Hopes are high of Hillcrest Lodge’s long-awaited $11 million expansion starting in one or two years.
Enough funds are said to be in place for phase one of the project, although borrowing will also be needed. The work entails building 45 rooms, a new kitchen, dining room and administration office.
The final phase – which involves building 45 rooms, including a locked-down dementia wing – depends on provincial funding.
A meeting with government, probably the Minister of Seniors, is expected to take place in a few months.
News about Hillcrest’s expansion plans was disclosed last Thursday by Barrhead County councillor Darrell Troock, chairperson of the Barrhead and District Social Housing Association (BDSHA).
Speaking at Tamarack Health Advisory Council’s meeting at Barrhead hospital, Troock said work could take place in about a year.
“We are at the position now that if the province will allow us to apply for funding for phase two, we are quite prepared to go ahead with phase one on our own,” he said.
“We do have enough capital put away and with a bit of money we can borrow we can do phase one. That’s encouraging for our community.”
Hillcrest is regulated by a management body with representation from area municipalities, including the Town and County of Barrhead, Woodlands County, the Town of Swan Hills and M.D. of Big Lakes.
After the Tamarack council meeting, Troock said almost $3 million for phase one of the expansion project had been raised through a process called requisitioning.
For the past nine or 10 years, municipalities on the housing association had contributed towards capital costs.
Enough funds – added to borrowed money – were now in place to begin the project, he said.
“Hopefully within a year or two we will start building,” he said. “This isn’t cast in stone. It is our dream.”
Troock said no application for Alberta government funding had yet been submitted.
“We are probably going to go over the plans over the next couple of months and the summer,” he said. “Hopefully we will then get a meeting with the Minister, probably the Minister of Seniors.”
Troock said he was hopeful of government funding.
“I don’t see why the Alberta government won’t come through, because it is really a blessing for our community to help us out with that half of the project,” he said.
“I’m hoping they will be impressed that we have saved up our own money. We don’t requisition for operating costs only capital costs to replace ageing units. Once we build a new unit, we probably can stop requisitioning.”
The recommendations of new units at Hillcrest followed a needs assessment conducted in 2010 by Rick Beaupre and Associates. Visits were made to Swan Hills, Fort Assiniboine and Barrhead.
Hillcrest Chief Administrative Officer Dorothy Clarke made a presentation to then Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock MLA Ken Kowalski.
Last week, Troock said Red Deer-based architects John Murray Architectural Associates had produced concept drawings about three or four years ago.
“We are now going to review the drawings and see if anything has changed much since the needs assessment,” said Troock.
“At the time we did the needs assessment we started requisitioning the municipalities for funds.”
Troock said the 90 rooms planned at Hillcrest would be a mix of replacements and new units.
About 15 rooms will be reserved for dementia patients.
“They will have to have 24-hour nursing,” said Troock. “Right now we have home care coming in during the day.”
He added dementia patients currently stayed in hospital or the Keir Care Centre.
“We can’t look after them in the lodge if they are wanderers,” he said.
BDSHA provides housing at Hillcrest Lodge, Klondike Place, Jubilee Manor, Golden Crest, Pembina Court and James and Della Roach Manor at Fort Assiniboine.
At the Tamarack Health Advisory Council meeting, Troock raised the idea of using paramedics in senior lodges in rural Alberta
He said he had been encouraged by a trial use of paramedics in the province.
“The seniors were very comfortable with that, so I was quite impressed with it,” he said.
Troock said the Tamarack council – which represents municipalities in Barrhead, Mayerthorpe, Swan Hills, Westlock, Whitecourt, Edson, Hinton and Jasper – could consider promoting itself through a video. He suggested it could be an offshoot of Barrhead’s promotional video, which was released last Sunday.
“I’ve seen the video,” he said. “When you watch it you want to move to Barrhead. It’s a real welcoming video.”
In her north zone update, Kate Butler, vice president of Rural West, North Zone, told the council that endoscopy programs would be offered in Barrhead on Wednesday and Thursday, each week starting in April.
The advisory council aims to enhance and develop partnerships between the province’s diverse communities and Alberta Health Services. It is keen to promote public participation.
