THUNDER BAY -- St. Joseph’s Care Group has to go back to the drawing board for the next phase of the Centre of Excellence for Integrated Seniors’ Services.
The long-term care addition to the existing Hogarth Riverview Manor went out for tender and came back with four valid bids.
But they all came in over budget.
SJCG president and CEO Tracy Buckler said they have to do a comprehensive review of the project and see what happens next.
She said it’s too early to say if the design will have to be altered.
“Our design is not extravagant by any means,” she said. “Our design conforms with the long-term care design standards and they’re quite prescriptive.”
The addition does have some extra components like extra space for research and placement students. But that’s what makes it a centre of excellence, said Buckler.
Those components have been planned since the project was announced in 2007.
“This has been a long time planning, a long time designing, a long time working through the necessary approval process and the fact of the matter is that costs escalate over time too and so we need to make sure we build that in. We need to continuously assess that,” said Buckler.
The budget for the project is also prescribed; there is a formula from the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care that SJCG has been working with, but Buckler said they are looking at finding additional funding wherever they can find it.
But despite the setback, they are still hoping to break ground in the spring.
The care group is in talks with the ministry and is looking internally for ways to make the project work.
“We’re still hopeful we’ll be able to start in the spring because this project needs to happen,” said Buckler.
“It’s really essential for long-term care services in Thunder Bay and for the region. We want to see it go ahead.”
