Redeveloping the Villa Care Centre
It is Our Goal to Stay in Midland
Villa Care Centre - Long Term Care Midland
On Monday, October 24th, Julia King, Chief Operating Officer at Jarlette Health Services presented to the Midland Town Council regarding the redevelopment of the Villa Care Centre on the King Street property.
The meeting was very successful and we commend the assistance and collaboration of council members. In keeping with other healthcare redevelopment projects across Ontario such as hospitals, municipally run homes and homes for the aged, Ms. King asked the council to consider eliminating development charges or else undertake to seek innovative and collaborative partnerships to offset those charges.
“The Villa Care Centre is a for-profit long term care home. Regardless of the ownership structure, at the end of the day, our residents should not be discriminated against. In terms of provision of care and services available at a for-profit home versus other long-term care homes run by a municipality or not-for-profit agency, long-term care homes in Ontario are all the same.” Julia King, COO of Jarlette Health Services.
Whether long-term care homes are municipally run, for-profit or not-for-profit, Ministry funding is provided based on an envelope funding model with funding provided for Nursing and Personal Care, Programs and Raw Food. There are very strict guidelines of which envelope that charges can be expensed to. If the funding is not spent on appropriate expenditures, those dollars are required to be given back to the government, by law. The Long-Term Care Homes Act prohibits any profit bearing activity that is created with dollars from a funding envelop. Therefore, a profit cannot be drawn from funding intended to support Nursing and Personal Care, Programs or Raw Food.
Construction funding that is provided by the Ministry of Health is limited; as a result, many operators to stop and pause, opting not to pursue development. The most recent call for redevelopment has only seen 6 long-term care homes moving ahead with redevelopment.
“Our staff do commendable work caring for residents in a building designed to yesterday’s standards,” says Julia King, “We owe it to the current residents and the residents who will be moving into long-term care in the future to have updated living spaces that benefit their quality of life.”
We anticipate a response back from the Town after they have time to look into the matter at a future meeting.
The King Street property was purchased in 2008 and currently has a hold on it within the Town of Midland official plan. Of the 16.28 acres on the parcel, only 6.9 acres are suitable for redevelopment because of soil restrictions and access limitations.
At this time, the goal is to stay in Midland but will seek out other solutions if we don't have an approved plan. We look forward to hearing back from Town staff in anticipation of signing back a development agreement with the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. As soon as the Ministry approves our application for redevelopment, we have 30 days to sign back an approved plan. If we don't have all the necessary plans in place, we will seek to find another location for the Villa.
This timely response from the Town of Midland would ensure that redevelopment plans can proceed onto the next steps.
The Villa Care Centre employs approximately 125 people from Midland and neighbouring communities. We estimate that the new Villa would employ closer to 150-175, bringing further intangible benefits to the local economy.
We are almost there. A new long-term care home is within our sight, but truly we need the help, support and co-operation from the community and Town of Midland.
