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Retirement homes in Waterloo Region, like other developments in the area, represent some of the best of life in Southwestern Ontario. Seniors' residences here offer everything from completely contemporary luxury accommodations to state-of-the-art memory care with everything between.
IN-DEPTH REPORTSRetirement communities in Kitchener-Waterloo
Hygate Active Senior Living
Resort-style retirement living in Waterloo. Hygate promotes active senior living with modern décor and amenities. Enjoy daily fitness, activity programs and fine dining. It's next level senior living.
Lifestyle Options: Apartments, Independent Living, Assisted Living
The Village of Winston Park
This elegant retirement residence in Kitchener-Waterloo offers a continuum of care from independent living apartments to assisted living, memory care and long-term care.
Lifestyle Options: Independent Living, Assisted Living, Memory Care, Long-term care
Sifton - The Westhill
The Westhill is an inviting atmosphere of new friends and great times, with personalized support services for better living. The Westhill is conveniently located in Waterloo, near The Boardwalk shopping area.
Lifestyle Options: Independent Living
The Village at University Gates
Now welcoming our Retirement Home Residents to the Village. We offer Waterloo a range of services for today's Senior including Retirement Apartments, Assisted Living, Memory Care and Long Term Care.
Lifestyle Options: Independent Living, Assisted Living, Memory Care, Long-term care
Health care in Kitchener
Kitchener has two large hospitals, Grand River Hospital and St. Mary's General Hospital, along with the Freeport Health Centre, which houses a long term rehabilitation and physiotherapy unit. St. Mary’s Hospital includes the Regional Cardiac Care Centre which serves the entire region from Guelph north to Georgian Bay, west to Kincardine and south to Lake Erie.
There are also two urgent care clinics in the area, and the University of Waterloo has a School of Medicine, opened in 2006.
Types of care available
Independent living facilities are ideal for people who have decided that living on their own has become too difficult or even too lonely, and have decided with their family that a retirement home is the best solution. Typically, independent living seniors may have some mobility issues and/or some issues with deteriorating health. Care homes in Kitchener-Waterloo, like those listed here, offer an environment full of caring people to look out for elderly residents and take care of their meals. This is a controlled environment where seniors live in community with others their own age; transportation needs, laundry and home maintenance are a few of the other needs taken care of in a retirement residence. Independent living care is also ideal for couples where one partner may require further assistance such as help with eating or any other needs.
Assisted living retirement homes or residences provide supervision or assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs). This can include help with bathing, for example. Continuing care or long-term care homes offer round-the-clock care, support services and medical services. These are sometimes still referred to as nursing homes, and homes in Waterloo provide the highest level of skilled nursing and medical help available, to take care of the medical needs of the elderly.
Memory care offered by Waterloo retirement homes includes programs and an environment designed to relieve problems associated with Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias.
Homes listed above are licensed by the RHRA, and several homes in the area are members of the Ontario Retirement Communities Association (ORCA), another indication that the home provides quality care and services.
Living in Kitchener-Waterloo
Kitchener-Waterloo has several excellent shopping centres, two universities and numerous technology companies that help create a safe, clean city (often well-ranked on lists of “Best Places to Live in Canada”). On top of that, you don’t have far to drive to find yourself in the middle of beautiful rolling countryside. Kitchener is also renowned as the home of the fall festival, Oktoberfest.
Downtown Waterloo has numerous charming small shops and nearby towns including Elora and Fergus which are renowned as shopping and tourist destinations. The Farmers’ Market in St. Jacobs features fresh produce and other goods from vendors across Southwestern Ontario.
Research in Motions’ co-founders have initiated several significant projects in the region, including:
- The Perimeter Institute, a think tank visited by some of the world's leading physicists and lecturers
- The Centre for International Governance Innovation, a political think tank
- RIM Park, a large sports complex