Monthly Bulletin
June 2022
NEWS, INITIATIVES, AND EVENTS
Strategic Planning and Bylaw Review
The Board, along with senior management, participated in a two-day
workshop this month during which we reviewed and updated both our
Strategic Plan and our Bylaws.
COVID-19
The province continues to transition to an endemic approach to Covid19, having progressed to Step 3 of easing protective measures. A plan
to ease, or transition, restrictions in continuing care, will come into
effect on June 30, 2022. The plan will keep some measures, such as
outbreak protocols, testing, and isolation of symptomatic residents,
reporting to AHS, and continuous masking of staff and visitors in
continuing care facilities. Tragically nearly 4,600 Albertans have
reportedly died from the virus.
While some BVRH employees and lodge residents have had Covid
now, none were serious.
Designated Supportive Living Operations Planning
Senior management continues to work on the operating model in
collaboration with Alberta Health Services and SE Health ahead of
operations following the construction of Phase 2.
PROGRAM OCCUPANCY RATES
Bow River Lodge 89%
Cascade House 80%
Bow River Homes 100%
Mount Edith House 100%
Community Housing 100%
Rent Supplement 100%
SPECIAL PROJECTS
This is Home (Phase 2)
Meanwhile, the construction of the designated supportive living
addition to Bow River Lodge is complete. We are dealing with
deficiencies and early commissioning phases of the project.
Schedule: Substantial completion in Q2 2022, followed by opening in
mid-to-late Q4 2022.
Design: This facility has been designed to meet the needs of designated
supportive living level 4 and dementia operations, including enhanced
safety and care-provision considerations. We expect to have to add
enhanced infection prevention and control safeguards as the lessons of
COVID take hold.
Economics: The current capital cost is $17.4 million; the Government
of Alberta has committed $16.5 million to date. BVRH has agreed to
contribute the remaining 5% of the capital budget (up to a maximum of
$900,000) to keep the project viable.
RESOURCES
• In an emergency, please dial 911.
• For 24/7 nurse advice and general health information for
Albertans information on diseases, treatments, staying well, and
healthcare services dial 811.
• For 24/7 community program & service information, including
affordability programming in the Bow Valley dial 211.
ABOUT BOW VALLEY REGIONAL HOUSING
Bow Valley Regional Housing (BVRH) is a Housing Management
Body (HMB) serving the Government of Alberta and the Bow
Valley Region. HMB operational funding sources vary. Tenants pay
accommodation fees. Those fees are subject to affordability limits,
which prevent them from fully covering the costs of operations.
Provincial grants and municipal ratepayer requisitions subsidize
seniors lodge deficits, while the province also subsidizes deficits in
independent seniors and community housing.
As the HMB for the Bow Valley region, BVRH is responsible for
social housing, as well as affordable supportive living
accommodation for seniors throughout Kananaskis Country, the
Bow Corridor, the MD of Bighorn, and all of Banff National Park,
an area covering about 13,500 square kilometers.
All told, we currently house, or help to house approximately 400
residents of the Bow Valley in eight permanent housing projects
encompassing 36 separate buildings.
