HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2015-09-30, Page 13Wednesday, September 30, 2015 • Huron Expositor 13
Retirement home venture is expected to help the Alzheimer's community
Shaun Gregory
Huron Expositor
A unanimous vote by the
council of Huron East will
put the construction pro-
cess of a massive retire-
ment home in Seaforth
that much closer. It is
believed this will be a valu-
able asset to seniors bat-
tling Alzheimer's.
The progressive disease
known as Alzheimer's is a
form of dementia that spe-
cifically affects parts of the
brain that slowly impairs
thought, memory and lan-
guage. At this time, the
cause of why people con-
tract this is unknown and
currently there is no
antidote.
Public education coor-
dinator for the Alzheimer
Society of Huron County,
Jeanette Sears indicated
she could not comment
about the specific 10 acre,
three-storey, 80 -unit pro-
ject, which also includes
40 multiple attached
lodgings.
Granting she did men-
tion, "it's fantastic that peo-
ple are starting to put the
needs of persons with
dementia right into their
building plans."
This dwelling for the
aging population comes at a
monumental time for the
disease. According to the
Rising Tide, which is a study
conducted by the Alzheimer
Society that states, in 2038
roughly 1,125,200 Canadi-
ans will have the cognitive
illness as well as an eco-
nomic burden of
$872 billion.
"It's partly because of our
population grid, there are
so many baby boomers get-
ting to retirement at
65, after we get to 65 our
risk of getting dementia
really increases. It repre-
sents the demographics of
our society as well,"
Sears explained.
If everything goes as
planned, JL Retirement
Living, the company
responsible for the bidding
stated, this home -care
facility will decrease the
disease process, by keep-
ing the seniors who are liv-
ing with cognitive like dis-
orders healthier for longer
by continuing the lifestyle
they're accustomed to. In
hindsight, that
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is specifically why the
organization is building
the townhouses across
from the main complex. It
is meant for couples to live
in and for one's who are
having difficulties manag-
ing the other spouse with
diseases such as
Alzheimer's.
Jessica Lunshof, CEO and
president of JL Retirement
Living said the primary
goal for all the 40 multi
attached townhouses, is for
couples to stay with their
significant other as "long as
possible?'
"They move in that home
when they're pre -demen-
tia, so the very early stages,
then they know that by
chance their spouse gets to
the point where they can-
not physically take care of
them anymore, they just
travel to the centre," Lun-
shof said during a phone
interview September 23.
"They can be involved in
their life and have the care
right on the site?'
From the document pre-
sented to council on Sep-
tember 22 at Huron East
town hall, this establish-
ment will be located at the
end of Centennial Dr. and
is bounded by a future
extension at Centennial
Dr. and Duke St. It will
also expand to the west
and backs on the Seaforth
Public School property. As
outlined in the document,
the retirement home loca-
tion is currently on land
owned by the municipality
of Huron East and the Sea -
forth Community Hospi-
tal. Presently,
JL Retirement is responsi-
ble for putting a land
package together.
"In getting to this stage,
there is a lot of informa-
tion that must be provided
in terms of services,"
Huron East CAO Brad
Knight told the Expositor
in the council chambers a
day after a town hall
meeting.
"Like what can be done as
far as roads, sewers and
water. Storm water was a big
issue:'
For now, before any-
thing can move forward
there is a 20 -day appeal
period beginning Septem-
ber 23, where anybody can
reject the zoning by filing
an appeal. Knight said
SF
People that are from Seaforth and
Huron are retirees, they want to come
there to retire, but what happens when
one gets sick, they don't want to have
to move back to Kitchener or where
ever they came from
he's in favor of the project
and considers this "instru-
mental" for the commu-
nity of Seaforth.
"I think this supple-
ments the hospital very
well, it's a pretty good
two-way relationship,"
Knight said.
Lunshof said she chose
this precise location
because it will play a hub to
Kitchener, Stratford, Water-
loo, London and Toronto.
After driving past the site a
few years ago on a stormy
winter night, she knew
right then that this was
where this venture would
end up.
— commented Lunshof
"People that are from Sea -
forth and Huron are retir-
ees, they want to come there
to retire, but what happens
when one gets sick, they
don't want to have to move
back to Kitchener or where
ever they came from," com-
mented Lunshof.
Seaforth Coun. Bob
Fisher. said "this is huge" for
Seaforth and with all the
construction and employ-
ment this can only benefit
the town.
"The idea of a centre partly
focusing on dementia, it's
the foresight of these people,
(we're) lucky to have been
picked," he said.
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