Public dementia village opens in Comox, B.C.

Canada’s first public, non-profit long-term care home modelled after a dementia village is celebrating its opening before tenants move in on July 8.

“I can hardly wait,” says Judy Wild Hutter after joining a tour of the grounds.

Her husband is living with dementia and will be among the people moving into Providence Living’s new site at The Views on Rodello Street.

“His first day here, he’s going to be walking all over. And I don’t have to worry about him,” says Wild Hutter.

The village has been designed for 156 residents and is divided into 13 households. Each mini-neighbourhood has 12 residential suites and a common living area with a kitchen, laundry room, dining area and living space.

“We’ve spent the last year and a half supporting and training our staff here at The Views to prepare to work in this home,” says Providence Living’s president and CEO Mark Blandford. “Just imagine that day when you wake up in this care home and you decide you can do what you want.”

In addition to the living areas, the grounds have community amenities for people to explore, including a bistro, coffee shop, art studio, grocery store, gardens and space for a daycare.

“These villages are safe, community-focused and allow residents to feel a sense of belonging while getting the care and support they need,” says B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix.

The site has been created for seniors living with or without dementia and for younger adults in need of long-term care.

The Alzheimer Society of B.C. is among those applauding the model.

The director of engagement says the amenities on site are especially helpful to people living with dementia. It means they can engage in meaningful activities, which can become difficult as leaving a care home can become harder due to the progression of the disease.

Rebecca Frederick says some of this work can also be extended into the community.

“We know that people live with dementia in the community for a long time, perhaps without needing any care from the formal system. And so we know that investing in things like dementia-friendly communities is also critical – so that people who are perhaps going to a library or a recreation centre, for example, know that they are going to be met with a little bit of understanding, a little bit of patience, and a little bit of support,” says Frederick.

“This is turning the idea of a traditional nursing home, the hospital-style institution that we’re all familiar with, turning that whole concept upside down,” says B.C.’s seniors advocate Dan Levitt.

Levitt is also calling for more options like it – as governments scramble to keep pace with Canada’s aging population.

“Most of the nursing homes that have been announced recently are replacement. They’re incremental additions. But we’re not seeing the kind of transformation we need to see in adding thousands of beds,” says Levitt.

The B.C. NDP government says it has invested roughly $2 billion in the past five years to expand and improve care for seniors, including areas of primary care and home health. It says $2 billion is also being invested in the redevelopment and replacement of facilities, such as projects in Colwood, Nanaimo and Campbell River.

As the team at Providence Living prepares to move people into The Views, executives say they’re committed to growing the model.

“We’re engaged in a five-year research project to prove that this model of care should and will be the standard for the future,” says Blandford.

The country’s first privately owned dementia village opened in Langley, B.C., in 2019.