Formal handover of the 3rd floor at the St. Jó Centre for Quality of Life

A new facility will revolutionise the operations of the two organisations. 

The Benevolent and Relief Fund of the Order of Odd Fellows in Iceland presented, at a formal ceremony last Friday, The Alzheimer's Society and The Parkinson's Association 530 square metres of premises for the use of the organisations' activities. Both organisations have settled in nicely on the 3rd floor of the St. Jó Life Quality Centre in Hafnarfjörður and are already beginning to receive clients and their families, providing advice and education. This is the 3rd floor of the old St. Joseph's Hospital, which was designed by Guðjón Samúelsson and is owned by the City of Hafnarfjörður. The building has undergone a complete renovation, both inside and out, in recent months and years, thanks to the municipality and strong partners such as the Order of Oddfellows in Iceland. 

The St. Jó Wellbeing Centre is located at 41 Suðurgata in Hafnarfjörður.

A new facility for the two organisations in the historic and stately house of the St.Jó will revolutionise the work of the associations, as the Parkinson's Association has opened the Takt service centre for its clients, and the Alzheimer's Association has opened the Seigla service centre for younger people diagnosed with dementia and those in the early stages of the disease. This is a huge project, and around 110 volunteers from 15 Odd Fellow lodges contributed their time. Furthermore, many more lodges raised funds to subsidise the purchase of equipment. In attendance at the formal ceremony at the weekend were, in addition to the senior leaders of the Oddfellow Order, Willum Þór Þórsson, Minister of Health, Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir, Mayor of Hafnarfjörður, and representatives from both organisations.

„The opening of the Parkinson's Centre and the Alzheimer's Association's Service Centre further enhances the value and services of St. Jó's Quality of Life Centre for Hafnarfjörður and, indeed, for Icelandic society, as many in the building carry out activities that reach across the entire country. The revitalisation of St. Jó has gone beyond expectations, thanks to the invaluable support, goodwill and diligence of, among others, the Order of Oddfellows in Iceland. All the floors of this beautiful and historic building are filling up with people and life these days, and a dream of a community for health, creativity, education and prevention is becoming a reality.“ says Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir, the mayor of Hafnarfjörður, who is hopefully pleased with the development at St. Jó.

The Municipality of Hafnarfjörður fully acquired St. Joseph's Hospital in the summer of 2017 and simultaneously committed to operating a public service in the property for a minimum of 15 years from the signing of the agreement, and to commence operations in the property within 3 years of signing the agreement. Two years after the signing of the agreement, on the building's 92nd anniversary on 5 September 2019, it was officially opened as a centre for quality of life, and fifteen companies, all of which aim to improve people's quality of life, moved in. Now, almost five years later, the plan is to formally open all floors of the St. Jó Wellbeing Centre, excluding the basement, and for a further fifteen companies to move in. A celebration and open house for all interested will be held on the first day of summer, Thursday, 21st April.

Older announcements about St. Jó 

• City of Hafnarfjörður acquires St. Joseph's Hospital | News | Hafnarfjörður (hafnarfjordur.is)
• Diverse activities move into St. Jó's Wellbeing Centre. | News | Hafnarfjörður (hafnarfjordur.is)
• Opening ceremony and open house at the new St. Jó Wellbeing Centre | News | Hafnarfjörður (hafnarfjordur.is)