This year more than any other has reinforced the importance of home. As a result of the pandemic, we’ve had to stay at home; many of us have even worked from home for extended periods. Because of lockdowns and restrictions, home has become the centre of our universe. Home is a place – but it’s also a feeling.
Across Canada, many older and vulnerable people are no longer able to live at home. As our population ages, the number of people living in residential care is increasing every year. Care homes are specialist environments, but it’s vital for the wellbeing of their residents that they also feel like home – and never more than during the festive season.
As we move into 2021, it’s our goal here at Belroc to help transform the future of residential care for the citizens of Canada. Demand for beds in this sector is already outstripping supply and unfortunately many existing facilities are unable to provide the kind of welcoming, safe, home-from-home setting they would wish for the people in their care.
Working with our esteemed partners in the construction sector, we want to help change that. Ontario is about to embark on a huge programme of investment in this sector, and it’s Belroc’s aim to support this work.
Long-term care is changing
A recent study has estimated that by 2035, Canada will require an additional 199,000 long-term care beds. It’s a gargantuan task, and one that Ontario is tackling head on. Earlier this year, the province announced a $1.75 billion scheme designed to deliver 30,000 long-term care beds in Ontario over the next decade – and it’s expected that other provinces will follow suit.
Moving forward, we’re making long-term care a key focus of our work, with a particular spotlight on new build facilities right across Canada. We believe that our 3DX methodology and two decades of expertise in the sector can bring much to the conversation on long-term care, helping our construction partners deliver superior outcomes for their clients, and more importantly for end users.
We understand that long-term care environments matter – for residents, for their families, and for the professionals tasked with delivering first-class care. Interior specialties have a huge role to play in hygiene, health, privacy and mobility – but more than that, they have a big impact on interior aesthetics, which can make all the difference between a care home that feels like an institution, and one that feels like home.
We’re thinking of everyone who is in hospital or residential care this season, and also of the dedicated staff who will sacrifice their own celebrations to make sure those people are cared for.
We would like to wish all of Belroc’s customers and staff a very happy, restful and safe holiday season, and look forward to working with you all again in 2021.
