Residents of the Burquitlam Lions Care Centre in Coquitlam have until next August to find somewhere else to live.
Fraser Health issued a one-year notice that the affiliation agreement and funding would end on Aug. 4, 2016, according to Burquitlam's administrator, David Dines.
Residents will continue to be admitted until January, when the organization will begin winding down.
Residents and their families have already been notified of the pending changes but Dines remains concerned about how they'll handle such a significant change.
The average age of Burquitlam residents is 86 years and the majority of residents have some form of advancing dementia and other health problems.
"It's very traumatic relocating someone of that age, of that mental and physical state, particularly if they have advancing dementia," Dines said. "They're already very confused and this adds to the confusion with a new environment. They won't know who anybody is, they won't know their way around. It has an unsettling effect on residents."
Burquitlam opened in June 1981 as a non-profit seniors' home and currently has a capacity of 76 beds.
Fraser Health says the facility cannot be renovated to meet today's complex care requirements.
"Over the years, the needs of our residents have evolved, requiring more complex care, including the use of mobility devices such as wheelchairs and walkers, as well as ceiling lifts," Fraser Health spokesperson Tasleem Juma said in an email to The Tri-City News.
A new facility, set to open next summer, will have 136 beds plus Burquitlam's 76, but Juma said Burquitlam residents can choose any facility within the region. Fraser Health will be working on individual transition planning with "every effort… to accommodate their choice before the required move date."
But Dines said a new facility doesn't guarantee better care for residents, noting it takes time for staff to begin working seamlessly as a team.
Burquitlam's staff — about 90 regular and casual staff who belong to three different unions, plus six or seven management employees — will also be notified of the facility's closure.
"Basically, everyone loses their job," Dines said. "We're not transferring to the new facility, we'll all be searching for new employment."
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