There's a new seniors' home set to open in Burnaby, which means more beds will be available for those who need complex care.
Dania Home Society and Dania Society operate three seniors' residences on a seven-and-a-half acre site on Norland Avenue in central Burnaby. One of those buildings offers complex care for the elderly, but that will be replaced with a new building that can house more seniors.
"With the new home, Dania's vision to be leaders in providing comprehensive care through innovation and outreach while expanding and enhancing our facilities in response to the changing needs of our community is coming true," said Margaret Douglas-Matthews, the society's executive director, in a press release.
Dania Home (the building slated for replacement) can currently house 67 seniors, but the new, building will have room for 102 beds. Seniors staying in Dania Home will be moved to the new building once it's ready, which should be in late 2014 or early 2015.
"At Dania Home, we had a dream. The dream was to develop the plans, secure the funding and commence the building of a new structure to house 102 elders and seniors," said Kjeld Christensen, president of Dania Home Society's board.
The new 75,000-square foot building will be on the same Norland Avenue site and will feature six homelike neighbourhoods, each one with 17 single rooms and a secured garden area, according to a press release from the society.
Last fall, local politicians attended a groundbreaking ceremony for the new building.
Dania started as a farmhouse in the 1940s, when immigrant seniors needed a place to live. The home has since evolved into a "campus of care," featuring three buildings that include a residential care home, an assisted living residence and a home where seniors can live independently. Overall, the site can house more than 200 seniors.
Dania is also one of three societies that operate seniors' housing in Burnaby.
For more information on Dania, go to www.dania.bc.ca.
