H.J. McFarland Memorial Home redevelopment faces tough choices

The H.J. McFarland redevelopment project is moving to the design phase. Projected construction costs will be entertained as a capital project possibility during Council’s 2024 budget deliberations. But much is still up in the air.

The County is waiting for the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care to announce the second year of its Accelerated Construction Funding Subsidy, which, combined with a zero-interest Infrastructure Ontario loan, could see the net costs to the municipality of the $97 million project cut to half, or even a third.

Moving forward with plans now, however, will ensure that, should the province indicate a second round of Accelerated funds for Long-Term Care homes, the county would be ready to apply. The process has strict deadlines.

“We are optimistic the funding opportunity will come,” said CAO Marcia Wallace at Council earlier this month, “so we want to create a capital project and keep moving forward with the design work. We want to be as shovel-ready as possible so the minute the competition opens we will be able to go.”

Last year, the County had to drop out of the first round of LTC funding as it could not meet the province’s timelines.

“In November 2022, they announced there was a program. By December, we confirmed we were in, and by February the conceptual design had to be ready. Well, we weren’t ready,” explained CAO Wallace. “This time, now we have that, so we are big steps ahead of where we were last time.”

The Home’s Director, Kyle Cotton, agreed. “This time we can meet the schedule of the accelerator project that just ended. They gave roughly 8 months from the time they announced funding to the time you had to be ready to build with approvals. We are on that timeline.”

If the project is funded, construction would start in fall 2024.

Family Council: home-like atmosphere a top priority

Meanwhile, the project’s design stage, now underway, promises to be challenging. Current plans are for a low-rise, one- to two-storey building. Self-contained wings extend like spokes from a central half-moon, lined with windows on all sides. All rooms are private.

While it praised some of the open-air amenities in the plans for the project, the Home’s Family Council sent a letter to Director Kyle Cotton and to Council detailing its concerns with a proposed 50 per cent increase in density in the new build.

Plans for the proposed home include 32 residents per wing, up from the current home’s 21. That density is the maximum allowed in the Ontario Ministry’s design standards, which were written before the pandemic, in 2015. New standards in long-term care call for increased personal space and attention.

The project includes 160 rooms, each about 135 to 140 square feet, a size the Family Council deems far too small.

“Family Council has always stressed the importance of creating a homelike as opposed to institutional environment; it must be warm and welcoming to encourage and promote families to be a part of the resident’s care team,” reads the letter. It suggests more lounge areas, fireplaces, and a library – additions that would make the home more comfortable welcoming to visitors and residents.

Councillor Bill Roberts queried the limited options in terms of rooms. “There are two room choices,” he noted, “either ‘private’ or ‘basic’. While both options are the same size, the difference in cost is $10,200 per year.” “Private” rooms have a private washroom.

Further, he noted, the split is 60 per cent private and 40 per cent basic. “In the current home, 86 per cent are ward rooms and only 14 per cent are private. What happens if not so many people are interested in the steeply increased cost when the only difference is the private washroom?”

The Family Council letter stressed that many of the clients of the long term care home are on a waiting list for accommodations, and their families request a very basic room. Should basic accommodation not be available, they are offered what is available, but pay the lower price. That could leave the County subsidizing costs.

As Mr. Skinner noted, costs will determine many tough choices as the project moves forward.

Ed Note: this article has been corrected. It originally stated individual rooms would be 400-450 sq. feet. That number was incorrect. Projected square footage of both private and basic rooms in the proposed new facility would be 135 to 140 square feet. The Gazette sincerely regrets the error.