A new long-term seniors care centre is expected to open in Lethbridge this fall, September 14, 2022 (Photo: LNN)

By Drew Stremick

New long-term care facility to open in Lethbridge this fall

Sep 14, 2022 | 7:26 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – A new long-term seniors care facility is expected to open in Lethbridge this fall.

Members of Covenant Care and Covenant Living attended a ceremony on Wednesday, September 14, 2022 to unveil the facility named Buffalo Grace Manor in west Lethbridge and to provide a behind the scenes look at the nearly completed care home.

Sheli Murphy is the President of Covenant Care and Covenant Living. She explained that the decision to name the facility came from consulting with Blackfoot Knowledge Keepers.

“We did meet with the Blackfoot knowledge leaders and we talked to them about names. We heard their stories they have incredibly touching moving stories about their past history,” explained Murphy. “One of the chiefs gave us what he thought would be a possible name, and we reduced that a little bit only to make it into something that was more succinct, as opposed to long.”

Buffalo Grace Manor was the name given to the new seniors care facility expected to open this fall in Lethbridge, September 14, 2022 (Photo: LNN)

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Murphy told reporters that once opened, Buffalo Grace Manor could have over 100 residents, with the capacity for more.

“So it’s built for 102 [residents]. We have room on the grounds for another 96, for a total of 198 [residents], which would be our dream into the future,” said Murphy.

One significant difference about this newer care facility compared to older ones, is the “neighbourhood” setting to help residents with memory issues feel more comfortable.

“There’s 17 spaces in each neighborhood. And that means it’s at a level where we can see there’s enough people there that we can care for them appropriately, but also, it’s an amount of people that they can get to know,” Murphy said. “Sometimes people with memory care can’t necessarily do that, but they would feel more comfortable in a neighborhood of that size.”

Members of AHS and Covenant Care toured the nearly completed facility, September 14, 2022 (Photo: LNN)

According to Covenant Care CEO Patrick Dumelie, Buffalo Grace Manor received 40% of its funding from the provincial government.

“The province of Alberta steps up to pay a significant part of the capital and get us started, allowing us to build these kind of facilities [that] are adaptive and really are modern, state of the art and will [provide] care for residents from the beginning of their journey, to end of life,” said Dumelie.

Buffalo Grace Manor is expected to create around 120 new healthcare positions in Lethbridge when it opens. However, at this time, Buffalo Grace Manor does not have a concrete opening date, but it is expected to open this fall.