Ontario’s commercial construction industry is witnessing an exciting change in long-term care facility development. Two state-of-the-art care homes are slated for Greater Napanee in Lennox and Addington County, part of the Ontario government’s $6.4 billion commitment to deliver over 30,000 new beds by 2028, along with 28,000 modernized ones.
Village Green: Pioneering Modern Long-Term Care Facilities
At the forefront of this initiative is the redevelopment of Village Green, expected to open its doors in spring 2025. This new facility will house 128 beds – 62 new and 66 upgraded, in private and basic rooms. This not only expands the capacity of care but also introduces significant design enhancements such as larger common areas for residents, air conditioning throughout the facility, and an innovative design centered around 'resident home areas'.
Ontario Newsroom states that the 'resident home areas' concept reimagines traditional long-term care design. It will create intimate, familiar living spaces for groups of up to 32 residents, each equipped with dining and activity areas, lounges, and bedrooms. This human-centered design approach fosters a stronger sense of community, comfort, and familiarity for the residents.
“Congratulations to Village Green on their ground-breaking for an upgraded, modernized home. Our government is fixing long-term care and a key part of that plan is building modern, safe and comfortable homes for our seniors. Today marks a significant milestone and when construction is completed, 128 residents will have a new place to call home, near their family and friends.”
Minister of Long-Term Care | Paul Calandra
Integrating Care in the Community: Lennox & Addington County General Hospital
Complementing Village Green, another project is being supported at the Lennox & Addington County General Hospital. Both these initiatives will collectively introduce 190 new and 66 modernized long-term care beds, built to current design standards. The LACGH project is expected to start accommodating residents by spring 2025 and will be an integral part of the campus of care model, designed to seamlessly integrate long-term care homes into the broader healthcare system.
The new care home at LACGH will be strategically located adjacent to the existing local seniors center, health care services, and a satellite dialysis service. Additionally, it will offer six negative pressure beds to support infection control and serve as isolation rooms when required.
Reinventing Long-Term Care in Ontario: Government’s Four Pillar Plan
The Ontario government is reshaping long-term care to ensure a high standard of care and living for its senior citizens. This reform is built on four key pillars:
- Staffing and care
- Quality and enforcement
- Building modern, safe, and comfortable homes
- Improving access to services for seniors
With over 40,000 individuals on the waitlist for a long-term care bed as of April 2023 and a median wait time of 123 days, Ontario’s focus on increasing bed capacity and modernizing older beds is critical. Innovative strategies, such as selling unused lands with a requirement to build long-term care homes on them, and leveraging hospital-owned land, are being implemented to accelerate this development process.
Stimulating Construction: Financial Boost for Long-Term Care Projects
To incentivize the construction of long-term care homes like Village Green, the Ontario government is supplementing the construction funding subsidy. This strategy aims to kickstart construction before August 31, 2023. Not-for-profit homes also have the option to receive part of the funding as an up-front construction grant payable at the commencement of construction.
These transformative developments in Ontario's long-term care facilities signify a new era of sustainable, integrated, and community-centric care for the region's elderly population. As construction industry leaders, we play an instrumental role in making this vision a reality.
