A facility that is meant to be a home away from home for medical patients from Nunavik who were sent to get care in Montreal was officially opened in Dorval on Tuesday.

The centre, which features 91 bedrooms and four long-term units, was made essential due to the growing number of trips made by residents of the northern Quebec region of 12,000 people. As the population of Nunavik ages, the number of trips to MUHC facilities has risen from 5,000 in 2014 to 7,000 in 2016, with many older Nunavik residents making multiple trips per year.

While the facility, called Ullivik, celebrated its official opening Tuesday, it has already been in operation for six months and has quickly filled to capacity but board members said an expansion to the building is possible in the future.

Prior to the facility’s opening, patients were placed in boarding homes or the downtown YMCA, a situation that Ullivik executive director Maggie Putulik said has led to abuses in the past.

“A lot of our patients were preyed upon,” she said. “The new location here in Dorval is much better, safer and we’re in a brand new building which is just gorgeous.”

Quebec spent $15 million on the new medical boarding house far from the hustle and bustle of downtown Montreal, which can be overwhelming for patients used to the wide open spaces.

“It’s pretty big, there’s a lot of people, so many more cars than back at home. It gets very noisy with all the traffic and stuff,” said 19-year-old Jonathan Nassak, who has to travel 1,500 kilometres to Montreal for treatment for spina bifida at least three times a year.

Patients say they feel safer and appreciate that everything they need is on site, including food and recreation.

“There was a lot of interaction with homeless people (at the YMCA) and the Innu clientele didn't necessarily mix well with the local population there,” explained Larry Watt of the Nunavik Health Board.

Among those who have stayed at the downtown facilities is 76-year-old Annie Eliyassialuk. Though she's back home now, she once spent four years away from Nunavik while getting medical treatment in Montreal.

Through a translator, she said the new digs are a big upgrade over where she stayed. 

"I like it very much, it's very nice. It seems like home," she said. "It's a big difference. Everything is more joyful, it's comfortable."

One of the matters that makes Eliyassialuk feel comfortable is the menu: the country food room features local delicacies including beluga meat and seal meat.

“If I keep eating white food, my stomach is not satisfied, so I'm dying to eat my food. After, I feel satisfied,” she said.