Feels Like Home
$1,500,000 Goal Reached
Construction begins on the “Feels Like Home” enhancement at Golden Eagle
Long-term care residents in Canmore are one step closer to having a place that they can say ‘Feels Like Home’ now that renovations have begun on the enhancement project of the Golden Eagle View Long-term Care Unit at the Canmore General Hospital.
The enhancement project will create a more modern, residential look and feel, while maintaining the mountain character of Canmore that residents feel familiar with. Construction of Phase 1 of the enhancements began on July 13 and includes the dining room, bathrooms, hair salon and the administration office. The focal point of the upgrade will be the creation of a sun room/sitting lounge in the dining area where residents and their families will be able to enjoy breathtaking views, lots of sunshine, thanks to new panoramic windows, and a new fireplace.
The project is being funded entirely by donors to The Canmore and Area Health Care Foundation’s ‘Feels Like Home’ campaign, which has has met the fundraising goal of $1,500,000 to fund construction of the unit. “Our campaign began in 2016 and we are incredibly grateful to all those who have stepped up over the past four years to ensure that our seniors in this community have a welcoming environment to call home, says Soulafa Al-Abbasi, Executive Director of the Canmore & Area Health Care Foundation. ‘Feels Like Home’ is the Foundation’s largest capital campaign since inception and was supported 50 per cent by community, third party events and foundation golf tournaments, and 50 per cent by major donors.
Golden Eagle View Long-term Care — Proposed Design
Nicholas Thain, AHS Senior Operating Officer, Community, Rural and Continuing Care notes, “This project is a great example of how the community supports its residents. We are thankful to the Foundation for making this possible and believe that this project will ensure Golden Eagle View is a place of comfort where seniors can receive the very best care.”
The residents are excited for the project as well. Golden Eagle View Long Term Care Unit opened in 1984. Anne Von Niessen, a long-term care resident at Golden Eagle View, shares: “I saw this place go up brick by brick and I was at the opening. I never imagined that I would be living here as an occupant…I am happy in here. Let’s make this place even better than it is.”
Anne shares her excitement about the new windows providing residents with a view of the Three Sisters Mountains: “I love spending my days in the garden or looking out at the mountains. I couldn’t have chosen a better place to live.”
During the COVID-19 outbreak, extra precautions are taking place to ensure room for social distancing and wheelchair access. To keep families informed, the unit has been holding family meetings using teleconference to explain all renovation details to families of residents as well as COVID protocols. During the renovations, the unit remains prepared for a potential COVID outbreak.
Phase 1 of the renovations are expected to be completed in the fall of 2021.
Feels Like Home - Final Phase
Imagine yourself in a situation when you aren’t sure who is who, where you are, what time or day it is – you are unsteady on your feet – the doors are confusing – you can’t find your bedroom, your bathroom or your kitchen – strangers are feeding and bathing you – you feel the need to get out and go home – this is what life can be like with dementia.
Our residents in long-term care at the Canmore General Hospital are not there by choice, many cannot say thank you, but that does not mean that they are not as important as the person having a baby, having chest pain, or having surgery. Our residents, many in their 90s and one who is 103, have contributed to our community and our province to make it what it is today, and we are obliged to do the best for them.
Thanks to you, we’re getting very close to our target. A total of $1,000,000 has been raised towards our $1,500,000 goal for the ‘Feels Like Home’ enhancement project of the Golden Eagle View Long-term Care Unit at the Canmore General Hospital.
Anne Going, long-term care resident at Golden Eagle View, shares: “We live here 24hours a day. You have to feel like you’re not in a hospital or a hotel. This project makes it feel more like a home to me. I think it’s going to be so lovely!”
The current environment is sterile and institutional at Golden Eagle View, “which makes it feel like a temporary place where people have to be. The ‘Feels Like Home’ enhancement project has the potential to transform Golden Eagle View into an environment where people want to live,” says Cat Harris, long-term care RN.
