as much for add-on fees as we will monthly rent. Hopefully this will change in the future, as a strong recommendation.We can honestly say that our loved one, and our family, went from absolutely not considering The Virginian to falling in love with the staff, food, and overall accommodations. A few staff members who we'd like to thank (we hope they see this). Nurse Diane in the nursing area was incredible as well as Dr. Gaddipati. Also Jennifer, one of the Directors, is a very knowledgeable nurse and kind. Our point of contact from the very beginning, Alton Ward, is very professional, knowledgeable and charismatic, helping in a great way to set The Virginian apart from others in the area we had also carefully considered.Thank you!

Yolma Torres

2021-01-01

My family are so very grateful for all the loving care my mother received at The Virginian. The staff always seemed so caring towards the other residents as well. They were always willing to listen to us and were more than happy to assist my mother with anything she needed.We observed firsthand the professionalism and concern exhibited by staff for those residents requiring special care. We will be forever grateful for the care, love and attention given to my mother in her final days. On behalf of my entire family and all those who loved her I will forever be grateful for the staff who truly went above and beyond the call of duty.

Leslee Aguilar

2021-01-01

I worked here on 2 separate occasions. This was my first job and at the time it was amazing. I then left for about a year to work somewhere else. When i came back The Virginian was now owned by LCS. By far the worst decision ever. At the beginning of this year I found out that I was pregnant, did they care no. Instead they had me working long hours from 6am-8pm. On top of that I got covid from the facility, did they care no instead they wanted to know when I would be good to come back to work. I later was told that because I could not lift more then a certain amount of pounds I could no longer work because they weren't taking people who had restrictions back and I got fired, keep in mind that this happened during a freaking pandemic!!! They do not care about the workers in any way only about themselves. I do not recommend working here

Cathy Bush

2021-01-01

BEWARE !!! Do not send your loved one here. Worst place ever. They made two mistakes and Mom was there for only two hours. Doctor was working remote on Thanksgiving and prescribing tranquilizer for her without seeing her.

kari mcentee

2021-01-01

I am surprised at this time that an institution put in place to help others is so blind. A call for help was made and answered. The first day this person was treated with disrespect and treated unkindly by all the staff who were supposed to welcome the new staff member and help train them. This DID NOT HAPPEN. Racial discrimination seemed extremely present. Its 2020 people. I am discouraged if the staff treats new staff like this, those needing this service are probably being neglected, judged and treated poorly. God have mercy on your ignorant souls.