Throughout its extensive history, Glacier View Lodge has always maintained a close relationship not only with the residents it cares for, but also with the entire Comox Valley.
The lodge is the North Island鈥檚 longest operating long term care facility, tracing back to a 1946 founding by the Women鈥檚 Institute of Northern Vancouver Island.
Located on a 10-acre site in the Back Road area, Glacier View serves as home to 101 residents ranging in age from 19 to 107, all with complex needs.
Caring for loved ones from the Valley is just one of the ways Glacier View Lodge serves the community; they also support 80 adult day program clients seven days a week, 24 community baths, one respite bed as well as provide evening caregiver support groups and mentor students.
In return, the lodge benefits from the support from the community. Recent examples were during the early days of the pandemic when community members delivered home-made face masks and gowns made out of bed sheets or when the lodge fundraised for their new bus in six short months.
Additionally, many family members from previous residents families have become Glacier View volunteers. Local schools continue to provide well wishes on holidays and Friends of Glacier View Lodge provide personalized birthday cards and flowers for every resident and client.
Of the facility's 250 staff members, 150 employees are full-time and more than 80 per cent are female. Leading the staff鈥檚 efforts is an all-female management team who encourages growth opportunities for all employees.
Many of the female staff have transitioned from housekeeping or care aide roles, progressing into recreation, nursing and administration.
Being a non-profit facility on a shoestring budget, much of the training for staff is done in-house and 鈥榦ut of the box鈥� thinking and creative problem solving is a daily practice. Above all, the staff work hard to ensure that every resident enjoys a sense of belonging and receives compassionate care.