Future long-term care home inspired by dementia village
A 200-bed long-term care village based on a unique model of care will be built in Prince George, came the announcement by the Ministry of Health last November.
Groundbreaking at 6500 Southridge Ave., in College Heights, is slated for the spring of 2025, with up to two years earmarked for construction.
As the demand for long-term care increases in Prince George the new build features were recently revealed as an innovative model for seniors’ long-term care, currently being piloted at other facilities down south.
Providence Living, which is partnering with the Ministry of Health and Northern Health on the Prince George build, is leading these pilot projects.
“The new care model cultivates a thriving long-term care community within which there is no separation between staff, residents and families,” said Mark Blandford, president and CEO of Providence Living.
The two pilot resident households were created at The Views at St. Joseph’s in Comox in a rural setting and Youville Residence in Vancouver in an urban setting.
Testing and refining households that see a dozen people sharing a homelike space follows the madein-BC care model using global best practices based on the concepts of a dementia village.
While the exact design and functionality details of the Prince George longterm care build won’t be fully known until after the developmental process is complete, it will draw inspiration from a brand-new long-term care village, Providence Living at The Views, which opens this summer in Comox. The Comox village will feature private rooms with ensuite bathrooms, household-style communal spaces, and an overarching commitment to person-centred care.
The pilot households serve as practical training platforms for staff in applying this groundbreaking care approach, benefiting from their ongoing input as well as that from residents and families.
Person-centred sees the model shifting from institutional approach to social relational and resident and family-centred approach, recognizing that aging adults flourish when they maintain their independence and social connections while participating in meaningful personal routines.
Long-term care routines that are largely influenced by institutional norms like scheduled wake-up and meal times will be changed to more flexible routines where the pace of the day is determined by the residents, just like most people decide how they want to spend their days.
Gone is the requirement for residents to be up and dressed for their 9 a.m. breakfasts. Each resident sets the flow of their day, whether that means sleeping in or taking a stroll in the garden with friends while being assisted by a compassionate team of staff.
Residents continue to receive excellent medical and nursing care. The only difference is in how that medical and nursing care is organized and delivered.
Instead of coming to work and reporting at a facility like a hospital, staff honour the concept of home and understand that they work in the residents’ home. Routines are adjusted to meet residents’ needs. Residents’ quality of life takes precedence over organizational and staff priorities.
Decisions are made with residents instead of for residents.
For more information about Providence Living at The Views is available at providenceliving.ca/ attheviews.
One steady hand gripped the carving knife as the other held the solid block of wood that will soon be transformed into a compelling piece of art.
Head bent low, concentration lines etched in the lived-in face focused on crafting what 88-year-old Rae McIntyre said is one of the last projects he will ever do.
His interest in wood carving began when he discovered the history of the unique art of creating a ship in a bottle.
“My interest and fascination was with the ships in bottles that were created by the old sea-going sailors who had nothing to do during their long voyages and their superb craftsmanship,” McIntyre said.
“Those bottles were long-necked and the sailors had to carve their ships outside the bottle bearing in mind that they had to get them in the bottle and consequently they had to make the whole carving small enough to slide it into the bottle and they had it all arranged so that when they pulled a string all the masts would stand up and then they had all the inside of the bottle prefinished.”
McIntyre said people must consider the skill involved while using the very primitive tools they had.
“They had little more than a carving knife while I’ve got Dremel tools and all of the latest technology as far as wood carving is concerned,” McIntyre explained.
“That’s how I got started.”
His first piece was created in 1993. It was a classic ship in a bottle and it took him about three months to put it all together.
Then about 29 years later he picked up the Dremel again. The twist for McIntyre’s artwork was the ship wasn’t at sea but rather showcased in a landlocked snow scene called Winter Refit.
He revisited his wood-carving hobby in 2021 to whittle away time during his retirement.
“I had already carved the golfers but I didn’t have a bottle, and I didn’t know what to do with them and then one day it occurred to me to put them in a bottle and that’s what’s happened,” Rae explained.
McIntyre decided he would create vignettes in a bottle that reflected moments in life that depicted some of his favourite memories.
He dedicated his next two bottles to his sons. The Aberdeen Glen golf course vignette is dedicated to his son, Ken.
McIntyre created a scene at Aberdeen Glen golf course on Hole 18 that was completed in 2022.
“The golfers – the driver and the chipper – I could get in the bottle as you see them, but the putter, who is squatting down – that was very difficult because I had to cut him in half and had a real bad time because it’s such a long reach from the bottle’s neck to the bottom of the bottle to get him first of all glued back together and then to get him upright – I don’t know what I was doing wrong but it took a while to get him to sit up,” McIntyre said.
The next scene in a bottle called Cornfield Morning, that features a hunter with his loyal dog pointing to a pheasant, is dedicated to his son, Gary.
“With Cornfield Morning the difficulty I had was getting the hunter in the right position.”
That piece of artwork took 14 months and two days to make. Yes, McIntyre was counting.
McIntyre has specifically chosen short-necked, rectangular bottles for easy access.
“The short neck is really critical because I have to have the manoeuvrability with my tools when I am reaching in there,” McIntyre said.
The next project is an out-ofthe-bottle creation that is already entitled Morris River Steelhead that will feature a fisher catching his salmon from the clear blue river in front of him.
The Morris River piece is dedicated to his grandson Connor who has recently developed a love for fishing.
McIntyre said his final project will be the most poignant of his vignettes, his wedding to beloved wife Elaine, who passed away in 2014.
“That will be a long project because I have to carve five individuals to go into the bottle,” McIntyre said.
“It will include bridesmaid, bride, the minister, me and my best man so I need a good-sized bottle and I already have it selected,” McIntyre smiled.
“You know what’s interesting is that men are interested in the boat, golfers and hunters but when I tell women I’m going to do my wedding, oh their ears perk up,” Rae laughed.
“It may be the last project I ever do and it will take a long time.”