Grande Spirit Foundation (photo by Curtis Galbraith)

By Liam Verster

Senior Living

Spirit River to get lion’s share of senior housing and care facility investment

Mar 12, 2020 | 1:18 PM

A joint investment from the Provincial and Federal Government will see more senior housing built in Alberta, mostly in the Peace Region.

Through a bilateral agreement between Canada and Alberta, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Alberta Seniors and Housing and Alberta Health are providing a $37-million capital investment to build 173 new seniors lodge and continuing care spaces across the province.

Of that investment, the Grande Spirit Foundation (GSP) is getting the lion’s share. The GSP has been awarded $24-million, to build a brand new 92 unit facility in Spirit River.

General Manager of GSP, Steve Madden, says the new facility they build will offer the full spectrum of services.

“So that’s SL 2, which is Seniors Living Level 2. Then there’s Level 3, which is when a senior needs a little bit more help in their facility. Then there’s Level 4, which is now we’re getting into closer to health care areas. And then the Level 4D, which is for dementia. So 26 of those 92 units are going to be designated towards the dementia construction build.”

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He goes on to say that Level 2 is where seniors start seeing home care support, and getting help with medication and general day to day things. Whereas in Level 4, the senior needs help from health services, and assisted living is a stronger need for the individual to actually go through their daily functions.

Madden adds that having the full spectrum of care from Level 2 to Level 4 means the senior can stay in the building for longer, and won’t need to relocate in order to receive more supports.

He says this isn’t just great for the seniors, who will need more care as time goes on, but also for their families, as the individuals will be able to stay in the community and still receive necessary services.

The Province is currently working through the paperwork, and started the tendering process, and though there’s no specific start date for the project, Madden suspects shovels to be in the ground in either the spring or summer of 2021. He adds construction is going to take three or four years, and hopes to see seniors moving in as soon as the build is complete.

The remainder of the $36-million is being split between the North Peace Foundation, and the Acadia Foundation. Everything GP reached out to those organizations to see exactly how much they were getting and what they would be building with that funding, but neither responded to a request for comment.