At the May 11th opening of the Foundry and reveal of the new seniors housing in Terrace, Skeena MLA Claire Rattee commented on the slow movement of the Kitimat dementia care home project.
“I know in Kitimat, we’ve had a couple of projects that were on the books that now have had to be shelved because there was a substantial cut to the funding this year. So I’m hoping to see that reinstated. That’s what I’ve been pushing the government on. You know, we have a dementia care facility, as well as assisted living facility that have basically just been sitting there idly by and waiting.”
Northern Health has now responded to our inquiry on the status of the dementia care unit - Northern Health states they continue to move forwards on development of the Kitimat dementia care home.
They said they are currently in the process of finalizing the land transfer for the property with the district of Kitimat, which is expected to be completed in the coming weeks.
Once that is complete, Northern Health will issue the project for tender and begin construction.
Northern Health says construction is currently targeted for completion in 2027 - a year later than was in the initial plans.
The project will provide 12 single-occupancy rooms for seniors living with dementia who require additional support and would benefit from long-term care services targeted to individuals with dementia.