Courtenay, B.C., seniors home shutdown sparks scramble for beds

A Courtenay advocacy group is hoping it's still possible toreopen alocal supported residential facility forseniors.

Abbeyfield House, one of the few low-income retirement homes in Courtenay, closed its doors last month.

Jennifer Pass, coordinator of the advocacy group Elders Take Action, said the closure left seniors' advocates scrambling to find new beds forthe elderly residents, amid a severe shortage of assisted and residential care spaces.

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"Right now, it's a desperate, desperate situation," Pass told On the IslandhostGregor Craigie.

One advocate helped two of the former Abbeyfield residents move to Port Hardy, a three hour drive away, Pass said.

"They simply can't find a place to live in the Comox Valley."

When the operators of the private charity announced the closing date this summer, it was blamed on the shortage of assisted-living beds.

Robert Gunn, B.C. director of the Abbeyfield Houses Society of Canada, said too many seniors who need higher levels of care had remainedat Abbeyfield House because there wasnowhere else to go.

"We are sort of caught between the safety demands of our residentsand, [to] some extent, our staffand the realities of the shortage of extended care beds," Gunn said.

Private charity not accountable to health authority

In a statement, Island Health said it has no control or jurisdiction over the operations of AbbeyfieldHouse.

Pass said the facility's status as a smallprivate charity isa challenge.

"They are a small board, providing independent housing. so it's not assisted living and it's not residential care," she said.

The Abbeyfieldboard was looking at proposals that would not involve seniors housing, Pass said. The Elders Take Action group submitted a proposal for preserving seniors housingbut received a letter from the society's lawyer saying it was rejected, she said.

UK concept adopted internationally

Several otherAbbeyfieldHouses continue to operate inother B.C. cities, including Victoria, Vancouver, Duncan, Port Alberni and Vernon.

Abbeyfield Canada was an expansion of the British Abbeyfield model, which includes hundreds of homes in Britain and internationally.

The model includes independent bed-sitting suites and shared meals for residents. One staff person lives on the premises to provide meals and respond to emergencies.

With files from CBC Radio One'sOn the Island