Loss of the Lodge in Gore Bay would be devastating to the community
To the Expositor:
I am writing with respect to long-term care (LTC) homes on the Manitoulin Island, and specifically the Gore Bay Manitoulin Lodge, which is a for-profit home, owned by Jarlette Health Services.
In an article dated April 9, 2021, the mayor of Gore Bay, Dan Osborne, stated that David Jarlette assured him that the company was “committed to Gore Bay.”
The same article confirmed that while $933 million worth of funding was forthcoming from the province for LTC homes, none was awarded to the Manitoulin Lodge. It was not clear from the article whether or not Jarlette had actually applied for any of this funding.
I hope that the Town of Gore Bay, and all of the other municipalities affected, which would be all municipalities on the Island since, if the Lodge closes both the Manor in Little Current and the new building in Wiikwemkoong will be over-capacity in no time, are keeping this particular file open and at the top of the pile. I don’t recall exactly when the Lodge will be slated for closure, but I believe it is not far off. It is not hard to imagine that Jarlette would find the costs of refurbishing (if that were even possible) or a re-build would bite into their bottom line so much that it would be easier and cheaper to just “leave town,” in spite of assurances to the contrary. Assurances do not a contract make.
As Mr. Osborne stated, it would be “devastating to our community and Western Manitoulin if we didn’t have this local nursing home.”
Sincerely,
Willa Wilson
Kagawong
