The closure of a local interim-care facility is distressing, family members of a resident say.
Revera has been operating the 65-bed long-term facility on James Street since 2006. While the private company was only supposed to operate it for three years, 50 residents are still there waiting to enter their long-term care homes of choice.
A decision was announced Tuesday that the facility will be shut down on Oct.31.
Elizabeth Lipowy went to visit her 100-year-old mother at the home Tuesday only to hear the news about the closure from people in the parking lot.
She attended a meeting about the issue where she heard that people at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre waiting for long-term care beds would be given priority over those at the interim facility until August.
“It’s not acceptable,” Lipowy said.
Her mother has been waiting for a permanent long term care bed to open up for just under a year.
Others have been there for more than two years. To move elderly patients form one interim facility to another until a place they’ve chosen opens up is distressing to residents and their families she said.
“It took my mother a couple of months before she finally knew to go from her room to the dining room,” she said.
“Now you’re going to be moving her to another place which is interim.”
Lipowy is also concerned that her mother will lose the relationships she’s made with residents. There’s also the possibility that her mother may never find a permanent home.
“(They’re saying) maybe if you live long enough we’ll put you into your place of choice. That’s not right,” she said.
North West Local Health Integration Network CEO Laura Kokocinski said the facility, although still safe, is well-past its lifespan. The North West Community Care Access Centre has a transition plan for residents and will meet with each of them and their families to try and meet their needs.
“We recognize from the LHIN perspective that this is very distressing for residents and their families,” she said.
Kokocinski said when residents moved into the facility they and their families were aware that it was temporary.
“That has not been a secret in terms of the information that’s been provided to individuals and their families,” she said.
The building also hasn’t been a popular choice for those in need of temporary long-term space either.
The city does have more than a dozen empty long –term care beds right now. There will also be additional spaces opening at the long-awaited Centre of Excellence for Integrated Seniors’ Services, first announced in 2007.
Although 75 supportive housing units will open there in 2013, the long-term part of the facility has been delayed until late 2014 or 2015. Still, Kokocinski said based on the CCAC’s plan, there will be spaces for long-term care.
“They believe that it is not an issue.”
