Kevin Svoboda got his start working for his parents’ company in Vancouver, providing housing and care for seniors. “I grew up in the industry,” says Svoboda, “and my goal is to help seniors live as independently as possible.”

Svoboda and his wife, Noriko, set up Kaigo Retirement Communities. (Kaigo means “caring in the highest regard” in Japanese.) They opened Pioneer Square in Armstrong, with 20 assisted living suites, in August 2004, and the first phase of Heritage Square in Vernon in June 2004. When the second phase opens in December, the facility will contain 50 residential care beds and 25 assisted living suites.

Assisted living combines private apartments with support services and social activities to help seniors continue living independently, and bridges the gap between home support and residential care.

“A retired public health nurse moved from the Lower Mainland, and told me Pioneer Square is exactly what she wants,” says Svoboda. “She needs some support, like the meals and housekeeping services we offer, but not full nursing care.”

The cost of private assisted living varies, based on the size of the accommodation and services provided, but the price is more than seniors with lower incomes can afford. The provincial government is subsidizing 23 units in Vernon and all 20 units in Armstrong to make them more affordable for lower-income seniors, through the Independent Living BC program.

“Lower-income seniors with health needs can rent these assisted living units for 70 per cent of their after-tax income,” says Svoboda.

With this partnership, private operators build and manage the developments, BC Housing subsidizes the rent, and regional health authorities fund personal care services and some of the hospitality costs to help seniors with daily activities like bathing and medications. About 1,000 rent supplements will be offered in assisted living developments throughout B.C., run by private operators with a solid track record managing seniors’ housing. This partnership works especially well in rural areas where fewer subsidized units are required, and in communities with tremendous demand to open units quickly.

For example, Retirement Concepts has opened assisted living developments in Nanaimo, Williams Lake and Kamloops in 2004 alone, which offer personal care services, meals, housekeeping, and activities such as a music program, bridge and tai chi. Some of these units will be subsidized for lower-income seniors through Independent Living BC, and seniors who can afford the market rate will occupy the other units. Retirement Concepts is a private, Vancouver-based company, with 11 seniors’ housing and care communities across B.C. and in Quebec that house about 1,600 seniors.

Dr. Azim Jamal, President of Retirement Concepts, trained as a family physician at the University of B.C. “I worked in geriatrics and saw the need for appropriate housing for seniors,” explains Jamal. “My family has an entrepreneurial background, so I recognized an opportunity to provide housing that reduces social isolation. We offer seniors freedom from cooking and cleaning, tasks they may have difficulty managing on their own. Assisted living helps improves residents’ health, with regular nutritious meals and exercise programs, and connects seniors with others and the community.”