FILE PHOTO - Cottonwoods Care Centre in Kelowna.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Interior Health Authority

The provincial government is spending more than $187 million for new long-term care beds at two different facilities in Kelowna.

The Mission Creek Landing facility will have a total of 241 beds in late 2026, and Interior Health is expanding and replacing the Cottonwoods Care Centre as part of the province’s plan to improve senior care availability in the region, according to press releases from the Ministry of Health today, June 28.

“The construction of more new long-term care beds in Kelowna is another significant step forward in our efforts to ensure seniors receive care in homes designed to meet their needs,” Minister of Health Adrian Dix said in the release.

The new Cottonwoods Care Centre is going to be an upgrade from the 221 beds built in 1976, to 314 beds with “state-of-the art features and technology.”

The new centre will be four-storeys with single bedrooms and bathrooms. The ministry said the facility is going to focus on creating a “typical home-like environment.”

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There will be shared recreation spaces for groups of 12 to 18 residents like a dining room, a living room and outdoor access. The facility is going to incorporate features that have been designed to improve life for residents with dementia.

The total cost of the new Cottonwoods Care Centre is $186.87 million, but it’s being split between Interior Health and the Central Okanagan Regional Hospital District. Construction is set to begin in 2026 and the centre should be finished in 2029.

“Long-term care homes are more than just a place for seniors to receive care, it's their home,” Vernon-Monashee MLA Harwinder Sandhu said in the release. “They are a place for residents to call home and age with dignity and live peacefully.”

The new beds at the Mission Creek Landing facility are going to be ready long before the new Cottonwoods Care Centre.

The beds at the Mission Creek Landing facility are going to be added in two phases. The first will relocate 101 existing beds, and add 30 new beds by Oct. 31.

The second phase for Mission Creek is adding 110 new beds by late 2026. The ministry did not say how much the government is spending on the beds in Mission Creek. 

READ MORE: One woman’s battle for long-term care in Interior Health for elderly family members

“Seniors in our province deserve to age in comfort and dignity in high-quality long-term care homes in the community they live. Seniors in Kelowna can look forward to more public beds in this state-of-the-art facility,” Dix said.

Over the past five years the province has spent roughly $2 billion to improve care for seniors in B.C. The goal is to have 495 new long-term care beds in the Interior Health region.

“Long-term care is a vital resource we may all need someday, whether for ourselves or a loved one. As the chair of the Regional Hospital District, I am pleased with the board’s decision to address the growing demand for compassionate and comprehensive long-term care in our community,” Central Okanagan Regional Hospital District chair Blair Ireland said in the release.

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