Community care home for seniors opens in Fort Good Hope

A new nine-unitseniors centre providingcommunity home care opened in Fort Good Hope, N.W.T., on Tuesday.

There are eight rooms for elders and one room for a caretaker who will provide home care to the elders,said Rose McNeely, chair of the Rdeylk Housing Association.

There are two home care workers in the community of 582 one who works at the health centre and another who will work at the seniors' centre, said McNeely.

The new centre is the last of five similar complexes built across the territory to support seniors so they can remain in their community as they get older. The other four are in Aklavik, Fort Liard, Fort McPherson and What.

"Enabling seniors to age in place with dignity is a mandate priority of the 19th Legislative Assembly and requires a whole-of-government approach that crosses many departments," reads a statement issued by the N.W.T. government about the opening of the new centre.

Some of the supports include no-step entrances to suites, wider doorways and a main floor bathroom.

McNeely said the community has a five-plex for seniors, but it isn't supported by community or home care. She said that as elders age and their health needs increase, they don't want to leave their home community.

She said there's sometimes a language barrier as most elders speak Sahtuot'ne Yat, or North Slavey, and they also want to remain close to their family.

"A crucial part of ensuring the health and well-being of our elders is housing and I am pleased to have worked with the community leadership and local businesses ... on this project," said Housing Minister Paulie Chinna, who was on hand for the opening along with Julie Green, the minister responsible for seniors.