Provincial Minister of Long Term Care, Merrilee Fullerton. Photo by Kirk Scott.Provincial Minister of Long Term Care, Merrilee Fullerton. Photo by Kirk Scott.
Midwestern

More long term care beds in Grey and Bruce counties

More long term care beds are coming to Bruce and Grey counties.

In an announcement in Owen Sound Monday, the provincial Minister of Long Term Care Merrilee Fullerton said they'll allocate almost 200 new long term care beds in Bruce-Grey and redevelop 300 existing beds to modern standards.

She said improving access to long term care is a step towards reducing congestion in hospitals.

"Because what happens with long term care affects the hospital capacity as well.  So it is about the people, it is about supporting families and caregivers and making sure that they can get the care they need when they need it," said Fullerton.

She said the increase in long term care spaces in Grey and Bruce is part of her government's promise to create 15,000 new long term care spaces province-wide. Fullerton said she recognizes that presents staffing issues and will require a coordinated effort of all government ministries.

"We have to work with other ministries to solve this too but it is really on our radar that those 15,000 beds and the extra capacity that we're building, we'll need more PSWs, it will need more staffing so that's clearly recognized and we're working on that," said

The extra long term beds in Grey Bruce include allocating 51 new long-term care beds and redeveloping 77 existing beds at Meaford Long Term Care Centre; allocating 28 new beds and redeveloping 100 existing beds as part of the Rockwood Terrace project in Durham; allocating 26 new beds and redeveloping 70 existing beds as part of The Village Seniors Community New Build project in Hanover; and allocating 91 new beds and redeveloping 69 existing beds as part of the Southbridge Owen Sound project in Owen Sound.

Earlier in the day, Fullerton met with Bruce County and Brucelea Haven officials to discuss recent problems at that long term care home. She said her government will work on resident-focused solutions to address compliance issues.

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