On the morning of Sunday June 15th, after a particularly rainy week in Vancouver, Chris Norman, the Administrator at St. Jude’s Anglican Care Home, received one of those phone calls… “There’s water gushing up through a pipe in the basement, and it’s getting worse”. The storm sewer line had backed up and water was flooding throughout the basement of St. Jude’s. The floor was covered with up to a foot of sewer water; flooding the elevator shaft, the Chapel, the staff change rooms and kitchen area, and the laundry area. This was going to be a long day, and the beginning of a long journey to restore St. Jude’s.
Chris and her team jumped to action, and after ensuring that all residents and staff were safe, Chris called a restoration contractor, who began the cleanup process. The following days were filled with phone calls and meetings, as Chris contacted The City of Vancouver, Vancouver Coastal Health, plumbers, and the insurance adjuster to assess the damage. The experts estimated the damage at $100,000, and suggested it would take three months to restore everything to good working order.At this point, the real challenge for Chris and her staff became clear - how best to meet the residents’ care needs amidst the repair and construction work, and with limited facilities. As an example, the Chapel was unusable, but Deacon Trudi Shaw and the volunteers worked tirelessly during the construction period. They setup a makeshift chapel on the second floor to continue Thursday services. This worked extremely well, and provided an opportunity for additional residents to attend the services.
Restoration work progressed well and, after four months, is now complete. With new basement flooring and walls, a renovated Chapel area, and repairs to the staff change rooms and kitchen area, laundry area, and storage areas, St. Jude’s is back in business.
With the disruption and with contractors available, the St Jude’s Board of Directors agreed to spend additional funds to fix some areas that had not been damaged, but were in need of updating. These included: new tuck shop cabinetry, a new cabinet for the hairdresser, new flooring for the front entrance and stairways; plus in the Chapel, new heaters, new cabinetry for music equipment and for vestments and linens. So, in spite of the original damage, St. Jude’s is back and better than ever with some well-appreciated improvements. To quote Chris Norman, “We’ve made lemons into lemonade!”
The entire St. Jude’s community has been amazing and supportive, both with their financial donations and with their time. Management and the Board of Directors want to express their sincere appreciation to everyone involved during this time, and now encourage visitors to stop in and see the improvements. It has been a challenging time for the St. Jude’s staff, but through their dedicated hard work and commitment, impact to the residents has been minimal. With new and improved facilities for residents and staff, St. Jude’s will continue to maintain the high quality of care they’re known for.
Images: Top and homepage, the new Chapel after the renovation work. Lower left, another view of the Chapel with the new vestment cabinet visible on the left. Photos: Jim Longman