The Ontario government is building 63 new beds and upgrading 65 at Pinecrest Nursing Home in Bobcaygeon, the area’s MPP announced on Wednesday.
Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock MPP Laurie Scott says the announcement means there are now 300 long-term care beds in development or under construction and 436 upgraded in the riding.
Global News Peterborough inquired about more details on the announcement.
On Thursday morning,Kailie Oortwyn, Legislative Affairs advisor, told Global News Peterborough the project will eventually see a new building constructed.
“An allocation means that funding to develop beds or upgrade existing beds has been earmarked for a project, subject to elements of the project being finalized,” she said. “These elements include a full licensing and capital review. This is really the first step in the project and finances must be finalized after the preparation work is completed on the project.”
The 65-bed Pinecrest Nursing Home gained national attention in 2020 when it was one of the first long-term care homes in Canada dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak. Declared in March 2020, the outbreak claimed 28 residents and a spouse of a resident until it was declared over in mid-May 2020.
“Today’s announcement for Pinecrest Nursing Home is part of our plan to fix long-term care and ensure seniors get the quality of care they need and deserve,” said Scott. “We saw how remarkable the local health-care staff were at Pinecrest during the pandemic and this funding is another part of our plan to improve staffing and care, accountability, enforcement, and transparency by building modern, safe, comfortable homes for seniors.”
Scott said the project is part of the government’s $6.4-billion commitment to build more than 30,000 net new beds by 2028 and 28,000 upgraded long-term care beds across the province.