About 800 people packed the Durham Community Centre Monday night, worried about the possibility that Rockwood Terrace Long Term Care Home in Durham might close. The meeting was called by West Grey Council.
Last year a consultant's report commissioned by Grey County Council showed it would be cost effective to move the 100 beds and residents at Rockwood to Grey Gables in Markdale.
People in the Durham area say Rockwood Terrace is an essential part of the community.
Area resident Robert Cannon-Sherlock says the stress on current residents would be enormous if they're moved further away from family.
"Their lives are going to be turned inside out by virtue of the fact their families are no longer going to see them as often and I think that's the biggest single factor here," says Cannon-Sherlock.
People worry that the consultant's report on Rockwood only looks at dollars and cents and not the overall impact on the community.
Grey Warden Al Barfoot says the report is just one of the many aspects they'll consider and no decision has made made on the home's future. Grey County Council is waiting for a staff report on the overall operations of the county's long term care homes before any decision is made. The report is due to come before council in March.
Barfoot adds they're working with the LHIN and the province on the whole issue of long term care in Grey County.
West Grey Mayor Kevin Eccles says he and his council are committed to keeping long term care beds in West Grey.
Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound MPP Bill Walker says the concerns heard at Monday night’s public meeting are a common one across Ontario and are in response to the provincial government’s continued lack of a plan to provide beds and adequate funding to seniors who need 24-hour nursing and dementia care.
"By 2025, Grey and Bruce will be home to 6,000 more people over the age of 75, and so my constituents want to know how this government is going to ensure that we will have access to long-term care close to home," says Walker.