Prince Edward Island’s Manor Replacement Program is going so well, other provinces are looking to us for advice and a national design and construction magazine is profiling it, says Health and Wellness Minister Doug Currie.
“Our Manor Replacement Program is an integral part of our Aging in Home strategy for Island seniors,” Minister Currie said. “By replacing these manors, we are showing Island seniors – the ones who built these communities – the respect and dignity they deserve in a person-centred care model.”
The province is replacing five long-term care facilities and expanding another. Colville Manor in Souris and Maplewood Manor in Alberton opened in November, 2011. Summerset is scheduled to open January, 2013, and the new Prince Edward home in the Spring of 2013. The 15-bed expansion to the Margaret Stewart Ellis Wing in O’Leary will open this May.
Because construction costs for long-term care manors in New Brunswick are running significantly higher than Prince Edward Island’s, that province sent representatives from its Department of Health and Department of Supply and Services to Colville Manor last December to tour the new site. They wanted to know how Prince Edward Island was able to build such beautiful new manors – Colville and Maplewood – so economically. They asked operational questions about household routines and the role of the combined service worker.
Prince Edward Island’s new manors are also being profiled in a three-part series in the Canadian Design and Construction Report. This publication will feature interviews with architects and contractors.
Person-centred care promotes independence and autonomy – rather than control – and allows residents to choose from reliable yet flexible services. Staff get to work in a collaborative, team environment.
For example, when they move in, residents are asked to complete a lengthy questionnaire about their daily habits, food preferences, family traditions, etc. Staff work hard to accommodate these individual preferences.
The new 52-person buildings feature four households with 13 residents in each. Every household has a dedicated living room, dining room, lounge, serving kitchen and access to an outdoor courtyard. Residents have a private bedroom and washroom.
The central core of the building houses support services, a central kitchen, laundry, senior’s day programs, a chapel and administration. There is a large gathering space.
The new Colville Manor has made a huge difference in the life of 88-year-old World War II veteran Jessie Dixon. With her own private room, she’s sleeping and eating better. “Before, there were four of us in a room and the nurses were coming and going and people were getting up to use the washroom all night,” she said. “Company’s good but any human needs some privacy.”
She also appreciates the simple convenience of being able to eat breakfast whenever she wants to get up in a small dining room close to her bedroom. “I don’t have to get dressed first thing in the morning. I can still go down (to the bigger dining room) for dinner and supper, that’s my social life.”
Health PEI’s Home Based and Long-Term Care Executive Director Cecil Villard said the design of the new manors took into account the specific needs of seniors and the model of care that respects their privacy. “The new homes were designed to facilitate the residents’ right to dignity, respect, privacy and quality of life.”
Colville Manor Administrator Jean Fallis said staff are getting to know residents better now that they are caring for smaller numbers. “It no longer feels like a large institution.”
Dixon says attentive, caring staff and a fresh new manor are adding joy to her days. “I love it here, everybody is so good to me. I’m well looked after.”