Hastings-Lennox and Addington M.P. Mike Bossio made the announcement Saturday that nearly $20,000 in funding is coming to North Hastings.
Through the Enabling Accessibility Fund, CARE North Hastings is getting $12,174 to install power doors to their foot clinic Foot Fix and upgrade their outdoor patio with a brushed concrete finish. “The push button accessibility will be a benefit to our senior population,” Program Coordinator Nancy Richard tells My Bancroft Now. “This new finish promotes safety and reduces the risk of falling on uneven patio stones.”
The North Hastings Family Pharmacy will be getting $5,119 in funding that will go to installing three new power doors. Co-owner of the pharmacy Nancy Wiechenthal says they have a lot of seniors and clients and people getting ready to go in or coming out of surgery. “We have tried to make our pharmacy as accessible as possible for these people,” she says. She says installing power doors has been on their wishlist for a while. The power doors will be installed at the entrance and exit of the pharmacy building as well as in the rental equipment building next door.
“(Accessibility) is a big problem in rural areas and if you don’t have your facilities accessible then people with disabilities or are fragile end up leaving,” Bossio says. “We don’t want that to happen.”
He adds that accessibility plays an important part in attracting people to our community. “This funding is so important because the more accessible we can make our facilities the more engaged we can make our population,” he continues. “The longer we can keep the seniors in our community healthy, happy and engaged socially, mentally, and physically the better it is for our community as a whole.”
The application process for next year’s EAF funding begins this month. Bossio says he encourages all businesses in North Hastings to put an application in.