The new center will be a two-storey building, fully accessible, which will connect with the existing day center, built in 2011 and which has 15 day-stay places. It will have a total of 38 double rooms, a reception and information area, a waiting room, an area for staff, adapted toilets, nursing control and a multipurpose room, among other facilities.
The works have a tender budget of 3.5 million euros and it is expected that the works will be carried out for a period of 20 months, once the award procedure has been concluded. The budget will be distributed in three annuities and 2022 will be the year with the highest investment expected.
The Abades center for the elderly is a resource that is part of the II Plan for Socio-Sanitary Infrastructures of Tenerife. The Arico City Council built the first phase of the infrastructure with central services, kitchen and dining room; services dimensioned also to respond to the needs of the residential part. However, it was only able to start the day center due to the lack of public contributions to complete it.
The Ariquero Plenary approved, on June 29 of last year, the placing at the disposal of the Insular Institute of Social and Socio-Health Care (IASS) of the plot in which the residential center for elderly dependents will be built. The agreement included not only the transfer of the land, owned by the municipality, but, after the completion of the construction of the property that will become part of the municipal patrimony, its management – along with that of the attached Day Center – will pass to the autonomous body of the Cabildo de Tenerife. The term of the concession will be 20 years.
Pedro Andrés González, councilor for Social Services, alluded then to the fact that “in our municipality, the population, especially in the mid-range area, is aging and we are one of the few towns on the island that lacks a resource of this type.” The mayor, Sebastián Martín, pointed out that “the start-up of this center will imply a fundamental advance in terms of social services in the municipality, expanding coverage in terms of dependency to the residents of Arico.”
A priority
The insular councilor of Social Action points out that the creation of new social and health places is one of the most important strategic lines of the area she directs, “but not the only one, since the care of the elderly by the Cabildo is approached from other perspectives as well. necessary and that, in many cases, are essential to avoid or delay as much as possible the entry of people into a residential center.
Franquet refers to multidisciplinary support programs that favor the permanence of people in their homes and their independence, in addition to improving their quality of life; or to projects to combat loneliness and isolation, close the digital divide and promote social communication.
