Senior’s Care and Healthy Aging
Aging joyfully
A whole new approach to care for seniors and older adults.
It’s hard to imagine anything more meaningful or rewarding than improving care for seniors and older adults.
That’s why Providence Health Care (PHC) and Providence Living (PL) are pioneering new approaches to care for older adults in acute care and for residents in long-term care. And it starts by asking seniors and their families what they want and what matters most. Equipped with this feedback, we are changing everything.
- We are streamlining and bridging the gaps between home care, acute care, and specialized care.
- We are supporting older adults to stay independent and live at home for as long as possible.
- If the time comes for long-term care, we are welcoming residents into spaces and daily living experiences that feel more like home.
- We are safeguarding dignity and autonomy and honouring each person’s values, traditions, and interests.
And this is just the beginning. Looking ahead, we’re developing a brick-and-mortar Centre for Healthy Aging on the campus of the new St. Paul’s Hospital. And we have supported Providence Living to build Canada’s first public, non-profit care villages that are modelled after dementia villages.
“Our seniors are worth it. They are treasures that deserve the best. I am so blessed to know them, have the opportunity to listen to their stories, and share their lives with them. They still have so much to give, even those who are so close to the end of their lives. But they need time and ways to give it.”
Joyce Shepherd
Providence Living recreation therapist
A growing need
Canada’s population is aging.
For the first time in history, there are more Canadians over the age of 65 than under 15. By 2031, almost one in four people in BC – that’s more than 1.3 million people – will be over 65.
This is going to affect all of us – and soon.
Anticipating this massive shift in our demographics and the resulting need for care and support, Providence is embarking on a number of bold initiatives that will enable seniors and older adults in BC to age comfortably in place.
Seniors and older adults make important contributions to their families and communities, and should not be left behind. We provide compassionate, person-centred care that meets people where they’re at, and helps them pursue meaningful lives.
Our goals start with keeping people healthy and in their homes as long as possible. We train and empower caregivers and allied health professionals to assess complex medical and social needs. And when someone has a medical issue, we ensure they have access to appropriate triage, treatment, and follow-up care.
If long-term care is needed, we are transforming the institutional model into an approach that recognizes each resident as individuals with unique wants and needs, and then caring for them accordingly.
Our work to reimagine seniors care was already well underway when the pandemic hit. What we’ve learned since then has us doubling down on our efforts to move the dial and to move it quickly.
A history of success
Known for its research, innovation, and excellence in supporting seniors in both acute and long-term care settings, Providence is uniquely positioned to redefine our expectations of seniors care and healthy aging.
From the very beginning, we’ve fostered a culture of putting people first. We provide collaborative care that revolves around the needs and preferences of the individual and their families, not the needs of the institution or staff.
We have a proven ability to adapt and respond to needs quickly, implementing services and programs that best serve patient and resident populations.
About 25% of all patients admitted to St. Paul’s Hospital and about 50% of patients admitted to Mount Saint Joseph Hospital are over the age of 70. Our multidisciplinary teams have a wealth of experience in supporting seniors with their acute health care needs, and recognize that early access to expertise is vital to avoiding or minimizing the loss of functional abilities.
In 2017, we launched Providence Living that solely focuses on seniors care, simply because we believe this population deserves dedicated and in-depth support.
“We owe so much to our seniors. They have lived full, hardworking, and meaningful lives. They are engineers, pilots, homemakers, veterans, artists, carpenters. They deserve to be heard, respected, and honoured.”
Judi Wild-Hutter
whose husband, Lorne, is a resident at Providence Living at The Views
Changing the culture of long-term care
Person-centred and resident-directed care is a fundamental part of our mission. Our teams continually engage in initiatives that advance care for residents and enhance their living experience. For example:
- Residents at St. Vincent’s Langara can create beautiful music and sounds without touching a single instrument. Soundbeam, a British-developed music system, has motion sensors that let users create music with a simple movement from any part of their body. A wave of the hand, a wiggle of a toe, or the wheeling of a chair in and out of the beam can create sound.
- Residents enjoy engaging, interactive play with the Tovertafel, or ‘magic table’. The device uses overhead light displays and motion sensors to project interactive games and vibrant images onto a surface. It was developed for people with cognitive challenges, including seniors living with dementia. Besides providing pleasure and entertainment, the games are also meant to conquer apathy, reduce restless and tense behaviour, and increase positive emotions.
- Gardening activities are offered across 10 Providence long-term care and assisted-living homes. Care homes provide adaptive gardening tools that are designed to let the strongest arm muscles do the work while keeping the joints in natural positions with no extra strain on a person’s hand. They’re comfortable, easy to grip, and carry, enabling residents to continue enjoying their favourite gardening activity that promotes physical and mental well-being.
