The Ontario government is adding 224 new long-term care spaces for a new building in Peterborough. This is part of 80 long-term care projects that the province is planning. PeopleCare Communities has been allocated the spaces to create this new facility on land that is owned by Trent University. The Waterloo-based company owns long-term care and retirement homes all across the province.
Global News reported that the 150,000 square foot building will be located at the corner of Woodland Drive and Water Street, just north of the campus.
Construction plans have not been announced yet and the estimated time for completion of this project will take about 18 months.
Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith stated that the project will help to modernize Ontario's long-term care sector, reduce waitlists and end hallway medicine.
"For years, a lot was promised when it came to long-term care and little was delivered but that has changed. Today's announcement is another example of the real, tangible progress we are making in Peterborough towards building a modern long-term care system that meets the needs of our community."
Peterborough-Kawartha MPP | Dave Smith
Brent Gingerich, chairman and CEO of PeopleCare, stated that the company is thrilled to have the chance to build and operate a "world-class long-term care Centre of Excellence" in the city's north end.
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According to Trent's president and vice-chancellor, Dr. Leo Groarke, the university will help co-design a building to improve the lives of seniors and advance student life and learning in what he calls a groundbreaking intergenerational project.
"This is an exciting initiative which will build on Trent's reputation as a globally recognized, age-friendly university and help address the region's need for long-term care beds, career experiences for students and leading research in gerontology."
Trent's president & Vice Chancellor | Dr. Leo Groarke
The goal of Trent and PeopleCare is to provide experiential hands-on and simulated clinical learning for nursing students and to interest students in geriatric care, a sector challenged to attract young healthcare leaders.
Peterborough is the third oldest community in Canada and has almost 2,500 people waiting for two to four years for a long-term care bed according to PeopleCare president Megan Allen-Lamb.
PeopleCare wants to enable seniors to live and age well and more independently. They also want seniors to receive a range of care, services and community-based health and social supports, all in one place.
The province's 80 projects will create an additional 7,510 new and 4,197 upgraded long-term care spaces. They plan to spend $933 Million to do this since this sector has been devastated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Global News, the government's commitment is to add 30,000 new long-term care beds over a decade. They also announced it would extend a $3 wage increase for approximately 50,000 eligible personal-support workers in long-term care until June 30.
Ontario long-term care homes were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, with 3,752 resident deaths and 11 staff deaths reported as of last week. More than 21,000 cases have been reported since the pandemic began.