Located rue Eugène Sue, the new Jardins de l’Iroise residence opened on May 15, four years after its purchase by the private group. A relief for the residents and their families, visibly seduced by the place.
It was a move eagerly awaited by a hundred people, employees or residents. The Les Jardins de l’Iroise nursing home has finally opened the doors of its new building, now located at 10, rue Eugène Sue. The epilogue of a long wait, six years after the decision of the private group Iroise Bellevie to leave the old premises deemed too dilapidated, avenue de l’Yser.
Former director of the Auscitain establishment, now regional director of the Iroise Bellevie group for the South-West sector, Meylin Canton rewinds: “The premises were very old, the owners did not want to do any work and did not want to negotiate the rate.” The opportunity to buy the premises of the former Ehpad of the public hospital of Auch then presented itself, the cost of the project amounting to 6.5 million euros. The signing of the lease took place at the beginning of 2019. The Covid then arrived, sweeping away all the plans and postponing the start of the work by several months, launched only at the end of 2020, a company initially planned on the site having filed for bankruptcy.
“A lot of stress and impatience”
The move was finally able to take place in recent weeks, after validation by the safety commission and the compliance visit by the ARS and the Departmental Council. The transfer of the 60 residents (40 dependent and 20 autonomous) could be carried out on Monday, May 15, a relief for the families, who had been able to visit the premises a few days earlier. “Moving for the elderly is never trivial. It creates a lot of stress and impatience”, agrees Meylin Canton, who salutes the support work of the director of the establishment, Claude Gutierrez. “He reassured them a lot. We had a lot of meetings with residents and families. As soon as they entered the new places, they were delighted. It’s true that it has nothing to do with it. is a building that we have completely renovated and enhanced, with a new standard”, underlines the regional director.
The new Ehpad building opened its doors on May 15, rue Eugène Sue.
In addition to its 40 rooms and 30 brand new apartments, the new Ehpad has a fully equipped kitchen, a library, a hairdressing salon and even a cinema room. A bar-restaurant should also see the light of day soon. “It’s a project that we will do in a second time. The space is already fitted out”, indicates Meylin Canton.
It now remains to appropriate the premises, something not necessarily easy for the residents, who must find their bearings in these premises after several years spent on Avenue de l’Yser, for many of them. “It will be done gradually. We could not create a different environment for our residents and at the same time put in place new support systems. They will have to get used to it and find their bearings to bring them to new services that are planned”, concludes Meylin Canton.