- Residents at St. Vincent’s Brock Fahrni can participate in a variety of art therapy programs at its Artworks studio. Drawing, painting, crafts, and more provide a sense of calm and meditation for residents, and can even enhance their memory and cognition.
- St. Vincent’s Langara, Mount St. Joseph, and Chénchenstway started the Traditional Chinese Soup Program for residents. Staff selected a variety of traditional Chinese soup recipes and turned them into homey soups for residents. Due to their aroma and use of herbs, the soups stimulate the resident’s sensations and help them increase their appetite, and also help replenish fluids and keep residents hydrated.
- The Holy Family Radio Show, which began in the early days of the pandemic, is a resident-led radio program sharing music, jokes, and updates. It’s been a source of comfort and joy for residents and staff alike – and there’s even a mini-documentary about its impact!
We are proud of our long track record of innovative approaches to culture change in long-term care – projects that have been recognized by the BC Patient Safety and Quality Council, the BC Health Care Awards, among others.
Publicly funded, person-centred
Providence is leading the charge in creating long-term care homes that genuinely look and feel like home. And they’ll be public and accessible to all, no matter one’s financial situation.
Our mandate is simple: To provide the feeling of home.
Historically, long-term care homes in Canada have struggled with aging infrastructures and negative perceptions of being rigid, medicalized institutions.
Now we are turning this model on its head, and reimagining care for seniors and adults in a way that supports residents in living their best lives within an environment that feels like home.
Through incorporating best practices from around the world, Providence has developed a new made-in-BC model that will transform public, non-profit, long-term care in Canada. We call it: Home for Us.
Inspired by the dementia village concept pioneered in the Netherlands, Home for Us empowers residents to enjoy autonomous, meaningful lives.
The three key principles of Home for Us are:
- emotional connections matter most
- home is not a place, but a feeling
- residents direct each moment
Providence’s innovative approach puts the focus on the needs and wants of residents, recognizing that aging adults are more likely to thrive when they are supported to maintain their independence, social connections, and desired and purposeful personal routines.
Depending on the unique needs of the community, our village grounds may feature amenities like a village hall, a cafe and bistro, a grocery store, outdoor spaces, gardens, and sacred spaces for worship and reflection, including Indigenous ceremonial practices.
“It’s a wonderful, sensible return to the village model. There is so much to be gained by being with elders, laughing with them, and seeing the world through their eyes. I wouldn’t feel I have a full social life without this contact.”
Janet Haigh
Providence Living volunteer
Affordable and accessible
What does this look like in real life?
- Villages are organized into 12-person households. Each resident has a private bedroom and bathroom, with ample space for personal belongings.
- Each household has common living areas such as a kitchen and lounge. If they choose, residents can participate in everyday activities like laundry, food preparation, and social bonding with housemates. It’s kind of like living in a university dorm!
- Medical needs and conditions are expertly managed in the homes by the onsite Medical Coordinator.
- Villages support residents’ autonomy, such as those who choose to spend their time on private, quiet activities like family visits and reading in their own suites.
- Innovative technologies, including circadian cycle-mimicking tunable lighting and wearable devices with real-time locating systems, encourage freedom while protecting residents’ safety.
- Residents can plan their entire day based on what they want to do. There are no set schedules to follow for eating, sleeping, going outside, or leisure time.
- Staff are trained to take on a variety of roles in households such as personal care, cooking, housekeeping and recreation; they spend a lot of time socializing and bonding with residents.
- Villages aren’t isolated. There are many opportunities for residents to interact with people of all generations from the local community – by not just inviting community members in, but by creating a thriving village that is also meaningful in the broader community.
Although this kind of care exists in the private sector, Providence is the first to bring it into public long-term care.
Guided by compassion, social justice, and equity, we are making the village care model affordable and accessible for everyone.
Providence Living at the Views
Canada’s first public, non-profit long-term care village.
The first of our villages, Providence Living at The Views, opened in Comox this summer.
Based on the concept of a dementia village, it’s a true home for 156 residents with varied and complex health issues including dementia. This is a place that recognizes residents as individuals with unique needs and interests, and provides them with opportunities for choice, spontaneity, social connections, and day-to-day activities that give their lives joy and purpose.
The physical environment encourages residents’ participation in everyday activities like laundry, food preparation, and social bonding with their housemates and the wider village community, if desired.
We’re bringing the everyday back into long-term care.
Providence Living at The Views includes amenities you’d find in most villages: a grocery store, a café, a courtyard, gardening space, a playground, a community centre, and places for spiritual worship.
Unique features are an onsite daycare for intergenerational connections, and an Indigenous Gathering Space developed with the K’ómoks Nation as part of our commitment to reconciliation.
All of these elements encourage daily pleasures, and a life well lived.
