New Dogwood Care Home incorporates Musqueam art and Indigenous sacred spaces
A new six-storey long-term care home is now open in South Vancouver for 150 adults and seniors with complex-care needs.
Aligned with the provincial mandate to provide more private rooms in long-term care, the new Dogwood Care Home provides residents with a private bedroom and bathroom, and the site includes culturally safe spaces for Indigenous People and sacred spaces. The design provides a home-like setting with flexibility for future care needs.
The care model and concept design were developed over several years in collaboration with partners, including the Musqueam Indian Band, Dogwood Family Council and the City of Vancouver Seniors Advisory Committee.
“We’re excited to welcome residents to this beautiful new care home and to enhance access to care for more people in the South Vancouver community,” said Bob Chapman, Vice President for Vancouver Community, VCH. “The new Dogwood Care Home allows us to provide a wide-range of supportive health-care services to residents in a comfortable, home-like atmosphere they can make their own.”
To contribute to the cultural safety of clinical spaces, VCH has incorporated art and design input from Musqueam Indian Band to create welcoming environments for clients, families, staff and the community. This includes traditional Coast Salish house posts and house boards designed by Indigenous artists at the entrance as well as a sacred space for residents, families and staff.
“Our family is thrilled to see our father move into this wonderful new space,” said Mike Chang, family member of a Dogwood resident. “The staff at Dogwood have always made it feel like home for our family, and the new space promises to be a safe and vibrant place for all of us to enjoy.”
Exterior of the new Dogwood Care Home in South Vancouver with house posts designed by artists Brent Sparrow and Thomas Cannell.
Sacred space for residents, families and staff.
Shared living, dining, kitchen and social spaces.
Indigenous art projects were unveiled at sites in Vancouver to create more inclusive spaces
Creating culturally safer spaces is a critical part of the work we do to support Indigenous clients, patients and families to feel safe, comfortable, seen and valued. Informed by community engagement with First Nations and community partners, Indigenous art projects were unveiled at sites in Vancouver to create more inclusive spaces and advance reconciliation with Indigenous people.
Willow Pavilion
Located on the southwest corner of Willow Pavilion on West 12th Avenue on the Vancouver General Hospital campus, artist Olivia George, a member of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, honours her Indigenous culture and beliefs. In partnership with Vancouver Mural Festival, we helped bring Olivia’s design to life. “There are three levels to the wall, so three elements are represented: air, land and water,” said Olivia. “Each section of the mural creates an environment that feels healing, caring and safe.”
Downtown Eastside Youth Outreach
Three murals help to create a culturally safe and welcoming environment for clients who receive care from the Downtown Eastside Youth Outreach team. Each mural reflects themes shared during community engagement by youth from the Host Nations, as well as clients of the youth outreach program, about what makes a space feel inclusive.
Diamond Point, an artist and member of the Musqueam Nation, says she hopes her mural conveys a feeling of “home away from home" for youth not from this territory through her reflection of Indigenous protocol and the sunsets she associates with home. She included the message, “we are of one heart" in English and in the traditional languages of the Host Nations.
Ryan Hughes, an artist from Snuneymuxw First Nation, focused on the raven and the story of creation in his piece. He shares that the raven represents transformation and similarly, youth go through transformation – physically, mentally and spiritually.
Chris Sparrow, an artist and member of the Musqueam Nation, painted a mural of two humpback whales. Sparrow noted the whale represents the strong and powerful spirit of the youth and is fitting for a space that offers health and wellness services to young people.