Province Announces Plan To Improve Long Term Care Homes

Wednesday, 22 July 2020 04:49

A new innovative Accelerated Build Pilot Program to increase the capacity of long-term care homes was announced by the Province.

ONTARIO - The Province announced a new innovative Accelerated Build Pilot Program. The program will allow construction of two new long-term care homes in Mississauga in a matter of months, not years.

The provincial government will work with Trillium Health Partners and Infrastructure Ontario, intending to add up to 640 new long-term care beds by 2021. The pilot program is part of the government's plan to create new long-term care beds across Ontario that meet modern design standards, including air conditioning and private or semi-private rooms, starting immediately.

Premier Doug Ford and Minister of Long-Term Care Dr. Merrilee Fullerton outlined details of the government's plan yesterday. Premier Ford says they're going to improve the quality of long-term care homes in the province.

"Our government won't accept the status quo in long-term care. We made a commitment to seniors and their families to improve the quality of Ontario's long-term care homes, and we intend to follow through. Not only have we recently announced a plan to get shovels in the ground faster on over 120 long-term care projects in our pipeline, we are also exploring innovative partnerships to get more beds built sooner across the province starting with these two pilot projects in Mississauga."

The government is looking to complete the projects in 2021, which is faster than the traditional timeline. This would be done through a range of accelerating measures such as modular construction, rapid procurement and the use of hospital lands.

Trillium Health Partners will work with Infrastructure Ontario to manage the day-to-day construction oversight, monitor commissioning, and provide timely status reporting on progress. Mississauga is an area is need of high service and have a critical need for additional long-term care capacity, but building them are difficult due to issues like land availability and cost of land.

To overcome land availability and cost challenges, the homes will be built on land already owned by Trillium Health Partners. Minister Fullerton says they want to help the older population.

"The pilot is bold and innovative and aims to ensure that more seniors get access to modern homes in a fraction of the time. Between 2011 and 2018, just 600 beds were added to Ontario's long-term care system — that's less than one bed per home. Our government intends to do better to meet the needs of our aging population."

By working together with long-term care and health system partners, the provincial government continues to use innovative ideas and modern solutions to help end hallway health care and increase long-term care capacity in communities across Ontario