Goddard House Assisted Living Residence

Is Goddard House Assisted Living Residence a certified assisted living residence in Massachusetts?

Yes. Goddard House Assisted Living Residence at 165 Chestnut Street, Brookline, MA 02445 is listed as Certified on the Massachusetts Executive Office of Aging & Independence (AGE) list of certified Assisted Living Residences dated June 25, 2026, and has held certification since January 7, 1997. Massachusetts certifies assisted living residences rather than licensing them, so there is no license number to look up — the state identifies each residence by name and address.

Goddard House Assisted Living Residence is one of the longer-running residences in Norfolk County: its certification dates to 1997, the first years of the Massachusetts ALR program after the 1994 law that created it.

Check the record yourself on the mass.gov page for Goddard House Assisted Living Residence, which also lists the unit counts, ownership flags and any posted Compliance Review Report.

What did the latest Massachusetts compliance review of Goddard House Assisted Living Residence find?

AGE's most recent posted Compliance Review of Goddard House Assisted Living Residence, conducted February 27, 2025, resulted in a Plan of Correction required across 4 lettered finding areas, 4 of them marked as repeat findings from the prior review.

The report's findings covered emergency-call (e-call) response times, medication management (SAMM/LMA), Special Care Residence requirements, resident assessments and service plans and the quality assurance and performance improvement (QAPI) program.

A Plan of Correction is the standard outcome of a Massachusetts compliance review: the residence answers each finding in writing and AGE grants recertification once the fixes are accepted. It is not a suspension or fine. Nearly every residence with a posted report in Greater Boston received one, so the useful comparison is which areas were cited and whether they repeat.

For context, the median posted report for a Norfolk County residence lists 6 finding areas; Goddard House Assisted Living Residence's latest lists fewer than that.

Read the full Compliance Review Report on mass.gov →

Does Goddard House Assisted Living Residence offer memory care in Brookline?

Yes. Goddard House Assisted Living Residence has a certified Special Care Residence with 40 units — about 35% of its 115 certified units. In Massachusetts, memory care is delivered in a Special Care Residence (SCR) inside a certified ALR; it is not a separate license.

Statewide, the median ALR with an SCR has about 20 SCR units, so Goddard House Assisted Living Residence's 40-unit Special Care Residence is larger than typical.

Its latest compliance review included a finding under the Special Care requirements — ask the staff what was cited and how it was corrected.

Where is Goddard House Assisted Living Residence located in Brookline, MA?

Goddard House Assisted Living Residence is at 165 Chestnut Street, Brookline, MA 02445, in Norfolk County. Hospitals families in Brookline commonly use include Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Brookline borders the Longwood Medical Area, which puts several of Boston's teaching hospitals a short ride away.

There are 2 other certified residences in Brookline: The Newbury of Brookline, The Residence at Boylston Place.

Veterans and surviving spouses can be served by the VA Boston Healthcare System (Jamaica Plain, West Roxbury and Brockton campuses) and may qualify for VA Aid & Attendance toward assisted living costs.

How does Goddard House Assisted Living Residence compare with other assisted living in Norfolk County?

With 115 certified units, Goddard House Assisted Living Residence is one of the largest among the 37 certified residences in Norfolk County (number 2 by unit count); the county median is 77 units.

30 of those 37 residences have Special Care Residence units, 4 report nonprofit ownership on their state profile, and 5 list low-income options.

Goddard House Assisted Living Residence is one of the nonprofit-owned residences — a minority in Massachusetts, where about four in five ALRs are for-profit.

Closest in size among Norfolk County residences, from the same state records:

How much does Goddard House Assisted Living Residence cost per month?

Massachusetts does not publish prices for individual residences, so ask Goddard House Assisted Living Residence for its written fee schedule. Statewide, AGE's 2025 census report puts the median monthly fee range at $4,228–$9,225 for traditional units and $7,218–$10,886 for Special Care units.

Greater Boston generally runs above those statewide medians: this site's cost research puts typical assisted living at $5,800–$8,200/mo in 2026, with Brookline, Newton, Cambridge and the Back Bay at the high end.

Goddard House Assisted Living Residence's state profile lists low-income options — usually affordable units created under housing programs such as Low Income Housing Tax Credits. Ask how many such units exist and how long the waitlist is.

MassHealth does not pay assisted living rent. Some residences accept MassHealth Group Adult Foster Care (GAFC) or a Senior Care Options (SCO) plan for personal-care services; ask the residence directly, and see our Frail Elder Waiver guide for at-home alternatives.

What should you ask when touring Goddard House Assisted Living Residence?

Start with the areas the state already flagged at Goddard House Assisted Living Residence — emergency-call (e-call) response times, medication management (SAMM/LMA), Special Care Residence requirements — and ask what changed after the review; then cover staffing, fees and move-out triggers.

• What is your average pendant/e-call response time overnight, and can I see last month's response log?
• Who helps with medications — a nurse (LMA) or trained aides (SAMM) — and how are errors tracked?
• How is the Special Care Residence secured, and what dementia training do its staff complete?
• How often is a resident's service plan reassessed, and who attends that meeting?
• Do you accept MassHealth Group Adult Foster Care (GAFC) or Senior Care Options (SCO) for care services?
• How do you handle a hospital discharge back to the residence?
• What is the full monthly fee for my parent's care level, and what triggers an increase?
• Which care needs would require a move to a nursing home?

Visit twice — once at a meal — and read the residency agreement before paying a deposit. Massachusetts gives ALR residents specific resident rights, and the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program can help if problems come up later.

How does moving into Goddard House Assisted Living Residence work?

Moving into Goddard House Assisted Living Residence starts with a pre-admission screening and a written assessment of your parent's needs, which the residence uses to build an individual service plan before move-in day.

• Residency agreement and disclosures. The residence must give you its residency agreement and a disclosure of fees, services and discharge terms; take them home and compare them before paying a deposit.
• Special Care Residence admission. Admission to Goddard House Assisted Living Residence's 40-unit Special Care Residence is based on a dementia diagnosis and an assessment that the secured setting is appropriate; ask what criteria would move a resident between its traditional and Special Care units.
• Medication plan. Decide whether your parent will self-administer, receive Self-Administered Medication Management (SAMM) help from aides, or need Limited Medication Administration (LMA) by a nurse — it affects both care and fees.
• Payment. Rent and care are almost always private pay in an ALR; long-term care insurance and VA Aid & Attendance can offset them.
• Affordable units. Ask Goddard House Assisted Living Residence for the income limits and waitlist for its low-income units.

If Goddard House Assisted Living Residence has no opening, ask to join its waitlist and keep touring — availability at large Greater Boston residences changes month to month.

Frequently asked questions