Sudbury Northern Life
The minister of health and long-term care has refused to help St. Joseph's Health Centre begin construction of a long-term care home in Chelmsford, and Nickel Belt MPP and health critic France Gélinas is shocked at the refusal.
“Sudbury Regional Hospital is in crisis due to its high number of alternate level of care (ALC) patients,” Gélinas said in a press release. “A new long-term care home would help ease this crisis. Why won’t the Minister do his job and provide the necessary funding so St. Joseph's Health Centre can get the shovels in the ground to build this project?”
St. Joseph's Health Centre requested that the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care advance $4 million in capital funding so it can begin construction of a 128-bed long-term care home in Chelmsford.
According to Jo-Anne Palkovits, president and chief executive officer of St. Joseph's Health Centre, the board of directors must have $9 million upfront to secure a mortgage to be able to build the $20.8-million residence. The board has raised $5 million, but is still $4 million short.
“Everyone – residents, physicians, the Mayor – wants St. Joseph’s Health Centre to move forward with the desperately needed long-term care home,” Gélinas said. “We’re all angry and frustrated about the ALC crisis, which has forced the cancellation of hundreds of surgeries, jammed up the ER and compromised the daily operations of the hospital.
“Here’s an excellent, permanent solution: build the long-term care home in Chelmsford. Yet the McGuinty Liberals are refusing to help, which will only further delay construction and prolong the ALC crisis,” the MPP continued. “I’ll continue to work with St. Joseph’s Health Centre and the community to get this home built, but I simply can’t understand why the Minister of Health is choosing to be a barrier.”
