A new coexistence model in which individualized attention is prioritized, centered on the person and on improving their quality of life. This is the objective pursued by the Cabildo de Tenerife with the centers for the elderly managed through the Institute of Social and Socio-Sanitary Care (IASS) and for this it is essential to have adequate facilities, such as those that the House of the Elderly of La Matanza de Acentejo thanks to the agreement recently signed with the City Council, which will allow the number of places to be increased and new spaces to be created.
The investment amounts to 8.9 million euros and includes 55 more places in the residential mode and 35 in day care. As far as infrastructure is concerned, 4,445 square meters are added -almost twice as much as the current space- which will make it possible to build a therapeutic pool of some 893 square meters and a comprehensive regional rehabilitation center that will have two entrances, one for users of the center and another independent, which can be accessed from the outside.
In addition, the new building will have thermal excellence and photovoltaic panels to guarantee proper electrical operation and be sustainable, and the site for parking will be adapted, among the planned actions.
These details were explained by the architect responsible for the project, Ángel García Palma, who appeared at a press conference together with the island president, Pedro Martín; the mayor of the municipality, Ignacio Rodríguez; and the director of the IASS Dependency Care Unit, Beatriz Durán, after the signing of the agreement that took place in the plenary hall of the Consistory.
A new coexistence model
In this context, Pedro Martín pointed out that the Cabildo is working to change care for the elderly and establish a new coexistence model, which “prioritizes specialized care” more than “elderly clubs”, so that “services are adapt to their realities and needs and not the other way around”.
The mayor stressed the importance of the agreement, not only because of the budget it entails, but “because behind it there are people who are waiting for a public square to be served as they deserve.”
The president recalled that the commitment of his government and his party, the PSOE, with the elders of the municipality began in the 1990s and it was in 1994 when the first stone of the current building was laid. In the year 2010 it was closed and it was in 2016, “when I was vice president in the Cabildo Aurelio Abreu when it was reactivated and put into operation, because until that moment nobody had paid attention to us,” he said.
According to its forecasts, the idea is to award and start the works this year that are in the State Contracting Platform. Its duration is 18 months and if there are no setbacks, they will be ready in 2024.
