281 new long-term care beds in Waterloo region get provincial funding

Four projects that will see 281 long-term care beds added to Waterloo region will be funded by the province, Kitchener-Conestoga MPP Mike Harris announced Thursday.

The projects are:

• PeopleCare in Kitchener will receive 80 new spaces as part of a new building, which will now expand to have 192 beds.
• Trinity Village Care Centre in Kitchener is also building a new facility, which was given 60 new spaces for a total of 210 beds.
• Cambridge County Manor will receive 33 new spaces, which will be added through renovations to the existing building.
• Fairview Mennonite Home in Cambridge will get 108 new spaces. These will be created through renovations and an addition, creating a 192-bed home.

Harris didn't provide a dollar figure for the local projects, but said it's part of an investment of$933 million across the province.

He did say some of the renovation work will be to move older facilities away from three and four-bedward-style roomsto instead have two people perroom.

Megan Allen-Lamb, president of PeopleCare, said the funding will help people stay closer to their families.

"This will make it possible for seniors to remain in the community they know and love while receiving the quality care and services they need and deserve," she said.

Harris added he's heard concerns, including from Waterloo MPP Catherine Fife, about seniors who are separated from their partners when they have to go into long-term care.

He says these kinds of projects will help bring an end to that.

"We've got a fractured system that doesn't work maybe as well as it should in some cases," Harris said. "When we can increase the supply of spaces available, we'll be able to then have people stay together on a more regular basis."