A ceremonial ground breaking today marked the start of construction on 34 new residential care beds for Invermere.

With shovels in hand, District of Invermere Mayor Gerry Taft, Golden Life Management’s Chief Operating Officer Celeste Mullin, Columbia Basin Trust board member and Regional District of East Kootenay Electoral Area F director Wendy Booth, and Interior Health board member David Goldsmith (pictured above) pitched in to help with the work.

The new beds are expected to be ready by early 2013 and will be in addition to the 55 independent living and eight assisted living suites already in place at Golden Life Management’s Columbia Garden Village.

“The start of construction on the new beds for Invermere and area is welcome news,” said IH Board Chair Norman Embree. “The addition of these beds, plus the over 500 new residential care beds being built across Interior Health, helps to keep seniors in their home communities close to family and friends.”

To help bridge the community’s needs, Interior health added 12 temporary residential care beds to the Invermere and District Hospital in December 2010. These beds will be shifted to the expanded Columbia Garden Village site upon completion of the expansion.

“Golden Life is very proud to be working with Interior Health and Columbia Basin Trust to provide the additional beds to the Columbia Valley,” said Celeste Mullin, Golden Life’s Chief Operating Officer. “Everything from the design of our buildings to the care and compassion our staff put into their work every day provides our residents the opportunity to live their best life.  We continue to be committed to delivering the highest quality of care to our residents and their families every day.”

Golden Life Management’s partnerships with Interior Health, BC Housing, Columbia Basin Trust and non-profit societies enable hundreds of seniors to access innovative seniors housing, services and resources.

“CBT is proud to be part of this expansion that is helping to increase the number of homes available for seniors living in this region,” said Johnny Strilaeff, CBT Vice-President of Investments. “Our investment in seniors care facilities provides positive, long-term value to our investment portfolio, while addressing the need for quality housing for seniors.”

CBT supports efforts by the people of the Basin to create a legacy of social, economic, and environmental well-being and to achieve greater self-sufficiency for present and future generations.

Interior Health awarded the contract for the new health authority funded residential care beds to Golden Life Management in May, 2011following a request for proposals.

With the addition of these new residential care beds and the existing 35 beds at Interior Health’s Columbia House site the community will have a total of 69 residential care beds by 2013.

Interior Health and CBT have partnered with Golden Life Management in the past to build assisted living and residential care villages in Cranbrook, Creston, Fernie, Kimberley, Trail, Castlegar, Nelson, and Fruitvale. And, most recently Interior Health and Golden Life Management partnered on a care village in Grand Forks.

Interior Health

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