
Peterborough MPP Jeff Leal (centre) is seen here speaking with Riverview Manor resident Robert Peltz (left) and OMNI Health Care president and CEO Patrick McCarthy on April 23. Leal was at the Peterborough long-term care home to announce that a new site for Riverview Manor would be built by 2022 as part of Ontario’s long-term-care-home renewal strategy.
Peterborough home approved for funding through province’s LTC redevelopment plan
PETERBOROUGH, Ont. – Exciting news came to OMNI Health Care on Monday (April 23), when it was announced the province will be funding the construction of a new Riverview Manor with 36 additional beds as part of the province’s capital redevelopment program for long-term care homes.
Peterborough MPP Jeff Leal was at Riverview Manor in Peterborough on Monday morning to make the announcement and to meet with OMNI president and CEO Patrick McCarthy as well as with residents and staff members.
Through the funding, a new Riverview Manor will be built in the city’s north end. OMNI is in the process of finalizing a land deal for the site of the new 160-bed Riverview Manor. The present home has 124 beds.
The Ontario government introduced a long-term-care-home renewal strategy in 2014 as a multiyear plan to support the renewal of 30,000 beds by 2025. The recent announcement of 5,000 additional beds, which includes Riverview Manor, supports the viability of the renewal program, McCarthy says.
OMNI has long supported the goal of rebuilding and modernizing older long-term care homes in Ontario, McCarthy says. Rebuilding and renovating homes will provide more comfortable, home-like rooms and amenities, enhance care and provide greater dignity for residents and families, he adds.
Newer homes will also offer wider hallways, smaller resident home areas, more storage and quieter, more home-like dining and lounge spaces. Privacy for residents will be improved through the elimination of three- and four-bed wards.
“(A new site for Riverview Manor) will enhance the environment for residents and their care, and create a safer and more comfortable living experience,” McCarthy tells The OMNIway.
McCarthy says OMNI is also applauding the province’s redevelopment program for the stability and viability it will create for Ontario’s long-term care homes.
OMNI’s older homes, he notes, have licences that expire in 2025. The new Riverview Manor will be a state-of-the-art Class A home and have a 30-year licence.
While having modernized long-term care homes is important, it’s the homes’ staff members who make the greatest difference. During his visit, Leal commended OMNI for its contribution to Ontario’s long-term care sector and Riverview Manor’s staff members for the service they provide.
“OMNI has a wonderful (presence) in the province of Ontario, and the team that’s here (at Riverview Manor) can take great satisfaction in the level of care that you provide, and that’s so important,” he said.
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