Northern Ontario's newest long-term care home held a grand opening in Sudbury today with the news that another new nursing home is likely to be opening in Sudbury within a year. The cost is expected to be more than $150 million.
The event was the opening of Extendicare Countryside, located in a four-storey building that is home to 256 residents. It was built at a cost of more than $62 million.
The keynote speaker, Dr. Michael Guerriere, president and CEO of Extendicare Inc., told the audience that he was pleased with the new building and he thanked the local management team for being able to carry out the move from the old Falconbridge Road venue to the new home on Algonquin Road.
He added that it might be something that will have to be repeated soon for residents of Extendicare York, located just off of York and Regent Streets.
"Some of you may know that we also have Extendicare York not far away and we are very hopeful that we're going to start construction on another home almost just like this one in the very near future, again to bring more services to the people of Sudbury," he said.
In a brief interview after the opening event, Guerriere told Sudbury.com that work is well underway for the creation of a new Extendicare home in Sudbury.
"We are now just tendering to see what kind of contractor support we can get, which has been a bit of a challenge for us in terms of finding construction support,” Guerriere said. “We're not sure when we're going to start, but we have the plans, we have the approvals from the Ontario Government and from the city to build a new home.
“So we're hoping to get started on a second one. Hopefully this year, we'll see how the tenders go," he said.
Guerriere did not provide an exact figure on the cost, but indicated it could be more than $150 million.
"Unfortunately, construction costs have gone up quite a bit, so we're experiencing costs of about $475,000 a bed and the new home will be 320 beds,” he sdaid. “But we'll have to see what the tender pricing is before we know for sure. But that gives you an idea of the approximate.”
He said the project would require support from the province.
"The government has a funding formula on a per-bed, per-day basis, which then allows us to raise the capital to build a new home, so it's not like a grant all at once,” Guerriere said.
Long-Term Care Minister Stan Cho, who was in town at the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities conference and was on hand for the official opening of Extendicare Countryside, said he was pleased to be part of the event.
“I would like to congratulate Extendicare Countryside and their team as we celebrate the opening of a new, modernized long-term care home for Sudbury,” said Cho.
“This redeveloped home is a significant milestone for Sudbury and means 256 seniors will now have a new, modern and comfortable place to call home.”
He told the audience, many of whom were residents at the new home, that Ontario has a moral responsibility to keep improving the lives of seniors.
"This is why we do what we do and we need to keep doing it, because we know we have a growing population of seniors and we know we have more seniors coming to this province from abroad,” Cho said. “It is a moral responsibility upon all of us to continue to do it."
He also thanked Mayor Paul Lefebvre and city council for helping Extendicare and the province get the new facility built.
"I appreciate your partnership,” the minister said. “The mayor has been a hugely important partner, as well as his council, in making sure that we actually get shovels in the ground, because when it comes to taking care of our seniors, politics should not be a part of that."
Len Gillis covers health care and mining for Sudbury.com.
