Life is born at St. Jó's Centre for Quality of Life.

Ten companies have signed an agreement for premises and operations in the new St. Jó. Wellbeing Centre at 41 Suðurgata in Hafnarfjörður, and two of them, Saga Story House and Eldmóður Markþjálfun, have already moved in. The project manager of the wellbeing centre moved in at the start of the week, exactly two years after the purchase agreement for the state's 85% share was signed.

At the time of the purchase in the summer of 2017, the Municipality of Hafnarfjörður committed to operating a public service in the building for a minimum of 15 years from the signing of the agreement and to commence operations in the building within three years of signing the agreement. Now, two years after the signing, a project manager and two companies have moved into the building and operations have commenced. There had been no activity in the building since St. Joseph's Hospital was closed at the end of 2011. „More businesses are moving in over the coming weeks, and we expect to welcome 16-20 operators in this first phase. The floor that is now ready is already fully booked, and there is a waiting list for spaces. We still have three floors to fill and will do so as soon as they are ready. Construction is being carried out in phases and, in parallel, we are accepting and processing applications that align with the values of the centre: health, community and creativity.“ says Eva Michelsen, project manager of the St. Jó. Wellbeing Centre. The idea is for the centre to be a community that offers prevention, healthcare, early intervention, education and a creative hub. The parties that have already signed the agreement have in common the aim of enhancing the quality of life for their clients by focusing on health, community and creativity, and their foundation is based on, among other things, coaching, psychological services, yoga, massage, health-promoting services for older people, talk therapies, and creativity, as well as the development of equipment and technology for health research. The centre is run as a self-sustaining operational unit by the City of Hafnarfjörður.

^{Here you can see Eva Michelsen, project manager for the St. Jó. Quality of Life Centre, together with Ingibjörg Valgeirsdóttir and Guðbjörg Björnsdóttir, owners of Saga Story House.}

^{Here you can see Kristín Þórsdóttir, owner of Eldmóðs Coaching, and Eva Michelsen, project manager at St. Jó.} 

A formal opening ceremony will be held in September, around the 93rd anniversary of the old hospital, where visitors will have the opportunity to learn about the operations and see the building's renovations. At the opening ceremony, the Hafnarfjörður Folk Museum will host an exhibition in the building's foyer, which will provide a detailed account of the history of the building and the Sisters of St. Joseph, who built it at the time. 

Further information and pictures can be found at Homepage of the St. Jó. Wellbeing Centre. or St. Jó's Quality of Life Centre Facebook page.

Before and after the conversion of a room at St. Jó's Centre for Wellbeing.