TAVISTOCK — Construction is underway at peopleCare Tavistock in Oxford County. This is part of the Ontario government’s $6.4 billion commitment to build more than 30,000 new beds by 2028 and 28,000 upgraded long-term care beds across the province.
“Congratulations to peopleCare Tavistock on their ground-breaking for a brand-new home. Our government is fixing long-term care and a key part of that plan is building modern, safe and comfortable homes for our seniors,” said Paul Calandra, Minister of Long-Term Care. “Today’s construction start is a significant milestone for Oxford County. When building is completed, 128 residents will have a new place to call home, near their family and friends.”
The new building for peopleCare Tavistock will provide 28 new and 100 upgraded beds, and is expected to welcome its first residents in late 2024. Once built, peopleCare Tavistock has proposed to offer specialized dementia care services and be part of a campus of care so that residents can connect to the care they need close to home. The new building will also feature design improvements, including larger resident common areas and air conditioning throughout the home. The design is centred around ‘resident home areas’ to create more intimate and familiar living spaces for up to 32 residents, with dining and activity areas, lounges and bedrooms. The home will offer services to Francophone and Indigenous residents.
This upgraded home will help Ontario address the growing demand for long-term care, which has increased wait times for beds and contributed to hallway health care.
In addition to peopleCare Tavistock. Ontario is supporting another three projects in Oxford County, including the development of long-term care homes in Tillsonburg, Woodstock and Ingersoll. Together, these four projects will provide 374 new and 238 upgraded long-term care beds, for a total of 612 beds built to modern design standards.
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
- The Ontario government provided $12,634 to peopleCare Tavistock in 2022-23 to purchase diagnostic and bariatric equipment in order to provide better care and help keep residents out of the hospital. This was part of a $20 million investment in 189 projects provincewide through the Local Priorities Fund, operated by Ontario Health. The fund is part of a broader investment of over $120 million in 2022-23, with additional funding moving forward, to provide access to a range of specialized services and supports, so that long-term care residents with complex needs can access connected and convenient care in the comfort of their long-term care home instead of a hospital.
- The Ontario government is on track to build 30,000 much-needed new long-term care beds in the province by 2028, and is redeveloping older beds to modern design standards. Through a $6.4 billion investment, Ontario has 31,705 new and 28,648 upgraded beds in the planning, construction and opening stages of the development process. This will help increase overall bed capacity, address long-term care waitlists and hallway health care, and provide our seniors with the care they deserve.
- 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.
- The Ontario government is providing a supplemental increase to the construction funding subsidy to stimulate the start of construction by August 31, 2023 for more long-term care homes across the province, including peopleCare Tavistock. Not-for-profit homes have the option to receive a portion of the funding as an up-front construction grant payable at the start of construction. The supplemental increase is part of the funding for long-term care home development.
- As of February 2023, more than 39,000 people were on the waitlist to access a long-term care bed in Ontario. The median wait time is 130 days for applicants to be placed in long-term care.
Quotes
“This new and upgraded long-term care home is an excellent development for Oxford and will build on peopleCare’s record of providing top-quality service to residents and their families in our community.”
– Ernie Hardeman
MPP for Oxford
“As a family owned, mission-driven, senior living developer and operator, we are thrilled to be building a state-of-the art new long-term care home in the community where peopleCare’s culture of caring and service first began. We sincerely thank Minister Calandra, MPP Hardeman and the government for continuing to make the needs of Ontario’s aging seniors a top priority and enabling leading operators like peopleCare to increase senior living capacity where needed most.”
– Brent Gingerich
Chairman and CEO, peopleCare Communities
“When the new peopleCare Tavistock long-term care home opens next year, even more seniors will be able to remain in this community they love, living in a modern and beautiful home, surrounded by family, friends and neighbours. We also look forward to continued partnership with Oxford County, East-Zorra Tavistock township and many others in the community, to deliver on our vision for a vibrant, integrated care campus that helps older adults live and age well, and more independently — receiving a range of housing, care, services and community-based health and social supports, all in one place.”
– Megan Allen-Lamb
President, peopleCare Communities
SOURCE Province of Ontario
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