GORE BAY—While St. Joseph’s Health Centre and Gore Bay town officials continue to wait on a decision from the Ministry of Long-Term Care regarding approval for St. Joseph’s application to construct a new nursing home in Gore Bay comes news that the original design for the building is being slightly reworked. The new design, which is still in progress, will include a resident courtyard in the proposed new facility.
“The design has changed somewhat to accommodate recommendations that had been made by residents and family members since the original designs were outlined on November 13,” said Gore Bay Mayor Ron Lane. “One of the big ones is that the original design did not include an outside courtyard with seating and plants as you see at the current nursing home. This was one of the recommendations made by residents and staff.”
“The design work is not complete yet,” said Mayor Lane, noting the new design will include the same number of proposed resident beds in the new nursing home. “Another change being made in the new design plan is to change the angle on the actual building itself so the view from the dining room will totally overlook the town harbour and the rooms on the west side will have a nicer view of the field that the property is located on. It will be a more resident friendly design than the original proposed design.”
Kari Gervais, president and chief executive officer of St. Joseph’s Health Centre, told The Expositor in an email March 4, “Unfortunately, I don’t have an update on the status of our application with the Ministry of Long-Term Care.”
“The team at St. Joseph’s Health Centre received a lot of great feedback on the original design that was presented to residents, families and staff of Manitoulin Lodge on November 13. Although all of the suggestions were well thought out and resident-centred, many ideas cannot be incorporated into the design of the new home because they do not comply with the design standards set out by the Ministry of Long-Term Care,” wrote Ms. Gervais.
“Louis Belanger, lead architect on the project, has been continuing to rework the design so it incorporates some of the concepts that were raised,” continued Ms. Gervais. “We hope to have another round of focus group sessions later in the spring to get feedback on the new layout and provide updates on the new build.”
“In the meantime, planning work has continued: the proposed site for the new home has been rezoned, plans for servicing of the property are underway and communication with the Ministry of Long-Term Care is occurring regularly to ensure the approval process on the development application is underway.”
“There is still no news on approval to St. Joseph’s on their application,” said Mayor Lane. “However, there will have to be some news this month once the provincial budget comes down. Hopefully, the approvals will be given.”