We’re also working on a comprehensive, first-of-its-kind research study to advance the knowledge base on dementia villages. The research has already begun with household pilots in Comox and Vancouver.
At Providence Living at The Views, Providence will continue to collect real-time data from residents, staff, and families to help refine the model as we build more person-centred care villages across the province.
The new care villages opening across BC in the next five years – including in Vancouver and Prince George – will forever change what it feels like to live in a long-term care setting.
“This is a flourishing, authentic, and genuine community. Emotional connections matter, and that’s something we do well. Providence Living at The Views isn’t isolated – it really is part of the broader Comox community.”
Jennifer Gibson
Providence Living’s director of Quality, Practice, and Program Development
Providence is leading the charge in creating long-term care homes that genuinely look and feel like home. Together, with the help of generous donors like the Aune Foundation, Eldercare Foundation, Y. P. Heung Foundation, Conconi Family Foundation, and Doug and Teri Loughran, we are working toward a future where communities around the world will be empowered to provide care that puts residents first.
Carving a new path forward
Today, seniors must navigate a disjointed health care system.
You don’t have to be a senior to know that the current system is poorly equipped to support seniors and older adults.
Services are scattered across different locations and wait lists are often long for specialty care. In many cases, no single clinician has a holistic view of an older adult’s health or has full access to their care plans.
Each specialist looks after one specific condition and patients must make several trips to see specialists at different clinics, adding unnecessary stress and burden on them and their families. Worse yet, long wait times associated with referrals and appointments can have an adverse effect on their health.
At the new St. Paul’s Hospital and in our care villages, we envision a different, better way to access and deliver care.
Older adults and families have struggled long enough. We are generating change right here, right now.
Centre for Healthy Aging
The future of seniors care has never been brighter.
In a few short years, the new St. Paul’s Hospital on the Jim Pattison Medical Campus will open on the False Creek Flats in Vancouver. The new hospital will be the cornerstone of BC’s first integrated health care campus, spanning the size of eight city blocks.
Older adults will see their health care transformed with the Centre for Healthy Aging at the new St. Paul’s Hospital. It will be a central hub for a streamlined health care experience, so older adults across BC can access the care and support they need, when and where they need it.
The Centre for Healthy Aging is BC’s first purpose-built centre focused on the care of older adults and seniors, providing wraparound, interdisciplinary services. We’ll help them enjoy a higher quality of life by addressing issues like long wait lists and disjointed, singularly focused medical appointments.
Caregivers at the centre will work together to provide team-based assessments, expedited referrals to specialists, and outpatient and ambulatory services – all of which will be tailored to meet the patient’s needs in their own communities.
The Centre for Healthy Aging’s emphasis on coordination will give patients smoother transitions from one area of care to another. As much as possible, patients will receive the care they need at one appointment, rather than making multiple visits or waiting long periods between each appointment.
Seniors and older adults will have access to a full continuum of care provided by Providence and partner organizations in the community. This multidisciplinary approach will be especially beneficial for people with dementia or comorbidities, and their families.
This model also lowers the burden on the health care system by reducing the length and need for potential hospital stays, and prevents additional health care needs due to caregiver burnout.
This is a new path forward. And it’s going to change everything.
Transitioning from acute care to home supports.
In 2023, 26% of emergency visits and 47% of hospitalizations across the province were for seniors. On average, seniors stayed in the hospital for eight and a half days – that’s four days longer than their younger counterparts.
We’re trying to make hospitalizations, and the necessary follow-up care, much easier for patients and residents.
To bridge acute care to the home environment, staff will use virtual care and home health monitoring of chronic conditions where possible, and coordinate with partner organizations to deliver (not duplicate) existing services in the community.
This may involve linking patients to social work, education and training for home caregivers, and housing assistance, all of which will help prevent or delay the need for acute care interventions, and ensure patients have seamless continuity of care at home following their discharge from the hospital.
In essence, the Centre for Healthy Aging will serve as a central hub for integrated services, helping patients navigate care whether they are at home or need the hospital’s acute care setting.
We have a vision, a mandate, and a 130-year history of compassionate care. All we need now is you. Join us and transform seniors’ lives.
Read more
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Canada’s first public long-term care home based on the concepts of a dementia village welcomes inaugural residents in emotional move-in day
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First-of-its-kind non-profit long-term care village launching in Comox
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Eldercare Foundation’s $1 million gift supports life-changing model of care for Comox’s seniors and older adults
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Research on new seniors village to happen in real time
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A lifetime of giving
When asked what has motivated his family to give $6.3 million to St. Paul’s Foundation, BC resident Ken Shinozaki offers a simple reply. “It’s time for us to give back to society.” -
Aune Foundation $1 million gift leads the way in revolutionizing long-term care
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Helping care partners in our communities
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Tidings of colour and joy!
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