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ONTARIO ⚕️💵 Ontario Celebrates Opening of New Long-Term Care Homes in Mississauga


Thursday, 02 November 2023 04:33.PM

- Wellbrook East and Wellbrook West bringing 632 much-needed beds to the province -

The Ontario government, along with Trillium Health Partners, Partners Community Health, Infrastructure Ontario and EllisDon, are celebrating the opening of Wellbrook Place, two new, state-of-the-art long-term care homes and a Seniors’ Hub that are bringing 632 new beds to Mississauga.

The two homes at Wellbrook Place will begin welcoming residents on November 7 and are the final two of four long-term care homes developed under Ontario’s Accelerated Build Pilot Program, which used hospital-owned land to build urgently needed long-term care homes in large urban areas. This is part of the Ontario government’s commitment to build more than 58,000 new and upgraded long-term care beds across the province.

“These new state-of-the-art homes will connect more seniors in Mississauga to the 24/7 care they need, close to their loved ones and close to their communities for generations to come,” said Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario. “Right across the province, we’re getting shovels in the ground and delivering on our government’s commitment to build and upgrade almost 60,000 long-term care beds, ensuring our seniors get the care they need, when they need it.”

The two not-for-profit homes at Wellbrook Place are located on Speakman Drive and are operated by Partners Community Health. Both homes are part of a new seniors campus of care that includes specialized programs and services, new technology that enables residents to receive service in their preferred language, and cultural activities. The seniors campus of care integrates the long-term care homes into an on-site community that includes Mississauga’s first residential hospice and a health services building to conveniently connect residents to the care they need, including bariatric and hemodialysis support.

The 320-bed east tower and 312-bed west tower share a common ground floor with central services — including a beauty salon, spiritual space, therapy rooms, indoor gathering spaces, a gift shop and four internal gardens. The west tower offers two 12-bed enhanced support neighbourhoods and both towers will offer five bariatric rooms. The homes feature design improvements centred around ‘resident home areas’ — two per floor, creating a more intimate and familiar living space for up to 32 residents, with dining and activity areas, lounges and bedrooms.

“Our government is fixing long-term care and ensuring we build homes for seniors in the communities they helped build,” said Stan Cho, Minister of Long-Term Care. “These state-of-the-art long-term care homes are a significant milestone for Mississauga — Wellbrook East and Wellbrook West will provide 632 residents with a new, modern and comfortable place to call home.”

Through the Accelerated Build Pilot Program, the government has partnered with Infrastructure Ontario and three hospitals — Trillium Health Partners (Mississauga), Humber River Hospital (Toronto) and Lakeridge Health (Ajax) — to add up to 1,272 net new beds at four new long-term care homes at three sites in the Greater Toronto Area, where scarce and costly land is a significant challenge for prospective long-term care home developers.

The government is fixing long-term care to ensure Ontario’s seniors get the quality of care and quality of life they need and deserve, both now and in the future. The plan is built on four pillars: staffing and care; quality and enforcement; building modern, safe and comfortable homes; and connecting seniors with faster, more convenient access to the services they need.

Quick Facts

• As a result of the government’s supplemental increase to the construction funding subsidy, which was designed to stimulate the start of construction for more long-term care homes across Ontario, 67 projects received ministry approval to construct between April 1, 2022 and August 31, 2023. This means 11,199 new and upgraded beds are now being built to modern design standards across the province.
• As part of its plan to fix long-term care and address sector waitlists, the government is building more than 30,000 net new long-term care beds in Ontario by 2028 and upgrading more than 28,000 older beds to modern design standards.
• Building more modern, safe and comfortable homes for our seniors is part of the Government of Ontario’s Fixing Long-Term Care Act, 2021.
• The province is taking innovative steps to get long-term care homes built, including modernizing its funding model, selling unused lands with the requirement that long-term care homes be built on portions of the properties, and leveraging hospital-owned land to build urgently needed homes in large urban areas.
• As of September 2023, more than 43,000 people were on the waitlist to access a long-term care bed in Ontario. The median wait time is 118 days for applicants to be placed in long-term care.

"Today’s announcement highlights Trillium Health Partners’ commitment to help shape the future of health care for our community and beyond. In partnership with Infrastructure Ontario and the Ministry of Long-Term Care, we built two long-term care homes to increase capacity and address a lack of access in a diverse, fast-growing, and aging community. Wellbrook Place represents an exciting and new opportunity to help drive change in health care, and for Partners Community Health to provide access to innovative care to seniors and their families in Mississauga."
- Karli Farrow, President and CEO, Trillium Health Partners

SOURCE: Ministry of Long-Term Care

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