New beds confirmed

 
A new senior’s facility will be getting an expansion, the province confirmed Thursday.

Bethammi Nursing Home’s 109 beds will be rebuilt into the soon to be constructed Centre of Excellence for Integrated Senior’s Services, bringing the total number of long-term care beds at the facility to 445. St. Joseph’s Care Group CEO Tracy Buckler said CEISS, at 64 beds per floor, will now be eight stories when it’s built.

She said while Bethammi could have been retrofitted to meet provincial standards, the 109 beds will be a welcomed addition to the CEISS. The long-term care beds will be private and semi-private, something the Bethammi home couldn’t provide, Buckler said.

"It’s great news to coincide with our centre of excellence program that we can build all of our long-term care on one site," said Buckler.

Originally an $80-million project when first announced last December, Buckler said the additional $18-million construction estimates bring the total price tag of CEISS to nearly $100 million.

Bethammi is more than 30 years old but still structurally sound, Buckler said. She added that it’s future will be determined soon.

"We have to meet the needs of the community," Buckler said. "I don’t want to see Bethammi staying empty."

MPP Bill Mauro (Lib., Thunder Bay –Atikokan) said the CEISS project and Bethammi rebuild are separate projects that will move ahead at the same time. Although Buckler confirmed the beds from Bethammi would be included in the CEISS, Mauro said based on his discussions in Southern Ontario, it hasn’t been decided yet.

"At this point we’re not 100 per cent sure where the beds are landing," Mauro said. "It certainly wouldn’t be a surprise if it was (CEISS)."

The announcement is part of a provincial commitment to rebuild 35,000 aging long-term care beds over the next 10 years, Mauro said. The Liberal MPP also said that a retrofit is generally the same cost as building a new facility, so building new is usually better than renovating a home like Bethammi.

"To rebuild new is sometimes much more cost effective and you get a 50-to-80 year life span out of something new," Mauro said.

Mauro said because of the province’s commitment to rebuilding aging senior’s facilities, more announcements will probably be made in Thunder Bay soon.