For the complete text of “ 2010 OUR STRATEGY FOR GROWTH – A SUMMARY”
For Population Projections AGE = 80+ , CLICK here.
For Population Projections AGE = 85+, CLICK here.
For Population Projections AGE = 90+, CLICK here.
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Saanich Peninsula Abbeyfield Strategy
Our strategy to year 2020 is one of growth based on the land at 9025 Mainwaring Road, North Saanich, BC and on meeting the needs of seniors on the Saanich Peninsula (municipalities of North Saanich, Sidney, Central Saanich and Saanich). We will work with the Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA) and its affiliates and give consideration to the needs of other regions on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, and VIHA’s placement policies and fiscal constraints.
It is a strategy which will enable Abbeyfield Saanich Peninsula and its future partners to provide seniors with a spectrum of housing and care at one location; allow older people to age in place; and end the separation of elderly couples in the last years or months of their lives.
It is a strategy which will build on the experience of Abbeyfield in British Columbia and of other Canadian Abbeyfield houses in Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta. It will build on the wealth of expertise gained by Abbeyfield in the UK, particularly in the care of dementia, and in 15 other countries including Italy, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Most importantly, it will build on the experience of VIHA's Complex Care facilities and those of VIHA’s affiliates.
Our strategy will respect and preserve the rural atmosphere in the southeast quadrant of North Saanich by incorporating horticulture as a program for therapy for all residents and in particular, for residents with mild to moderate dementia. We will also preserve as many native shrubs and trees as possible for songbird habitat.
To gain an understanding of the needs and expectations of residents in the Saanich Peninsula and in the Capital Regional District as a whole, we will conduct a wide range of market studies.
Preliminary Studies
1. The population of older people in the CRD and Saanich Local Health Area (LHA) 63 at four age brackets are all projected to increase in numbers and as a percentage of total population from year 2010 to 2020 and beyond (see statistics below).
· The AGE=75+ group in the LHA 63 is projected to increase by 1,595 from 8,451 in year 2011 to 10,046 in year 2020. The population of the same age group in the CRD is projected to increase by 5,114 from 33,712 in year 2011 to 38,826 in year 2020.
· The populations in the four age brackets in LHA 63 are projected to account for 21% to 32% of the CRD populations in the same four age brackets. This suggests the Saanich Peninsula is seen by the AGE=75+ population as a desirable place to live within the CRD.
2. Since St. Andrew’s Abbeyfield House opened in Sidney, British Columbia in 1987, there hasn’t been an Abbeyfield in Canada that offered housing and care for dementia clients although the need was there. Of the 51 residents who stayed at St. Andrew’s Abbeyfield from 1987 to 2007, 31 residents had to move to higher care facilities after Long Term Care (LTC) assessment; 13 died while in residence; and 7 left for other reasons.
3. In the June/July 2009 survey we conducted in the southeast quadrant of North Saanich, 86% of the canvassed households supported our proposal to build Abbeyfield Houses for independent seniors and dementia clients on the 5-acre site of the former Sansbury Elementary School. At the September 2009 Saanich Fall Fair, the joint proposal of Saanich Peninsula Abbeyfield and the Adventist Health Home Care Society received 850 signatures in support of independent and dementia Abbeyfield Houses and a complex care facility on the Sansbury school site. The joint project came to an end when the disposition order for the Sansbury school land was reversed.
As the door closed on the 5-acre Sansbury school site, another door opened to the 34 acres on Mainwaring Road. Lot 4 (17.54 acres) has been offered for sale to Saanich Peninsula Abbeyfield. Even though the adjacent Lot 5 (16.79 acres) has to be held by the Beneficiary for an extended period of time, lease-to-own options for other worthwhile land uses maybe possible. The purchase of Lot 4 by Saanich Peninsula Abbeyfield would be a great gift to the Peninsula and the Capital Regional District; and the provision of housing and care by Abbeyfield and its future partners, a blessing to older people for decades to come.
