Extendicare had a ground-breaking event in Sudbury Wednesday for a new $62.3-million long-term care home, which the company said is being built to replace the current facility on Falconbridge Road, which was constructed in the early 1970s.
The new home will be located on Algonquin Road in the city's South End.
Based on new design parameters set out by the province, the new facility will provide low-occupancy single rooms for up to 256 residents.
Those new design rules mandate that four-bed, ward-style rooms are no longer allowed as rooms with four occupants make it difficult to impose quarantines if and when any sort of widespread illness occurs.
"All residents will have their own bedroom to ensure privacy and optimize infection control," said Extendicare.
"This project is an example of the significant investments private sector operators make to modernize and expand long-term care capacity in the province. In addition, the Government of Ontario will provide a grant of approximately $6 million upon completion of construction as well as ongoing capital funding to support the new home," said the company release.
The company also said construction is commencing now and should be completed late in 2022.
Information from the company's Q3 financial report released last week revealed that the company is taking advantage of new government funding to assist in the construction of new long-term care homes across Ontario, upgrading 12,000 beds and adding 8,000 more at a cost of $1.75 billion over five years.
"We have submitted applications to the Ontario Ministry of Long-Term Care in respect of 22 projects to build over 4,200 beds to replace all of our existing 3,287 C-class beds and to add new LTC beds," the company said in the report.
Company president and CEO Dr. Michael Guerriere said he is pleased with the project.
“We are very excited to get this project underway and we sincerely appreciate the extraordinary support we are receiving from the province. We also want to thank the City of Greater Sudbury for their commitment to our residents throughout the process,” said Guerriere
“This project will continue our nearly 50-year history of providing long- term care services in Sudbury and will advance the local economy with approximately 90 construction jobs and 300 permanent jobs," he added.
All of Extendicare’s new buildings will incorporate features that will reduce the spread of highly contagious illnesses like COVID-19 including single resident rooms, updated HVAC systems and larger common areas to allow for physical distancing, said the company. Extendicare is also addressing the impacts of the virus by regularly testing long-term care staff across Ontario, appointing a Chief Medical Officer, establishing strong partnerships with local hospitals, and ensuring our homes have an ample supply of personal protective equipment.
“We strongly believe that modern homes built to state-of-the-art design standards are crucial to protect residents and provide them with the quality of care they need and deserve. We will continue to invest in the dedicated people and infrastructure necessary to provide the best possible care to Ontario’s seniors,” said Guerriere.
