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| Backgrounder(s) & FactSheet(s): | Backgrounder |
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| Backgrounder(s) & FactSheet(s): | Backgrounder |
SURREY – Health Minister George Abbott was joined by health-care leaders, facility staff, residents and their families to celebrate the grand opening of the CareLife Fleetwood residential care facility today with a special tree planting ceremony.
“Government is committed to providing the best health care that will meet the needs of our seniors, today and for years to come,” said Abbott. “CareLife Fleetwood is an excellent example of government’s investments in new facilities with modern care standards to replace aging facilities that don’t reflect best standards anymore.”
The $38-million facility is more than 130,000 square feet (39,624 square metres) in size but is divided into four “neighbourhoods.” Each neighbourhood features private rooms for 177 residents and semi-private rooms for an additional 24 people, each equipped with a wheelchair-accessible washroom and ceiling lift. Residents can also enjoy separate living rooms with fireplaces, small dining rooms for 12 people, and a fresh food kitchen. Fleetwood has a total of 191 residential care beds, of which 157 are publicly funded.
The building itself is built around secure interior courtyards, each with their own water fountains, trees, gazebo and gas barbeques that will allow residents to dine outside in summer.
“I’m pleased to be part of a collaborative effort that provides such a state-of-the-art facility for seniors throughout the Fraser Health region,” said Dave S. Hayer, MLA for Surrey-Tynehead, who also served as the event’s master of ceremonies.
The opening
of the new facility also marks a new chapter in the expansion of Surrey
Memorial Hospital’s emergency department.
Residents of the Dainard and Barham pavilions will move to CareLife
Fleetwood, permitting demolition to begin on the pavilions this summer to make
way for the expanded emergency department.
“This new seniors’ care facility provides not only a new home for the 156 residents of Dainard and Barham pavilions but also a new model of residential care to meet the needs of seniors in our communities,” said Dr. Nigel Murray, president and CEO of Fraser Health. “Most residents at CareLife Fleetwood will have their own rooms with private bathrooms, all of which are wheelchair accessible, as well as fireplace-equipped living rooms for a more homelike environment.”
The new
Surrey emergency centre, at triple the size of the current facility, will
include a separate children’s ER, as well as a separate mental health and
addictions area, an enhanced minor treatment unit, and an improved area for
acute patients. The new emergency
department is part of the Surrey Health Services Capacity
Initiative, with a value of more than $200 million, to address Surrey’s
future health needs and ease congestion at Surrey Memorial Hospital. The initiative also includes a
new outpatient
hospital, a new perinatal care facility above the new emergency facility, and
more renal stations and ICU beds, as well as additional acute care beds.
The CareLife Fleetwood facility was built by Lark Construction, which is leasing the facility back to Fraser Health at a fixed rate for the next 20 years. Fraser Health will provide the $13.3-million annual operating budget, including salaries and benefits for 256 regular and casual staff.
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Manager of Media Relations Ministry of Health 250 480-6678 (cell) 250 952-1887 (media line) |
604 450-7881 |
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