The $3.75 million dining area expansion at The Pines in 亚洲天堂 Lake is expected to be complete in the coming months.
鈥淭he project includes a new dining hall, kitchen server and pantry, patient and staff washrooms and a new lobby and vestibule area, as well as a new covered loading area for deliveries and servicing,鈥� Northern Health spokeswoman Eryn Collins told Lakes District 亚洲天堂.
It has been planned for one year.
READ MORE: Planned cafeteria meant to improve life at the Pines
The expansion aims to enhance the experience of residents at The Pines, as Penny Anguish, Northern Health Chief Operating Officer explained.
鈥淲e haven鈥檛 had a robust [adult] day program in the past because we had to use part of the recreation area for dining. This expansion will allow us to move dining activities out of the recreation area. It will be safer because all the staff can be with the residents as opposed to the staff split up between the two areas. It鈥檒l provide a better overall dining experience. Residents can all eat together. Dining won鈥檛 take place in the recreation area anymore.鈥�
However, the project comes as some members of the community have questioned whether the funding could鈥檝e been better spent on adding more rooms to The Pines, which is at full capacity.
鈥淟ong-term care is always at full capacity. They鈥檝e got a certain number of rooms,鈥� said Anguish.
As a result of the shortage of vacancies at The Pines, some people have had to stay longer in the hospital, where patients have been moved to the emergency room because all of its beds were occupied over the past few months.
鈥淵ou would be hard pressed to find a hospital in Canada that didn鈥檛 have capacity issues over the last few months,鈥� said Anguish.
鈥淭his year has been a harsh flu season. There was a surge of flu viruses, and there wasn鈥檛 a strong match between the immunizations and one particular strain of influenza. It affected people with already chronic diseases,鈥� she explained.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no one in the emergency room now. They might鈥檝e spent a day or two in there and as soon as a bed was available they were moved out of there.鈥�
鈥淚t probably stood out as unusual in 亚洲天堂 Lake because it hasn鈥檛 happened much in the past. Prince George hospital was over capacity and some people from 亚洲天堂 Lake had to be brought back here. We needed everyone to be able to take care of people from their own communities.鈥�
Some of the hospital capacity problems remain for the time being, partly because sending patients home or to The Pines can鈥檛 be easily accomplished.
鈥淭here are some people in the hospital in 亚洲天堂 Lake that are waiting for long-term care. They鈥檝e being assessed and that鈥檚 the appropriate place for them to be. That鈥檚 not unusual. We try not to have that be a long wait and we try not to have that be a lot of people because that does cause some challenges with the bed capacity.
鈥淭here are some other people, what we call our complex discharges. It won鈥檛 be easy for them to just go home. If their home has stairs and they can鈥檛 go up the stairs anymore. Can that be modified in their home? Do they and their family have to look at other options? In small communities, accessible housing for seniors in particular is a challenge right across the north.鈥�
Anguish said that building more rooms at The Pines won鈥檛 necessarily solve the problem.
鈥�$3.75 million wouldn鈥檛 build a lot more long-term care bedrooms. If you鈥檙e increasing the capacity you would need more dining. You wouldn鈥檛 get away with building more rooms and not expanding the dining area鈥t鈥檚 more comprehensive than just sticking new rooms on. There has to be room for activities and dining. It鈥檚 not simple, straightforward or inexpensive.鈥�
But the bigger issue, she pointed out, is that adding capacity to long-term care facilities is only part of the answer.
鈥淭he main reason we鈥檙e not doing it is it鈥檚 not the solution. People want to live in their homes independently as long as they can. One of the main reasons they can鈥檛 is the lack of accessible housing. And then healthcare needs to have the services to provide home support. We need more accessible housing for that demographic. And community health services, nursing and home support. Their own house has to be accessible and there has to be accessible housing that they can move into.鈥�
Funds for the dining area expansion were provided by the Ministry of Health, the Stuart Nechako Regional Hospital District, and Northern Health.
Blair McBride
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