Design allows for 32-bed addition
GORE BAY—Plans have now been presented that would see a new 64-bed long term care nursing home in Gore Bay tentatively open in 2026 in a new location. Once the new nursing home is open, the municipality would then own the Manitoulin Lodge building and would decide at that time what the building will be used for in the future.
“The good news is that when we met with everyone earlier this year, we indicated our partners (St. Joseph’s Health Centre, Jarlette Health Services) were working on plans,” stated Gore Bay Mayor Ron Lane at a meeting last week. “Now we have actual plans that would see the privately owned operation replaced by a new nursing home that will be in place for the next 50-60 years.”
Mayor Lane explained, “The new nursing home will not likely be ready by June 2025, so St. Joseph’s will phase in after June 2025, (when the current licence for the Lodge operated by Jarlette Health Services will expire) and the new operator will be St. Joseph’s Health Care. And by mid-2026, when the new long-term care nursing home is ready to open, the whole operation transitions to it. Then the Town of Gore Bay will be the owner of the existing Manitoulin Lodge building.”
“This is a very exciting time for our nursing home,” stated Jaime-Lynn Kalmikov, Lodge administrator. She pointed out Kari Gervais, president and chief executive officer of St. Joseph’s Health Centre in Sudbury, Louis Belanger of Belanger Salach Architecture Sudbury and Griffon Allen of Jarlette Health Services were all in attendance.
“We would like to tell you about our organization, and there will be an opportunity to ask questions and voice concerns,” said Ms. Gervais. “We are still early on in the planning stage for this project.”
Ms. Gervais said St. Joseph’s has two 128 bed LTC homes in Sudbury, one across from Laurentian University and the other, St. Gabriels in Chelmsford. She said, “The town reached out to us and we are going to do what we can to keep long term care in the community.”
Along with the two LTC homes in Sudbury/Chelmsford, “we have two community access rehab centres. And now we are looking at opening up a 64 bed LTC facility here in Gore Bay,” said Ms. Gervais. “Our mission is to meet the needs of the community.”
While the plans are for an original build of 64 beds, this could be expanded to 96 beds as and when needed, the meeting was told.
Mr. Belanger said, “It’s a very exciting, unique site that the new LTC nursing home will be located on.” It will be one storey, and the majority of the bedrooms will have the views over the bluffs to the lake. “I had previous knowledge of the site,” he said. “I am wonderfully excited by the site; the view is so powerful and we want to maximize it for all the residents.”
With access off Armstrong Street, the building will include two wings with 32 beds in each wing. It will adopt a small house design by dividing the 32 beds into 12- and eight-bed ‘neighbourhoods.’
Visitors to the nursing home will come to a main entrance with a big lobby that can accommodate about 80 people, and a chapel off it, then the administration and support services area, dining room and nursing station. Each wing has a lounge area at each end. Each 32-bed wing has its own dining room that can be made bigger with a retractable wall in the middle.
There will be a large deck on the outside of the building, and there will be a series of fully accessible walking trails around the property, said Mr. Belanger.
When asked by one visitor at the meeting how much the estimated cost of the 50,000 square foot building is Ms. Gervais told the meeting, “We are not at that stage yet.”
Each of the two wings will have its own activity and therapy room and nurses’ station.
Phyllis Cacciotti, a volunteer at the Manitoulin Lodge asked about storage that would be readily accessible.
Each of the wings has a central supply area, said Mr. Belanger, who added, “we understand and know the challenges there is with storage space.” He explained each of the dining areas in both wings has an open serving area, much larger than the dining room at the Manitoulin Lodge.
If the additional 32-bed wing is added on to the building in the future it would be connected off the proposed main area.
As for any locked areas for residents in the proposed build, Ms. Gervais said, “Not at this point.”
Ms. Gervais explained the application process is two-step. The proposal will be presented to the St. Joseph’s board of directors on November 30, and if approved, it would go to the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC). If approval is given, then a preliminary plan would be put in place. “At that point we will be looking for volunteers, stakeholder groups, residents and families for feedback on the proposed designs so the plan envisions what everyone wants. We will be asking for feedback.”
It was pointed out the MOHLTC receives hundreds of applications for new homes to look at each year.
“So, no decision as to when there would be shovels in the ground?” asked Diane Robbins.
“We have had discussions with the MOHLTC and they consistently say that we should get our application in as quickly as possible,” said Ms. Gervais. “For sure, St. Joseph’s will be involved. The ministry has been very encouraging on this. We don’t have a formal motion yet, but our board has been very supportive as well.”
As for the current staff at Manitoulin Lodge Ms. Gervais said, “they will continue in the new nursing home. That is the goal, the supportive team on site now with Jarlette will not change. So, the faces the residents see every day will be the faces they see when the new long term care facility opens.”
As for whether the name of the new facility will continue as the Manitoulin Lodge, Ms. Gervais said this is unclear at this time.
“Is Jarlette still involved in the process?” asked Ms. Robbins.
Ms. Gervais said during the transition period they would work closely with Jarlette, and it has been a very good relationship to date.
Mayor Lane explained, “when we were here previously, we were looking for partners and maybe the neighbouring municipalities. A partner came forward in St. Joseph’s, a non-profit corporation. It will be owned and operated by St. Joseph’s so the municipalities will not have direct dollars into the facility. I am sure the municipalities will be happy to hear that. But I feel it has been a great partnership between Jarlette, St. Joseph’s and Gore Bay. We meet every two weeks, and we are working with the owner regarding rezoning.”
“What will happen to this building (the current Manitoulin Lodge)?” asked Ms. Cacciotti.
Mayor Lane explained, “The plan is that St. Joseph’s will phase in, after June 2025, at the current building. And then by mid-2026 the new nursing home will be ready to open, and whole thing will transition to St. Joseph’s. The town of Gore Bay will become the owner of the building when the Jarlette licence expires in 2025.”
“Once the new building is done, the town will have to decide what to do with this building,” said Mayor Lane. “It is a heritage building having been constructed in the 1920s. It is very important to the town, and since there is no assisted living facility on Manitoulin Island that could be one option. The other possibility is that we have been notified that our doctor allotment has been changed by the province from two to five. A recruitment process is in place to fill these new positions. So, there may be a need for a new medical centre.”
“Also, we need more senior apartments. Millsite has 24 units and a waiting list. It will take partners to implement any or all of these options,” said Mayor Lane.
Mayor Lane also explained that the site for the new building on the west bluff was perfect when looking for a site. It had to be at least 5.5 acres of land and there was nowhere in the downtown that this could be accommodated. “You cannot just put it in a hayfield and forget it. We want the best location, and with the bay being right there, there is a view for everyone from the building. The other great thing it is totally cleared land and flat.”
The mayor noted that there are no services at the proposed new location, and services will have to come from Fraser Street or extend from Water Street up to the bluff are possible.
“Is the date of 2026 reasonable for the new building being complete?” asked Ms. Cacciotti.
“Depending on the length of the approval process, definitely these plans are in place,” said Ms. Gervais.
