Forty-eight Calgary seniors who were evacuated due to flooding in their home city have found temporary accommodation in Bashaw.
Thirty-seven of them are staying in a recently closed seniors lodge there. In early June, local seniors vacated Bashaw Valley Lodge, operated by The Bethany Group, and moved into the new Bashaw Meadows that includes lodge and supportive living units.
Seniors from Calgary were also moved into 11 units that had not yet been filled at Bashaw Meadows.
“They moved in last Wednesday and will probably be with us for another month or so. Then we’ll close the lodge again,” said Denis Beesley, president and CEO of the nonprofit Bethany Group.
Alberta Municipal Affairs requested that Bethany reopen the lodge about 10 days ago.
The Calgarians, who lived in the downtown independent seniors facility Trinity Place, had been staying at Ambrose University College in Calgary. But the college had to prepare for students.
“In our environment, they’re getting all their meals, linen and laundry. What we would have provided generally at the lodge,” Beesley said.
“We put out a call to all staff who could help. We filled all our shifts very quickly.”
Bethany has also made a 12-seat van available to the visitors.
He said the lodge, owned by Camrose and Area Lodge Authority and managed by Bethany Group, was built in 1966 and required upgrading.
The authority would like to sell the lodge and see it put to use.
“I think there are some possibilities because it is a good building. It just doesn’t fit the needs of the seniors of today who have wheelchairs or walkers,” Beesley said.
Bethany Group worked in conjunction with the lodge authority, Alberta Health Services and the Town of Bashaw to develop Bashaw Meadows to replace the lodge and provide supportive living beds.
Bashaw Meadows, which is owned by Bethany Group, received about $5.8 million from the province’s 2009/2010 Affordable Supportive Living Initiative for construction.
The town donated property for the $12-million facility which has 33 lodge units, with six one-bedroom units to accommodate couples, 20 designated supportive living units and 10 units for dementia patients.
A total of 25 long-term care beds were closed at Bashaw Care Centre when Bashaw Meadows opened. The care centre, built in 1963, continues to operate as a community health centre with no acute care beds.
Kerry Bales, vice-president of Central Zone with AHS, said there is no definitive plan for the space.
“At this point that space is just considered to be decomissioned,” Bales said.
Nine staff members from the care centre went to work at Bashaw Meadows and continue to be members of Alberta Union of Provincial Employees. Other long-term care staff were redeployed within AHS.
“Unfortunately, often the term layoff is used. But a layoff is really just the mechanism available to us within the collective agreements to actually redeploy our staff. Generally speaking, we’re actually seeing an overall increase in staffing in general in the zone and across the province,” Bales said.
AHS facilities elsewhere in Central Alberta continue to operate continuing care beds. They include Bentley Care Centre; Consort Hospital and Care Centre; Coronation Hospital and Care Centre; Innisfail Health Centre; Lacombe Hospital and Care Centre; Olds Hospital and Care Centre; Ponoka Hospital and Care Centre; Rimbey Hospital and Care Centre; Rocky Mountain House Health Centre; Stettler Hospital and Care Centre; and Sundre Hospital and Care Centre.
szielinski@www.reddeeradvocate.com