IQALUIT - Nunavummiut making trips to Iqaluit for health care now have a nicer place to stay while they deal with the sometimes-stressful hospital visits.

Standing behind the reception desk in Iqaluit's yet-to-be-named new medical boarding home on Aug. 10 are receptionist Lucy Ragee, left, and manager Ooleepeka Gordon. - Tim Edwards/NNSL photo

With more than double the number of beds, a kitchen and large dining area on the main floor, and digital cable and a phone in every room, the new yet-to-be-named boarding home blasts the old Tammaativvik boarding home - which had neither of those amenities in its rooms - right out of the water.

"The main differences between the new and old boarding homes is the number of beds available," wrote Bernie Schmidt, executive director of Iqaluit Health Services, through e-mail correspondence with Nunavut News/North.

"Tammaativvik had 38 beds with a maximum annual capacity of 13,870, while the new boarding home has 90 beds which will provide a maximum annual capacity of 32,850."

The new building opened on July 5 and when Nunavut News/North took a tour through the facility on Aug. 10, around 60 of the 90 beds were full.

Manager Oleepeka Gordon had high praise for the facility.

"It is just wonderful," she said. "The patients love it."

The boarding home is mostly complete, though the bottom floor, which will be used for storage and garage space, is still being finished.

On the main floor, the reception desk sits near a large well-lit lounging area with couches and chairs, which is positioned beside a large dining room. There are a total of 48 bedrooms in the building, some with two double beds and some with one single and one double bed, all with private bathrooms.

On each floor there is a communal sitting area with a TV, as well as a laundry and storage room.

Schmidt wrote the main factor in acquiring a new boarding home was the need for more space. The Tammaativvik Boarding Home operated at full capacity throughout last year and many people had to be put up in other accommodations throughout Iqaluit.

"I have toured the new boarding home," wrote Schmidt. "It's beautiful and it gives me comfort to know that the patients, who must leave their home for medical care here in Iqaluit, have such a comfortable place to stay."

He added the facility aims to offer "culturally relevant services, furnishings and traditional food."

The Nova Group of Companies Inc. owns and constructed the building.

It has a 10-year contract with the Government of Nunavut to provide boarding home services in Iqaluit on a per-bed per-night basis, with costs reimbursed through the federal government.