New long-term care home opens in Comox Valley

July 2, 2024

COMOX – Seniors in the Comox Valley now have access to an innovative long-term care home, Providence Living at The Views, as residents begin moving in on Monday, July 8, 2024.

“As the population of B.C. ages rapidly, our government is dedicated to ensuring that seniors are well supported within their communities,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Health. “By investing in transformative long-term care homes, we are putting seniors’ needs at the forefront and working to help maintain their independence. In these homes, seniors, especially those with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, can thrive in a healthy, supportive and safe environment.”

Providence Living at The Views, located at 211 Rodello St., Comox, is Canada’s first public, non-profit long-term care home based on the concepts of a dementia village: a small-scale community designed to promote a sense of belonging and purpose for residents through autonomy and community engagement.

Designed for seniors with and without dementia, as well as younger adults requiring long-term care, Providence Living at The Views is an inclusive long-term care home intended to help residents maintain their independence, social connections and desired personal routines.

“I look forward to the profound, positive effects that this new long-term care home will have on our community,” said Ronna-Rae Leonard, MLA for Courtenay-Comox. “With an environment that promotes independence and fosters community engagement, this care home will not only enhance the physical health of seniors, but will support every aspect of their well-being, including their mental health.”

Located at the former site of St. Joseph’s General Hospital, the 156-resident home will be organized into 13 households, which include a shared kitchen, laundry room, dining room and living room. Each household will accommodate 12 residents who will each get a private suite with a bathroom and personalized features like a storage space and windows providing natural light to create an inviting, homey atmosphere.

Residents will be able to take part in regular household activities, such as cooking and gardening, and will have access to an outdoor courtyard and community amenities.

Providence Living also worked with the K’ómoks First Nation to design a first-of-its-kind sacred gathering space intended for First Nations, Métis and Inuit staff, residents and families to honour their traditions.

The home will focus on a new care and staffing model called Home for Us. Care will shift from the traditional model of care to a new social/relational model of care that integrates a person-centred approach. The care model will move from scheduled routines to flexible routines where the pace and rhythms of the day are determined by the household members. This ensures residents have control over their routines from day to day.

“Providence Living at The Views marks the beginning of our unwavering commitment to revolutionizing long-term care for seniors in British Columbia,” said Mark Blandford, president and CEO, Providence Living. “By embracing the Home for Us care model, which is person-centred, made-in-B.C. and inspired by the concepts of a dementia village, we are replacing the conventional institutional approach with one that truly honors each resident’s individuality and daily well-being.”

In February 2020, Island Health signed a project development agreement with Providence Living to redevelop a care community to replace The Views through joint funding from the Province, Island Health, St. Paul’s Foundation and the Comox Valley Healthcare Foundation.

To meet the increasing demand from British Columbia’s growing seniors’ population during the past five years, government has invested approximately $2 billion to expand and improve the quality of care for seniors. This funding covers improvements, such as primary care, home health, long-term care and assisted living.

In addition, the Province is investing more than $2 billion in the redevelopment and replacement of long-term care facilities, such as projects in Vancouver, Colwood, Abbotsford, Richmond, Prince George, Nanaimo, Delta, Campbell River and Cranbrook.

Quotes:

Harwinder Sandhu, Parliamentary Secretary for Seniors’ Services and Long-Term Care –

“Seniors are an integral part of our community, and it is up to us to ensure they get the best care possible. This new long-term care home will make a huge difference in the lives of seniors in our province as, among other services, it will mirror a familiar environment and allow residents to continue engaging in normal daily activities. Long-term care homes, like Providence Living at The Views, ensure our loved ones can lead involved, healthy lives close to home.”

Leah Hollins, board chair, Island Health –

“This trailblazing long-term care home – the first of its kind in Island Health, British Columbia and Canada – marks a significant milestone in our commitment to providing compassionate, person-centred care for residents with dementia. By partnering in a facility aimed at fostering emotional connections, preserving autonomy, and promoting personal fulfilment, we have exemplified our dedication to enhancing quality of life for all residents.”

Learn More:

To learn more about Providence Living at the Views, visit: https://providenceliving.ca/our-homes/providence-living-at-the-views/

For more information about senior services in B.C., visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/family-social-supports/seniors

Two backgrounders follow.

Contacts:

Ministry of Health
Media Relations
250 952-1887

Justin Karasick
Media Relations
Providence Health Care
jkarasick@providencehealth.bc.ca
604 760-2503

BACKGROUNDER 1

The long-term care home will offer a range of amenities, such as a bistro, art studio, coffee shop, grocery store, gardens, Indigenous sacred gathering space, and a chapel, which will invite many opportunities for residents to interact with people of all generations from the local community.

Additional key features of Providence Living at The Views include:

Autonomous robots to help move supplies and materials around the building. This will reduce workload, giving staff more time and opportunity to engage directly with residents. Providence Living at The Views will be the first long-term care site in B.C. to use autonomous robots.
A state-of-the-art “tunable” lighting system, designed to help people with sensory impairments, such as vision loss and cognitive changes, such as dementia to see where they want to go and to identify spaces, rooms, equipment and signs. Optimized lighting helps people see other people’s faces and body language, participate in recreational activities, join in everyday routines, and enjoy the changing seasons. Tunable lighting also supports healthy circadian patterns to enhance sleep and have been proven to reduce falls.
Location information devices, designed to help residents and families feel safe navigating independently because they provide staff real-time information about where people are in the village. Location information devices also provide keyless entry functions to minimize the use of keys and help residents remain independent as they enjoy freedom of movement in the village.
A daycare has been integrated into the care home to encourage intergenerational contact with residents and to support staff with small children.

Providence Living at The Views will be public and accessible to all, no matter one’s financial situation. Residents are assessed and approved for residency by the health authority and subsidized where needed according to provincial policy.

More redevelopment plans are underway as an additional 13.92 acres of waterfront lands will be developed into a mixed-used community. To further bolster the community-focused long-term care village, senior-centric facilities and services are planned for the waterfront lands. This includes housing options for seniors, market housing, commercial spaces and retail areas.

Contacts:

Ministry of Health
Media Relations
250 952-1887

Justin Karasick
Media Relations
Providence Health Care
jkarasick@providencehealth.bc.ca
604 760-2503

BACKGROUNDER 2
Together, Providence Living and Providence Health Care have created a made-in-B.C. model of long-term care called Home for Us, which incorporates best practices from around the world.

To date, the style of care offered by Home for Us is generally only available to B.C. residents living in privately funded operations. Providence Living at the Views will be the first publicly funded long-term care to use this model.

The three key principles of Home for Us are: emotional connections matter most; home is not a place, but a feeling; and residents direct each moment.

This care model approach focuses on recognizing that aging adults are more likely to thrive when they are supported to maintain their independence, social connections, and their desired and purposeful personal routines as maintaining a sense of independence and purpose plays a vital role in active, healthy aging.

Residents will have access to medication management, physical therapy and tailored care plans developed with the resident and their family by a team that assesses their unique physical, emotional and cognitive health needs.

They will also be supported to maintain strong family and community connections, and empowered to enjoy autonomous, meaningful lives.

This person-centred and mission-driven care model is a blend of documented best practices that include the Greenhouse Project, Eden Alternative, PIECES (a practical, effective approach to change and continuous improvement) approach, and the concepts of dementia villages as described by the De Hogewyk group in the Netherlands.

Contacts:

Ministry of Health
Media Relations
250 952-1887

Justin Karasick
Media Relations
Providence Health Care
jkarasick@providencehealth.bc.ca
604 760-2503

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