History - Glacier View Lodge Society

Glacier View Lodge traces its roots to a 1946 initiative by the Women’s Institute of Northern Vancouver Island. At a meeting in Parksville, they passed a resolution that a "Home for Senior Citizens be established somewhere in the north end of the island, preferably the Comox Valley."

Comments at the time were:

If we can visualize in that beautiful setting the Home finished and being the nucleus from which cottages may be erected for aged couples who are able and wish to maintain their own home, and following that, with the complete support of the clubs, organizations and the public in general, a Nursing Home for the aged and infirm is a possibility.

Mistakes of communities have been the lack of preparation for the future. Let us have a vision - a vision of ten, twenty, thirty or fifty years hence. Let us work for the present on a plan for the future.

Their dream was realized with the building of the original Glacier View Home (subsequently called Marsden House) which was home to 28 elderly Comox Valley pioneers.

In 1982, Glacier View Lodge Society opened a new 75-bed intermediate care facility on adjacent property, and the original Home was closed. The new Lodge was designed with all private rooms and ensuites because the Board of Directors at the time insisted on privacy and comfort for our senior citizens. The facility also housed an Adult Day Program for seniors who were still living at home in the community.

In 1991, a 27-bed Special Care Unit addition was opened with the express purpose of caring for the special needs of those residents with dementia.

On December 29, 2000, Marsland Estate Development Society deeded its assets to Glacier View Lodge Society, including 36 acres of undeveloped land adjacent to Glacier View Lodge (which brings Glacier View Lodge’s total acreage to 47 acres). The gift included a condition restricting its use to residential housing for seniors, which fit perfectly with the Lodge’s mission.

Over the years, Glacier View Lodge has evolved into the complex care facility it is today.

Areas of the building have been upgraded and redecorated; overhead lifts have been installed; computerization has been implemented, and staff have been added to care for our residents with higher needs. Glacier View Lodge currently employs over 200 people.

The Lodge is governed by the Society’s Board of Directors who contract administrative services from St. Joseph’s General Hospital.