‘Campus’ envisioned for Linhaven seniors home
Niagara Region will embrace a campus or hub style model when redeveloping three of its longterm care homes.
Upper Canada Lodge in Niagara-on-the-Lake and Gilmore Lodge in Fort Erie, each with 80 beds, as well as Linhaven in St. Catharines with 248 beds, are under review by the Region.
As the homes will not meet structural compliance requirements by 2025, a task force including councillors, regional staff and industry experts was formed in 2015 to determine options for redevelopment.
Under the campus-style model, a new facility will be constructed to include between 128 and 224 long-term care beds — but the details of where that home will be built or what, if any, impact it will have on area facilities has yet to be determined.
The property, recommended by staff to be 12 to 19 acres in size, could house a slew of other on site services and amenities, such as a pharmacy, retail space, medical centre and retirement residences.
With a model supported, the next step will have staff developing a business case for the three homes under review and optimal bed distribution. It will include bed allocation strategies and options, full financial model development, options for campus components in each community, preferred procurement approaches and risk analysis.
The business case is expected to be submitted to council before the end of January.
While some initial public consultation has taken place, further input will be sought once the business plan is completed and more tangible options are available, acting commissioner of corporate services Jason Burgess said.
At that point staff will have recommendations available about the size and possible location of the buildings, he said.
In order to attract outside investment in the campus, the long-term care home must be of “sufficient size,” hence the minimum bed requirement, a staff report recently presented to council indicated.
Through consultation with operators of not-for-profit, for profit and municipal homes, staff determined new facilities are being developed in pods of 32 beds, typically with 160 or more beds in total.
Because of the size recommendations, construction of three new homes will not be feasible, Burgess said.
Larger facilities are meant to enhance the experience of residents with more diverse services and tend to come with operational efficiencies, such as shared laundry or kitchen services and property maintenance, he said.
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It will have to be determined down the road whether the Region will own the chosen campus space, benefiting from rental revenue, or if it will buy into an already existing campus, he added.
All plans concerning the homes will have to first be approved by regional council and then by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.