Most folks in Powell River were aware of an unfortunate motor vehicle incident on Joyce Avenue on the evening of January 1 [“Evacuation ‘very dark and very scary’ for residents of qathet region independent living facility,” January 10]. A vehicle lost control and took out a power pole, cutting off the hydro to Coastal Breeze Village independent living facility for almost 24 hours.
Many residents were alarmed that there was no backup emergency generator for a facility that houses seniors. Many questions were asked and a representative from Golden Life Management (GLM), which owns and operates these facilities in BC and Alberta, sent a memo out to the residents and their families.
The representative stated that: “We have received inquiries as to the design of CBV and the use of backup generators and emergency lighting. Coastal Breeze Village is architecturally designed to meet BC Building Code C - Residential Occupancy: the occupancy or use of a building or part thereof by persons by whom sleeping accomodations is provided but who are not harboured for the purpose of receiving care or treatment and are not involuntarily detained.”
The problem with this is the fact that the power went out at 9:45 pm. Many residents might have already been asleep in their beds, not knowing what was happening.
That first evening with no power, there were no lights, no heat, and the emergency call buttons that residents wear which have a stationary button near the washroom in each suite were not functional. Heaven forbid if a resident had to get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom facilities.
Many residents in CBV use canes, some use walkers and some wheelchairs. These people are our seniors or mothers and fathers. GLM seems to think they are simply apartment tenants and don’t feel any responsibility for their safety.
My mother is a resident at CBV and was thankfully okay. She pays a sum of almost $3,000 per month to live there. Many in two-bedroom suites pay more.
I wrote a letter to GLM BC region operations manager stating my concerns and received no reply. It seems to me that GLM looks at our seniors as dollar signs and not the pillars of our community.
Paul Baker
Quebec Avenue,
Powell River
