'Butterfly Care' for Seniors Coming to Sarnia.

From Pam Wright, Sarnia Journal.

A senior housing complex approved for south Sarnia will use a non-traditional approach called the “butterfly care” concept for residents with dementia.

Construction of the Overture on Devine is expected to begin early next year on the site of the former Devine Street School.

The $41-million project will house 260 residents and employ about 130 people, said Don McLeod, managing director for Overture Investments.

“It’s care from a social perspective, not just a clinical perspective,” he said. “Butterfly care looks at a person with dementia as a person, not a patient or resident.”

The interior will use special flooring and lighting to create a homey, village-type atmosphere, with each floor having its own 'neighbourhood,' he said.

Each neighbourhood will consist of independent studio-type suites that surround a centralized kitchen, lounge area and sunshine room.

Link to the rest here.

Image. Overture Investments.

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From Mud Room to Kitchen Annex.

What began as ‘the mud room project’ has progressed to the point where it is now the kitchen annex project.

Starting with an old structure, one that was settling and dragging down on the rest of the building, we have demolished and built anew. 

The old room was dark, with a dark rug, wood paneling, and a former exterior brick wall exposed. 

There was no closet, just a boot bench and coot hooks along one wall. It collected junk, it was dirty.

It was cold in winter and hot in summer.

The new room, with revised electrical, and three windows, is bright, airy and cheerful. 

The laminate flooring matches the flooring in the kitchen, and there is now a closet.

The door is insulated metal, the windows are the latest in energy-efficiency. 

Insulation and vapour barriers are state of the art.

In order to make the room usable as quickly as possible, we’ve concentrated on the interior, also to take advantage of energy-efficiency rebates, which the current government has chosen to do away with, before the deadline.

 It's not very big, ten by twelve at most. Taking the old room down was time-consuming and cold, wet spring weather had its impact on the time schedule.

While the room is now livable, the exterior cladding is underway. With no major deadlines, for grants or rebates involving the exterior, the outside can now be finished on a more relaxed schedule as we have other projects in the pipeline.

In addition, the kitchen also now has a brand-new window over the kitchen sink.

Part One.

Part Two.

Thank you for reading.