CRD begins to design village-like care home for dementia patients in Colwood

A village-like long-term care home for dementia patients is coming to Colwood.

Announced this week, the Capital Regional Hospital District (CRHD) board has budgeted $205 million for the construction of a seniors-assisted living facility in Colwood’s Royal Bay neighbourhood.

The 306-bed facility will comprise four, three storeys buildings and will be built next to the new Royal BC Museum Collections and Archives building on Metchosin Road—the hospital district purchased the five-acre lot in April.

The village itself is inspired by a dementia village in the Netherlands; it provides a smaller scaled, person-centred home-like environment for patients.

The “village” will feature grocery stores, hair salons, bistros, and child care for residents and staff.

“The four buildings will feature generously sized rooms in a “dementia care design” to help create a safe and familiar home-like atmosphere for seniors,” read a statement released by City of Colwood.

“This layout that emulates a neighbourhood has been shown to support resident independence, social connections and overall wellness.”

Studies have shown that a village-like layout improves independence and social connections among seniors living with dementia.

In recent years, dementia treatment has gone the way of gestalt therapy and begun to include more immersive techniques and technologies such as virtual reality.