The very first seniors’ and alternative home in Quebec was inaugurated this Thursday in Sherbrooke.
The residence, which will have 120 people and is located in the Fleurimont district, will have cost nearly $80 million. The first residents will be able to move in next week.
Residents will be welcomed gradually by summer 2023 The house will welcome more than 80 seniors, as well as about thirty adults aged 65 and under living with specific needs, such as a physical disability .
The inauguration was held in the company of the new Minister of Seniors, Sonia Bélanger. The residence is divided into ten households which are composed of a dozen rooms each. Each tenant has their own personal space with a bed, bathroom and shower. The common areas, which are large and airy, have been designed to keep seniors active.
Mélanie Bérard, who currently lives at CHSLD Argyll in Sherbrooke, is one of the first residents to live at the residence.
“It is really nice. It really is like a house. It’s not the first time that I’m going to experience this, but that it’s also adapted, it’s the first time, ”commented the lady, who was visiting her new home.
While several residences have recently closed their doors in Estrie, in particular due to the lack of manpower, a hundred employees will be needed during the first phase of welcoming residents. By next summer, however, more than 200 workers, all types of categories combined, will be working there.
Other seniors’ homes will open in the coming months in Estrie, Magog, Coaticook and Granby.