Adam Prudhomme
Editor
A new 128 bed long-term facility to be built on the Lennox & Addington County General Hospital (LACGH) campus has been green lit by the province.
Hastings-Lennox and Addington MPP Daryl Kramp announced Thursday a long-term care facility at LACGH was part of $993 million committed by the Ontario government for long-term care projects across the province. The new long-term care (LTC) facility won’t be LACGH’s first foray into a LTC designation. The hospital has housed a 22 bed convalescent care unit, which was converted to a long-term care unit at the request of the ministry during the pandemic.
Wayne Coveyduck, CEO of LACGH, says the newly approved 128 bed project has been in the works for several years and was actually proposed during the previous provincial government term. Unsuccessful the first time around, Coveyduck said they made progress with premier Doug Ford’s government.
The exact location of the facility is yet to be determined whether it is an extension of the main hospital or somewhere else on LACGH’s property. Much of that will be finalized over the coming weeks and if all goes well Coveyduck says they could have shovels in ground by the end of this year, or early spring of 2022.
“(The provincial government knows) we have a good sized campus.” Coveyduck said of the exact location of the new build. “We’re going to explore that with the ministry and make sure that we’re within their guidelines and expectations. The preferred option would be to build the 128 beds onto the hospital. There are a lot of benefits of being on one site, such as lowering the capital costs, as well as sharing of resources, both human and technological. The transfer of patients to and from each site would be much more efficient and cost effective”.
LACGH board chair Allan MacGregor sees the soon-to-be built facility as just another piece of the county’s ever-growing health hub located on or near Bridge Street.
“Over the last decade or so it maybe has flown under the radar but quietly through the acquisition of the Westdale campus, the Lenadco campus and the various clinical services that we’ve added, we’ve quietly created a health campus,” said MacGregor. “The new 128 long term care bed facility is kind of the finishing touch on that health campus. Not that we’re not going to do more, but it really rounds the health hub concept out nicely.”
For the past ten years or more LACGH has been focused on providing and introducing programs and or services that would better serve patients closer to home and make a positive difference in the quality of life of patients and caregivers. Some of these include:
- The acquisition of the de-commissioned Westdale School and the Lenadco Complex located on Bridge Street. These two buildings and land has allowed the hospital to renovate and custom build the necessary properties that now house:
- The KHSC Satellite Dialysis Program;
- The Seniors Outreach Services (SOS);
- The Victorian Order of Nurses (VON);
- The KHSC Satellite Chemotherapy Program;
- The Acquired Brain Injury residential unit operated by Pathways to Independence;
- A whole array of community programs and services, both for profit and not for profit.
- The recent opening of a 20 unit Supportive Living facility; and
- The introduction of enhanced diagnostic capabilities such as screening mammography (including the Ontario Breast Screening Program), Bone Mineral Densitometry scanning and, of course, the recent introduction of CT.
Now with the announcement of the 128 bed long-term care facility, LACGH is grateful to be able to respond to the call to reduce hallway medicine in Ontario. Coveyduck noted that he “wanted to acknowledge the hospital’s board members for their ongoing commitment to making healthcare more accessible locally. Their vision and tolerance for risk taking is to be commended. I’d also like to note how much of a positive experience it has been working with our MPP Daryl Kramp. The advocacy role he took on our behalf was exemplary. Daryl and his team were very supportive in navigating the journey to approval.”
Thursday’s announcement also included a 128 long-term care facility that will be built in Madoc. Last November the province also announced Selby’s Village Green would be receiving funding to build a brand new facility just south of its current location with an additional 62 beds.
“These projects are important additions to our two counties, and I’ve been proud to advocate for both of them to bring these much-needed beds to Madoc and Napanee,” said Kramp. “A lot of people have worked for this moment and many more people will benefit from these new facilities in the coming decades. I salute all involved.” The Ontario government says projects aim to modernize long-term care locally and across the province, and reduce waitlists and contribute to ending hallway medicine.