Garachico Nursery to Become Regional Disability Assessment Centre

The old nursery school in Garachico is being turned into a regional center for assessing disabilities. This center, owned by the Garachico Town Council, closed three school years ago and hasn't been used for education since. It will be one of three new centers opening in Tenerife to offer this service. Officials from the Canary Islands Government's Department of Social Welfare say these strategically placed centers will open "in two weeks."

These new centers will be located in the north and south of Tenerife. This means people won't have to travel to Santa Cruz for disability assessments, making the service more local. The goal is to create teams that can serve specific areas, so residents don't need to go to the capital for their assessments. The Directorate General for Disability also hopes these new centers will help shorten the long waiting list for disability evaluations. Besides these three new locations, the government is also looking into using robots, artificial intelligence, and hiring more staff under a new law to improve the service.

The new disability assessment center in Garachico will serve towns in the Daute region, including El Tanque, Los Silos, and Buenavista del Norte. It will also help some parts of Icod de los Vinos. Dulce Gutiérrez, the Director General for Disability, explained that this is the initial plan for the healthcare team covering the Northwest. People living in these areas will save a round trip of 56 to 71 kilometers.

Officials from the Garachico Town Council confirmed that plans to use the old nursery school building for this service have been in motion for a year and a half, ever since it was decided the building would no longer be a nursery.

The old municipal nursery, which used to be a butcher's shop for much of the 20th century, is on Santa Ana street in the town center. This is a small, narrow cobblestone street where cars cannot go. The center's opening hours are not yet known, nor is it clear if the assessment teams will be permanent or travel between locations.

Garachico residents already knew the public building would be used for something new. In late September, the council cleared out all the furniture and items from the old nursery. After that, the building was repainted, losing its distinctive yellow color that earned it the nickname 'The Little Yellow House'. Its outside walls are now white.

For the past two months, local council workers have been busy inside the building. They added a small ramp at the main entrance, as the original entrance had a short stone staircase. The back of the building also has an entrance with a gentle ramp. The Youth House is located right behind it.

Each Assessment and Guidance Center (CVO) team includes three professionals: a specialist doctor who checks physical or sensory conditions, a psychologist who assesses thinking and behavior, and a social worker who looks at a person's surroundings and social challenges. This team creates a technical assessment report, but the final decision comes from the Directorate General for Disability of the Canary Islands Government.

Before these three new centers open, there are only two places in the Canary Islands where people can get a disability assessment: one in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and another in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.