A new $25.5-million long-term care facility in Timmins will open its doors later this summer.
Extendicare currently owns and operates a facility in Schumacher which houses 121 residents.
“We have outgrown the current location since it is a 40-year-old building,” said administrator Kelly Roy. “The Ministry (of Health and Long-Term Care) announced that it is rebuilding all older nursing homes. We applied for a rebuild and then we applied for more beds in Timmins and we were successful. We are rebuilding at 180 beds and expanding our operations, since the need is there in the community.”
With a large waiting list, Extendicare expects the extra beds will be filled quickly once all 121 residents are moved into the facility.
All residents will each have their own room, compared to older buildings where most are shared. The most residents will have to share is a washroom.
“It is the standard now, and actually exceeds the standards for A Class homes. (The Schumacher facility) is a Class C home because it is an older building,” she said. “The space requirements are bigger, even in their own rooms. It takes into account the equipment we require for care so it will be safer for the staff using it.”
The standards to rebuild all older homes to A Class ones was an initiative started in the early 2000s and it allows residents to have more space and amenities.
Construction on the new facility, in the west end of the city behind Timmins Square Mall, began two years ago.
It is 115,000-square-feet, compared to the current facility, which has 30,000 square feet. Residents will live in 30-bed households and each will have its own lounges, dining and activity areas.
“Households are a new way of designing and it helps to balance the care needs. Right now we are divided into units for staffing, but the households make things easier and more consistent for the residents and creates a quieter environment as well,” Roy said.
There will be three internal courtyards, with a walking surface, which will allow those with a cognitive impairment to be outdoors in a secure and safe environment.
The increased space will allow for amenities the current home doesn’t have, such as a chapel.
“We use one of our dining rooms as a chapel when required, so it will be great to have a dedicated space,” she said.
“There will also be a private dining room for residents and their families, if required for an occasion. Right now we turn our conference room into that. There are a lot of multi-use spaces in an older home.”
An overnight room will be available for families, complete with a shower. Currently, if someone is receiving palliative care, the family and resident are moved into a lounge area.
“We will have a library, an internet café and a kitchenette which families can use to cook and prepare meals, a fireplace lounge and a game room. Also, each resident will have their own TV in their rooms, which are being provided,” Roy said.
The building is striving for a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification of silver, which incorporates green building strategies and energy efficient fixtures.
Extendicare will be hiring about 50 more staff, bringing its total to about 200, with both full and part time.
The Schumacher facility has about 140 to 150. Extendicare is Canadian owned and operated, and has been providing long-term care since 1968. It owns and operates about 90 homes in Ontario, Alberta,
Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
The facility in Schumacher was purchased in the early 1980s, and has been operating since then. Once the move is completed, it will cease to operate as a home and it is expected to be put up for sale.
In the North, Extendicare operates two homes in Sudbury, two in Sault Ste. Marie, and one in Temiskaming Shores, Kapuskasing and Kirkland Lake. A rebuild was recently completed in Sault Ste. Marie.
“We are planning to move all 120 residents in one day. It’s a big endeavour, but it is just to make the transition easier for the residents. We will move 60 in the morning and 60 in the afternoon. And volunteers are more than welcome to help us move,” she said.
Once the residents are settled the community will be invited to tour the new facility at a grand opening. “We are looking forward to this and so are the residents. We know how much better it will be for them and it will improve the working conditions of the staff as well,” Roy said.
