It's been 18 months since Providence Living at The Views opened its doors in July 2024, in Comox, BC. So what's different about Canada's first publicly funded long-term care village?
Providence Living set out to transform the physical environment of long-term care. They moved away from hospital-like institutions and instead built homes, neighbourhoods, and community spaces. This change has brought a level of liveliness to long-term care we have not seen before.
Instead of large shared rooms and bathrooms, The Views features individual suites nestled within a household, each with a full kitchen, living room, and dining room in a familiar open-plan layout. It feels more human-scale, more comfortable, and more comforting.
At The Views, there is a clear delineation between public and private life, spaces, and activities. For example, bedrooms are for private time, dining room for meal time, and living room for socializing with household members and visitors. Public spaces are for walking, social activities, grocery shopping, physical therapy, and even doctor visits at the clinic. You might be thinking, of course, this is exactly how we live out our daily lives, but would you believe if we said that The Views is actually radically different from how long-term care is currently organized?
Providence Living at The Views offers its residents personalized care and supports each residents unique lifestyle. Daily routines, meal preferences, activities that bring joy are all tailored to the individual. In a traditional model, the residents have to conform to pre-set workflow schedules and plans with not much room for personalization.
Residents at The Views are supported to engage in activities that bring them joy. For example, some residents enjoy their daily strolls in and outside of the village. Other residents visit the art studio and are immersed in painting and carving for hours. Some visit the fitness centre regularly, and some are part of the resident choir. Whatever their interests are, the individuals are supported to explore them on their own, with support from staff or in a group with other residents.
This is long-term care reimagined. Providence Living at The Views is an example that Canada can transform care for aging adults with complex care needs.
If you wish to learn more and support this transformation, join our Conconi Challenge! We are currently matching up to $1.5M in donations to St. Paul’s Foundation to support the expansion of this model of care to other publicly funded long-term care homes.
We have other great content, continue exploring below.