Pierre Boucher, the Foundation’s vice-chair, sits on the GEV planning committee that oversees the renovations. He highlights that the ‘Feels Like Home’ enhancement project is the largest project ever initiated by the Canmore and Area Health Care Foundation. “The objective of the project is to enhance the experience of residents and staff by modernizing the visual and functional aspects of the facility. It will create a more contemporary, residential look and feel, while fostering the natural mountain character of Canmore. This goes well beyond a fresh coat of paint. Extensive research has gone into the design to provide residents who suffer from memory loss with visual cues and ‘way finding’ features. The focal point of the upgrade will be the creation of a sun room/sitting lounge in the dining area where residents and their families will be able to enjoy breathtaking views, lots of sunshine, thanks to new panoramic windows, and a new fireplace. We are thrilled by the way the project is taking shape, and we are grateful to the design team for their meticulous attention to every detail.”
Katharine Scheel, new long-term care manager at the Canmore General Hospital, is also a part of the newly formed GEV planning committee that oversees the renovations. Kathrine is very excited to be part of this project. “The commitment of the community and our hospital Foundation has been incredible! I can finally see it all coming together, and how positive this renovation will be for our residents, family members, and our staff. Every day I have the honor of working with the 23 seniors who live in our unit. I hear stories of hard times, weddings, fond memories of caring for children, grandchildren, and so much more. The one constant that comes up is stories about life in their ‘home’. Through this renovation, we have a wonderful opportunity to create a warm and welcoming long-term ‘home’ for our seniors to enjoy the remainder of their retirement years here in Canmore,” says Katharine.
Golden Eagle View opened in 1984. Since May 26, 1999, 238 residents have called GEV home.
When you donate, you are helping Canmore build a home away from home for its long-term care residents.
My sincerest wishes for your health and happiness during this holiday season.
Sincerely,
Soulafa Al-Abbasi
Executive Director, Canmore & Area Health Care Foundation
Feels Like Home - Phase Three
Thanks to you, we have raised $631,059.14 towards our $1.5 million goal for the Feels Like Home enhancement project of the Golden Eagle View long-term care unit at the Canmore General Hospital. This project’s objective is to make residents and their families feel like they are walking into their own homes, not into a hospital. We wish to create an environment of calm and peace and one that invites guests to stay and visit.
When you donate, you are helping Canmore build a home away from home for long-term care residents.
This year, we are asking you to support renovations to residents’ rooms, to create a more homelike environment. The doorways will be individualized to simulate an entrance to the home, and the furnishings and décor will be based on the most recent research on dementia care and support for the frail older adult. Each room will be decorated differently and, with an emphasis on including the residents’ personal items in their rooms, this will increase the feeling that this is home. Safety and comfort in the setting will be a priority. The room will be soft colours. The flooring will have no contrasting features, to minimize the incidence of falls. The lighting will be diffused to decrease the stimulation and promote calm. Beds and furnishings will be homelike rather than institutional, with opportunity to include personal touches to foster reminiscence. Access to outside space and opportunity to wander safely will be a priority.
Carol Duncan, Site Manager at the hospital, is a driving force behind this project. “Living well with dementia and living safely as a frail older adult is something that is very important for us at Golden Eagle View. We are so grateful for the community support to achieve our goals for person-centered care.”
Feels Like Home Project Costs
The late Don Garen, husband of one of the long-term residents at Golden Eagle View, shared:
“As a daily visitor to the long-term care unit, I can visualize the improvements this project will make to the day-to-day living of the residents…. The new plan will also bring a more homey feel to the place, while maintaining the necessary functionality. If the whole project goes forward as hoped, there will be more shared spaces for residents and their visitors to spend time outside their rooms. The renovations and new elements will bring positive changes making a real difference to the lives of residents and visiting family members alike.”
What’s the scope of this project? 225 residents have called Golden Eagle View home since May 26, 1999. You are the critical part of the impact we’ve made – and must sustain and grow.
Please consider making a gift to the Feels Like Home enhancement project. Help us build a home away from home for our long-term residents.
My sincerest wishes for your health and happiness during this holiday season.
