Senior care across Hampton Roads, explained from the records up

What does Norfolk Senior Advisor do for Hampton Roads families?

Norfolk Senior Advisor is a free referral and advisory service for families looking at assisted living, memory care, nursing homes or in-home care anywhere on the Virginia side of Hampton Roads. We publish the state and federal records for every licensed provider, explain Virginia's rules and payment programs, and a local advisor helps you narrow the list.

We are paid by senior living communities when a family we introduce moves in, which is how the service stays free. We say that up front because it is the thing most likely to bias a referral service, and because the records on this site -- inspections, license terms, CMS star ratings -- are there so you can check our suggestions yourself.

How many licensed senior care providers are there in Hampton Roads, Virginia?

As of October 28, 2026, the Virginia Department of Social Services lists 84 licensed assisted living facilities with 6349 beds across our 13 localities, 50 of them with a secure memory care unit. CMS lists 50 certified nursing homes, 37 home health agencies and 25 hospices, and VDSS licenses 21 adult day centers.

Virginia Beach alone accounts for 22 of the assisted living facilities and Chesapeake for 15, while Poquoson and Isle of Wight County have one each. That imbalance is why so many families end up comparing options across city lines. The directory lets you sort every provider by locality, size, license term and rating.

How does Virginia license assisted living differently from other states?

Virginia licenses assisted living through the Department of Social Services, not the health department, and it licenses two levels of care -- residential living care and assisted living care -- decided by a standard Uniform Assessment Instrument (UAI). Memory care is a safe, secure environment inside an assisted living license, not a separate license.

Nursing homes are licensed by the Virginia Department of Health and rated by CMS; assisted living has no state or federal star rating, which is why we publish each facility's posted inspections instead. Our Virginia rules section explains each piece.

What does senior care cost in Virginia in 2026?

The CareScout 2025 Cost of Care Survey puts Virginia's assisted living median at $83,328 a year (about $6,944 a month) and a semi-private nursing home room at $123,005 a year. No Hampton Roads-only figure is published, and no memory care median exists anywhere.

Virginia's public help with assisted living is the Auxiliary Grant ($2,130 per month in 2026, with an $87 personal needs allowance), while the CCC Plus Waiver pays for care at home. The costs section covers Medicare, Medicaid and VA benefits.

Where should a Hampton Roads family start if a decision is coming soon?

Start with what changed -- a hospital discharge date, a fall, a dementia diagnosis, or a caregiver who cannot keep going -- because the first steps differ. Then pull the inspection record of any facility you are considering and call the free area agency on aging for your locality.

Our situation guides walk through each trigger. Southside localities are served by Senior Services of Southeastern Virginia, the Peninsula by the Peninsula Agency on Aging, and Gloucester County by Bay Aging.

Localities we cover