Senior care in Norfolk, Virginia

What senior care is licensed in Norfolk, Virginia?

State and federal rosters list 5 assisted living facilities (358 licensed beds), 8 certified nursing homes (1173 beds), 3 home health agencies, 1 hospice and 4 licensed adult day centers with an address in Norfolk, as of October 28, 2026.

Norfolk is an independent city in the Southside part of Hampton Roads. Four of its 5 assisted living facilities run a secure dementia unit.

What is it like to arrange senior care in Norfolk?

Norfolk is the region's medical center of gravity. Sentara Norfolk General Hospital anchors the medical district between Ghent and downtown, which is why so many families from across the Southside end up meeting discharge planners here even when their parent lives somewhere else. The city's older neighborhoods -- Ghent, Larchmont, Colonial Place -- were built for walking, and many long-time residents want to stay within reach of the same churches, doctors and Granby Street errands.

What Norfolk lacks is room. The city is built out, much of it sits low against the Elizabeth River and the bay, and its assisted living stock is small for a city of its size. Families often tour in Norfolk first and then widen the search into Virginia Beach or Chesapeake, where most of the newer buildings went up. Tidal flooding is a real planning issue here: ask any community about its emergency plan and its record during the last named storm.

Which parts of Norfolk do families usually search?

Families in Norfolk tend to describe their search by neighborhood -- Ghent, Larchmont, Ocean View, East Beach, Wards Corner, Colonial Place, Downtown, Lafayette-Winona, Norview and Edgewater -- because the drive for the person visiting most often matters as much as the building.

The nearest other localities by straight-line distance are Portsmouth (1 mi), Chesapeake (6 mi), Hampton (13 mi), Virginia Beach (17 mi). Water crossings can make those numbers misleading, so time the drive at the hour you would actually visit.

Which assisted living facilities are licensed in Norfolk?

These 5 facilities hold a current Virginia Department of Social Services assisted living license in Norfolk; capacity is the licensed maximum, not current occupancy.

Inspection histories for each are on the Norfolk assisted living page.

Which nursing homes in Norfolk have CMS star ratings?

8 nursing homes in Norfolk appear in the CMS provider file; the ratings below are CMS's own overall and staffing stars.

Where can Norfolk families get free help with aging services?

Senior Services of Southeastern Virginia (SSSEVA) (Planning and Service Area 20) is the area agency on aging for Norfolk: 757-461-9481. It is the starting point for care coordination, caregiver support, insurance counseling and meal and transportation programs.

Long-term care ombudsman: Bay Aging Long-Term Care Ombudsman Regional Office (Norfolk office), 757-222-4542. Auxiliary Grant applications, Medicaid long-term care screenings and Adult Protective Services run through the Norfolk department of social services (some localities call it human services); the statewide APS hotline is (888) 832-3858. PACE: Sentara Senior Community Care PACE (Norfolk center), 5900 E. Virginia Beach Blvd., Suite 260, Norfolk, 757-252-7800.

Which hospitals do Norfolk seniors use?

Hospitals in or serving Norfolk include Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, Sentara Leigh Hospital, Bon Secours DePaul Medical Center. Discharge planners at these hospitals are often the first people to raise assisted living or a skilled nursing stay with a family.

If a hospital stay is the trigger, confirm whether your parent was admitted as an inpatient or kept under observation; Medicare's skilled nursing benefit depends on it. See what to do with a short discharge window.