Victoria Chinatown Care Society to re-think centre’s closure

Health workers encouraged by September re-vote, urge board members to keep unique seniors’ facility open

Health workers at the Victoria Chinatown Care Centre have learned that the facility’s governing body, the Victoria Chinatown Care Society, will hold another vote on whether or not to proceed with plans to close the centre at a meeting in September.

That’s good news to residents, family members, community supporters, and the health workers—members of the Hospital Employees’ Union—who joined together last May to alert the public that the centre was in danger of closing.

“We’re taking this as a positive indicator that the board really wants to keep the Victoria Chinatown Care Centre open and is abandoning the thought of closing it,” says HEU assistant secretary-business manager Zorica Bosancic.

“We need more seniors’ care facilities that offer multi-culturally sensitive services and programs and it would be a great loss to Victoria and to B.C. if this unique centre was forced to close.”

The care providers and VCCC supporters will lobby board members of both the Victoria Chinatown Care Centre and the Capital Health Region, and municipal and provincial officials in their ongoing efforts to keep the centre open.

The 18-year old Victoria Chinatown Care Centre is home to 30 residents, the majority of whom are Chinese. Many of the centre’s 23 HEU members, who work as cooks, housekeepers, care aides, laundry aides and activity aides, are also Chinese.