Hon. Lyne Chantal Boudreau, Minister of Seniors visits St. Andrews
Tuesday, April 21 st was a blue-sky day in St. Andrews marked by Hon. Lyne Chantal Boudreau’s upbeat visit to the Passamaquoddy Lodge. The Minister of Seniors spoke with the Board and members of the Development Committee, residents at the Lodge, with Steve Neil, Acting Mayor of the Town of St. Andrews, representatives from Passamaquoddy Children’s Centre and members of the community.
Caroline Davies, Chair of the Development Committee welcomed the Minister and thanked the Community for supporting the very long journey to the March 26 ‘YES’ announcement by Premier Holt. That was when the Premier released the new “STRONGER CARE FOR SENIORS” plan and announced the province’s decision to replace the Passamaquoddy Lodge nursing home.
Acting Mayor Steve Neil represented the Town’s longstanding support for the project and introduced Minister Boudreau, who spoke enthusiastically about her love for the Passamaquoddy New Lodge project:
“At the announcement in Fredericton, I promised that I would come to your community and say thank you to all the people who are working on this project. It is very beautiful. It is intergenerational. I not only like it. I LOVE it! I want to work with you to make sure the plan is realized. I want us to realize it together.”
Now that we have the province’s commitment to replace the Passamaquoddy Lodge, the Development Committee is working full steam ahead. We continue to meet with the architect and contractor to fine tune the design and determine full cost of construction. We met with the Passamaquoddy Children’s Centre Board and Executive Director to make sure we have their input into the functional design. We are in the process of hiring an accountant and a lawyer to make sure we have a good structure in place to oversee the project and we are hiring a qualified and experienced person to serve as the owner’s representative to help coordinate all the aspects of the project and to ensure we meet our deliverables in a professional manner.
Most importantly, we are negotiating details of funding from the province and will be launching a fundraising campaign to help with the cost of creating a world-class age-friendly facility for the community of St. Andrews. Located on the Bar Road at Champlain, on land donated by the Town, the new lodge will replace the current home with innovative design and programming to provide the community, residents, and staff with the next generation of care: aging in community, aging in place, aging in care.
Members of the Passamaquoddy Lodge Development Committee
Caroline Davies, Chair
Yolande Jay, Administrator
Donne Smith
Roger McNabb
Cynthia Clark
Allan Fiander
Mark Campbell
Nell van Wyngaarden
Minister Boudreau speaking at the Passamaquoddy Lodge
Caroline Davies, Chair of the Development Committee and Steve Neil, Acting Mayor of the
Town of St. Andrews stand next to an updated sign on the site of the new home of the
Passamaquoddy Lodge. Thanks to the Province for saying “YES” and to the Southwest NB
community for its ongoing support. Photo courtesy of CHCO-TV.
Members of the Passamaquoddy Board and Development Committee are joined by Courtney
Lord of the Passamaquoddy Children’s Centre and members of their Board beside the newly
updated sign.