All aboard! New Bus Arrives at Cottage Worthington & The Residence in Mission

The bus, run by Cottage Worthington-Pavilion & The Residence in Mission (TRIM), is now fully functioning and ready to help residents-in-care move forward. The drive for the bus began a few years ago and as resident-in-care, Anne Jansen, who was fighting for the bus for many years described, “it’s a lot quieter than the old one, it’s beautiful to see Abbotsford again”

There was a demand for other medical equipment, but fortunately thanks to some particularly inspiring individuals we started to make progress on a much needed bus for residents in care.

Foremost amongst those who have proved what can be done is without doubt the family members with loved ones that stayed at Cottage Worthington or TRIM. The Auxiliary at the Abbotsford Regional Hospital (ARH) and Mission Health Care Auxiliary Society jointly funded a large part of the project. Janet Hutchinson from the Auxiliary, ARH, described how, “for too many years they had no access to such a thing and now the opportunities are finally here”.

There have been many well-known studies that have found older adults with better access to mobility are more physically active and less socially isolated than counterparts without transport access. This is an experience, Ken Case, is familiar with as his wife Carol “likes going all over the city, it’s a beautiful bus, and I’m just excited it’s a Ford”

And now residents can happily move forward building close friendships with each other through visits to icecream parlours, parks, and drives to see cityscapes they were once familiar with. All proactive steps to increase social connectivity and combat social isolation, as Jocelyn Ratzlaff, social