Barrett announces funding for LTC bed expansion
Caressant Care, a long-term care home in Courtland, has been tagged for provincial government funding to expand the facility.
“I’m pleased to announce that we’re building 42 new beds and 54 upgraded beds,” said Haldimand-Norfolk MPP Toby Barrett on Friday afternoon. “When construction is done there will be 96 residents who will have a new place to call home.”
Barrett said there are now six development projects on the books in Haldimand and Norfolk that will see 348 new beds and 324 upgraded beds once completed.
“Our government has invested $6.4 billion to build and upgrade long-term care homes across Ontario,” he noted. “This will lead to 30,000 net new beds and 28,000 upgraded long-term care beds.”
The member of the legislature said the government’s strategy is based on improving staffing and care; strengthening accountability, enforcement and transparency; and putting a focus on building modern, safe and comfortable homes for seniors.
“Across the province we’re investing close to $5 billion over the next four years to help hire more than 27,000 healthcare workers in the long-term care sector,” Barrett added. “This will help us reach the benchmark to bring us up to an average of four hours of direct daily care for each resident in long-term care.”
“It’s good news to be able to increase capacity in long-term care,” said Stuart Oakley, communications and marketing manager at Caressant Care, noting that a new build typically takes about five years.
“This is the first step in terms of getting our bed allocations nailed down,” he said. “We have to go through the process of completing our applications and getting the project costed. We’re hoping to get things done as quickly as possible.”
Currently a 54-bed home, Oakley said that Caressant Care now has approximately 45 long-term care residents because homes can no longer have four people to a room.
“Going forward there will not be four-bed wards anymore,” he explained. “This pandemic has really changed how we look at things and how we manage going forward.”
Oakley said the present operating model is to have some rooms with two residents, some private rooms, along with the need to keep some space for isolation and outbreak protocols.
Other funding announced previously for the long-term care sector in Haldimand-Norfolk include:
– Norfolk General Hospital: 42 new beds, 80 upgraded beds
– Delhi Long Term Care: 68 new beds, 60 upgraded
– Dover Cliffs: 58 new beds, 70 upgraded beds
– Anson Place: 60 new beds, 60 upgraded beds
– Edgewater Gardens: 64 new beds
As of January 2022 there are about 3,500 people in the Haldimand-Norfolk catchment area waiting to get into long-term care homes, while Barrett estimated that number to be approximately 38,000 across Ontario.
“In this area we’ve had a waiting list for several decades. Hence the urgency of making these announcements.”