New Mental Health Facility Opens
COQUITLAM – Health Services Minister Kevin Falcon today officially opened a new $9.4-million, 20-bed mental health rehabilitation facility that is providing residential specialized care in a supportive, community-like setting.
Cypress Lodge is located on the Riverview Hospital grounds and is part of the $138-million Riverview redevelopment project to build new mental-health facilities across the province in locations closer to people’s home communities.
“We are meeting our commitment to funding the best support possible for people with serious mental illness and addiction,” said Falcon. “Smaller, community-based facilities like Cypress Lodge are providing the care and support people need closer to their homes and communities so they can develop the necessary skills for living as part of society.”
The first residents moved into Cypress Lodge in February 2010. It provides mental-health care for individuals who need more intensive psychosocial rehabilitation than is available in existing community mental-health residential rehabilitation services.
“Mental illness will touch almost every family in Fraser Health, regardless of cultural background or economic circumstances,” said Gordon Barefoot, Fraser Health board chair. “Cypress Lodge continues to strengthen our network of services for those struggling with mental illness, sends another message of hope and support to Fraser Health families.”
All Cypress Lodge residents have private rooms and the new facility supports residents in learning or relearning basic living skills such as meal preparation, housekeeping, leisure planning, money management and vocational skills through supported education programs and job training initiatives. Residents are encouraged to contribute to and utilize community services.
“We are extremely pleased to see this beautiful facility become a reality, and we look forward to continuing to work with Fraser Health and other British Columbia health authorities to open specialized mental-health beds across the province as part of the Riverview redevelopment initiative,” said Wynne Powell, PHSA board chair.
In addition to featuring a warm, home-like design for residents, Cypress Lodge was built to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards to ensure the least impact on the surrounding environment. The building design focused on minimizing energy use, reducing water use, improving indoor air quality and thermal comfort, and incorporating resource-efficient materials.
“It should be called tender loving care because staff pull together and make it comfortable," said Tony O of the care at Cypress Lodge. “There is always someone there when you need to talk.” Tony was a resident of Cypress Lodge, but just recently moved on to more independent living.
Cypress Lodge is part of Fraser Health’s existing network of services on Riverview grounds, which include two specialized residential facilities: the 20-bed Connolly Lodge and the 24-bed Cottonwood Lodge. Fraser Health is operating the three lodges as a campus of care, which will include some shared clinical programming and services.
Among the unique features of Cypress Lodge are four beautiful nature-focused floor-to-ceiling wall murals designed from the artwork donated by local photographers Allan de la Plante, Laurie Mackie, and Grant Mattice. As well, a fifth smaller wall mural featuring a photo by Don Kanski is part of the décor in the front lobby.
These photographs were selected from 750 submissions by 60 photographers, both amateur and professional, in response to a photography contest hosted by Fraser Health.
The objectives of the photo contest were twofold: to obtain artwork for a design feature that would evoke a sense of space and spirit and add to the overall focus of creating a homelike, peaceful and healing setting – a critical component of the recovery journey; and to provide an opportunity to promote community involvement in the new facility, and in doing so, create greater awareness of mental-health facilities like Cypress and the valuable role they play in the provision of health care.
“We were truly overwhelmed by the positive support this project received from our communities,” said Judith Macrae, manager of Cypress Lodge. “Fraser Health, and in particular the staff and residents of Cypress Lodge, would like to express our deepest appreciation to all who responded to our contest, and especially to these four photographers for the generous contributions of their beautiful artwork.”
The Ministry of Health Services has made it a priority to build a comprehensive system of mental-health and addictions services across the province by increasing spending on mental health and addictions as well as investment in capital facilities through the Riverview Hospital Redevelopment project.
In 2009-10, the Province expects to spend almost $1.26 billion on mental health and addictions – an increase of 48 per cent since 2001.
To date, 441 mental health beds have opened across the province as part of the devolution of Riverview Hospital. Plans are being finalized to develop the remaining 402 beds of the Riverview redevelopment project within regional facilities.
