By Cheryl Jahn

Northern Health tours newest seniors housing

Jun 20, 2022 | 3:52 PM

VANDERHOOF – Today was the first time Northern Health has toured what Colleen Nyce calls “this unique project” is called Parkview Place and it is a jewel of housing in the heart of Vanderhoof. But it was an odyssey to get something to tour.

More than seven years ago, the local medical community noticed there were seniors living in the assisted living complex in that community that really didn’t need to be there. Until now, there were no options.

“There’s a lot of ideas, of course, early on,” explains Tyrell Arnold, Executive Director of Connexus, operator of the new independent living facility. “Eventually we settled on providing this home-like environment in a larger building for economies of scale but also location and availability of space.”

There are twenty rental suites on the second and third floors, all just over five hundred square feet in size. To date, fifteen are occupied. They have all the bells and whistles in terms of technology. But the first floor, Aurora Home, is what really sets this place aside. There are eight suites providing independent living for those with mild to moderate dementia.

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“This is home. This is their home,” says Colleen Nyce, Chair of the Northern Health Board. “There’s a kitchen, they can do their own cooking, and their bedrooms are accessible. Families can.”

Nyce says it’s high time those who produce this kind of housing started to think “seniors.”

“It’s a necessity with our aging population,” says Nyce. “To give these people respect and this dignity and this quality of life makes me so proud.”

Some of the technology in Aurora Home aids in a healthier lifestyle for residents. Circadian lighting, for example, aids in sleep rhythms.

“So this lighting provides more natural lighting for seniors,” says Arnold. “Particularly for someone with dementia. “Sundowners” is a very common issue and so being able to mimic the sun throughout the day is phenomenal.”

The District of Kitimat is expected to announce plans for a facility like this one and Colleen Nyce believes it won’t be the last.