Tories raise idea of building new care home in Winnipeg for first time since 2019
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Monthly Digital Subscription
$4.75 per week*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $19.00 plus GST every four weeks. Cancel anytime.
The Manitoba government has proposed a new personal care home be built in Winnipeg for the first time since 2019 as part of a $291-million capital plan for health care.
Seniors and Long-term Care Minister Scott Johnston said the province is in the planning and design phase of a number of new long-term care facilities.
The last time long-term care beds were added in the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority was in 2019, when Holy Family Home opened a 157-bed building at Main Street and Redwood Avenue
MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES
Seniors and Long-Term Care Minister Scott Johnston.
“We are considering a number of different expansion areas to personal care homes,” Johnston told the Free Press on Wednesday, one day after the Tories tabled their final budget ahead of the fall election. “We will be zeroing on those areas with the most needs.”
As part of its capital plan for the coming fiscal year, the budget includes replacing beds that were lost when Parkview Place Personal Care Home, a 260-bed facility downtown, closed in April 2022.
It also references new personal care home construction in other locations in Manitoba.
Johnston said it is too early to comment on how many beds could be added to the system. However, the province is aiming to meet demand from the aging population.
Facility reviews are underway at personal care homes across Manitoba, including the 88-bed Convalescent Home of Winnipeg, which is “showing some age,” Johnston said.
“We recognize we’re going to have to take a look at that as well as other aging facilities in the future.”
In 2016, when the Progressive Conservatives formed government, the party had pledged to add 1,200 personal care home beds within eight years. As of Wednesday, Johnston said a little more than 500 new beds had been added.
The minister said he could not provide a timeline for planning and design of new homes to move into the construction phase, noting he is expecting a report soon. He confirmed the capital plan does not anticipate putting shovels in the ground.
“We have to get through planning and design first. We have to do our due diligence,” he said.
In 2016, when the Progressive Conservatives formed government, the party had pledged to add 1,200 personal care home beds within eight years. As of Wednesday, Johnston said a little more than 500 new beds had been added.
Manitoba Association of Residential and Community Care Homes for the Elderly executive director Julie Turenne-Maynard said a new personal care home is needed in Winnipeg. On average, more than 200 people in Winnipeg are waiting for a room at a personal care home on any given day, and the shortage of beds means people instead wait on hospital wards, she said.
“It’s good news, if they’re prepared to commit to construction of a new (care home) in Winnipeg,” Turenne-Maynard said. “Whether they’re waiting in community or whether they’re waiting in hospital, there’s a lot of pressure to admit more individuals who just need that special care.”
At least three of her organization’s members have shovel-ready projects, Turenne-Maynard said. However, a cap on provincial funding for new construction at $133,000 per bed had shut down projects. She said a budget of at least $200,000 per bed is required.
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES
Parkview Place Personal Care Home, a 260-bed facility downtown, closed in April 2022.
Until six months ago, when the Manitoba government hired a consultant to review proposals, there had been no movement on new builds, she said.
“We’re hoping that a few of our members will have their projects move forward,” she said, adding the sooner construction can begin, the better.
Johnston said provincial funding limits for new PCH construction are under review.
“It’s in the realm of reality that we’re going to have to look at an increase, but what exactly that’s going to land on, I can’t say at this time,” Johnston said.
On Wednesday, the Opposition went after the Tories in question period for under-spending its seniors and long-term care budget. Budget documents show the department was forecast to spend $24 million less than was budgeted, as of Dec. 31, 2022.
NDP health critic Uzoma Asagwara said the Tories can’t be trusted on long-term care, after it fell short of its campaign promise to add 1,200 care-home beds.
“We need a government in place that Manitobans can trust is going to follow through on their commitments and ensure that seniors can age in place, in their own communities and have supports by way of home care and other services they need, but also know that if they need to access a personal care home bed that those opportunities are there for them,” Asagwara said.
Johnston attributed the forecast spending shortfall to difficulties finding workers to follow through on commitments to increase staffing in long-term care. The gap is expected to narrow by year-end and any balance will be spent in future years, he said.
“Staffing initiatives have been challenging as they have been everywhere else,” Johnston said. “However, we do believe that we will pick that up in the longer term.”
danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca
