We open La Candelaria care home in Elche de la Sierra

On Friday we held the long-awaited official ceremony marking the end of construction and the formal start of this new chapter, a way of celebrating together with the town and the regional authorities. A long-awaited project that has finally become a reality and that was covered by many regional and provincial media outlets.

The ceremony began with the arrival of the President of the Government of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page, accompanied by the Regional Minister for Social Welfare, Bárbara García Torijano, the President of the Albacete Provincial Council, Santiago Cabañero, and the Mayor of Elche de la Sierra and provincial councillor for Tourism, Raquel Ruiz, as well as institutional representatives, professionals from the sector, members of the developer and the centre's management team.

This project, financed with European funds, consolidates the commitment of the Government of Castilla-La Mancha to high-quality, accessible care for older people.

A shared achievement for the area

After formally greeting the authorities, the regional president and the mayor of the town, which has around 3,600 inhabitants, opened the care home by unveiling the commemorative plaque at the entrance. The authorities then made a tour, welcomed by many local associations and the centre's staff, starting with a visit guided by the director and the TAR 2022 management team. They were shown the services, rooms and some of the improvements built into the care home, as well as the management and care model applied from day one.

The tour ended in the assembly hall, where words of thanks were shared and the importance of the project for Elche de la Sierra and its area was highlighted.

During the ceremony, speakers stressed the importance of progress in social policy and the key role of public-private partnership in bringing strategic projects in the field of dependency care to life. They highlighted the positive impact of specialist companies setting up in towns outside the big cities, boosting employment and the local economy, fighting depopulation and helping young people to stay.

The project was born with the aim of improving care for older people and creating opportunities in rural areas, with the creation of between 50 and 55 jobs, contributing directly to the economic and social development of the town and its surroundings.

What the centre is like

La Candelaria care home joins our network of centres in Spain dedicated to dependency care, adding 80 residential places and 20 day centre places, a much-needed response to the growing demand for services for older and dependent people, especially in rural areas, and always with the aim of offering care close to their homes.

The centre is a comprehensive health and social care facility, with six living units and a total of 69 rooms, 58 of them single and 11 double, plus spacious shared areas, green spaces and areas for managing and coordinating services. Of the 80 places, 40 are public and will be filled gradually from January.

A long-term commitment

As the long-term managers of the centre, we reaffirm our commitment to building homes where older people feel at home. We have been working for more than 15 years under the same philosophy, based on a person-centred care model that prioritises quality of care, privacy, independence and emotional wellbeing.

This project represents a long-term social commitment that brings stability to the health and social care system, security to families and the right conditions for the sustainability of the residential care sector, reinforcing the public-private model as a key tool to guarantee quality care across the region, especially in rural areas affected by depopulation.

The Elche de la Sierra Care Home is one of the six care homes we currently have under construction, all of them with 50% of their places publicly funded by the Government of Castilla-La Mancha, consolidating a modern, accessible network committed to caring for older people.