Sincerely,
Soulafa Al-Abbasi
Executive Director, Canmore & Area Health Care Foundation
Feels Like Home - Phase Two
Last year, our community answered the call to start raising money for the Feels Like Home enhancement project of Golden Eagle View. Enhancing this long-term care unit at the Canmore General Hospital is improving quality of life for residents and family members.
One of our first purchases was new dining room furniture for the residents at Golden Eagle View. This improvement has received some great reviews, as the dining room is the social hub of the unit. It is the place where residents gather for many therapeutic and social activities, such as sharing a meal, or visiting with family.
“Excellent upgrade to the furniture in the dining room. The institutional look is now gone. The tables are higher and can better accommodate manual wheelchairs for Golden Eagle View residents.”
– Jim E., family member of a resident
“The new furniture looks great, and I sense a feeling of pride in the new look and feel in the residents I talked to about the changes”
– Leslie S., family member of a resident
Thanks to you, we have raised nearly $450,000 of our $1.5 million goal.
Now we are asking you to support the front entrance area. It is the first thing you see and feel when you walk into the unit.
Our vision is to open up the unit desk area and create a welcoming space – much like in our own homes. We want our residents and families to feel like they are walking into a home, not a hospital. We are developing an environment of calm and peace and one that invites you to stay and visit.
We would like to move away from this:
To something more inviting for residents and families:
You are the critical part of the impact we’ve made – and must sustain grow.
Please consider making a gift to the Feels Like Home enhancement project. Help us build a home away from home for our long-term residents.
My sincerest wishes for your health and happiness during this holiday season.
Sincerely,
Soulafa Al-Abbasi
Executive Director,
Canmore & Area Health Care Foundation
Feels Like Home
We’re on a mission – and we need you to be a part of it. We know that you are among those in our community who understand the need for a healthy community.
The Golden Eagle View was opened in June 1984. It was the first long-term care residential facility in the Bow Valley. Today, the facility houses 23 residents and has 35 dedicated staff. The average length of stay in the unit is 950 days. The facility needs major improvements. The capital project will total around $1.5 million, which the Foundation has committed in supporting. The renovation plans were drawn up by consulting with families, residents of Golden Eagle View, and staff at the Canmore General Hospital.
The Golden Eagle View enhancement project, Feels Like Home, will incorporate design and esthetics with research-based recommendations for elder care facilities that accommodate those with dementia. The vision of the project is to create an environment that feels like home for our residents and will enrich the quality of life of our residents today and for the next 30 years. In its current state, the unit is very institutional in its appearance and décor, and the goal of the project will be to incorporate research-based renovations. Examples of the changes include updating the lighting levels for various locations, using colour combinations that elderly and dementia-care population are attracted to and thrive in, and even changing the appearance of the unit to more of a “home” environment complete with themed hallways and personalized doorways to each resident’s room. The project will have 5 components:
Dining room and beauty salon
Residents’ rooms
Residential common use and living spaces
Unit entrance and nursing desk
Solarium
The final addition will be a brand-new addition of a large solarium off the north side of the department.
“As a daily visitor to the long-term care Unit, I can visualize the improvements this project will make to the day-to-day living of the residents. An important point is that the furniture in the dining and recreation room is still the original brought in when Golden Eagle View first opened thirty-three years ago. The new plan will also bring a more homey feel to the place, while maintaining the necessary functionality. If the whole project goes forward as hoped, there will be more shared spaces for residents and their visitors to spend time outside their rooms. The renovations and new elements will bring positive changes making a real difference to the lives of residents and visiting family members alike.”
– Don Garen, husband of one of the long-term residents at Golden Eagle View
I am asking you to consider making a gift to the Golden Eagle View enhancement project. Every dollar makes a difference. Help us build a home away from home for our long-term residents.
My sincerest wishes for your health and happiness during this holiday season.
Sincerely,
Soulafa Al-Abbasi
Executive Director
Canmore & Area Health Care Foundation
Want to read more: Outlook Article, “Foundation boosts Golden Eagle View upgrades”