Dementia centre billed as ‘campus of care’

The Bethany Care Society has opened a new purpose-built care centre designed for people with complex dementia.

The Bethany Riverview, in Dover, is a long-term-care centre with 210 beds. The facility is part of a 12-acre campus called Riverview Village, which also houses about 400 seniors living in apartments.

The $67-million project was funded jointly through the province, the care society, mortgage financing and a $5-million fundraising campaign.

Jennifer McCue, president and CEO of Bethany Care Society, said the centre helps meet the need of a rising number of people with dementia. “Our objective was to create a space where those living with dementia can live safely and have the freedom to move around, and to experience life in the most normal way possible,” McCue said.

“We focused on design features that make the environment safe for them . . . so using colour and texture and lighting that makes it a more appealing, easier environment for those folks to be able to find their way to their space.”

The 200,000-square-foot centre includes 120 beds dedicated to people with complex dementia. All of the 210 rooms are private and have an en suite bathroom. The building consists of “households” with 15 people and “neighbourhoods” of 30 people.

McCue said the building is also designed for seniors from the independent living apartments to access the centre and some of its services. She described the new centre as part of the society’s first “campus of care for seniors.”

“Our vision here is to create a community for seniors and to be part of the community that we operate in,” McCue said.

The care centre will welcome its first resident on Sept. 24. Placements for the facility will be done through Alberta Health Services.