Why is now the right time to build a new Boyne Lodge?
Our present Boyne Lodge is 50 years old, and has serious limitations to providing the standard of care expected today. Shared washrooms, double rooms, and non-continuous hallways are among the features that are no longer acceptable for quality seniors’ care. The building was not designed for the Level 3 and 4 care needed by today’s residents.
In addition, demand for Personal Care Home (PCH) beds will grow rapidly over the next 30 years, and then drop off precipitously once the baby boom generation has passed. At that time, fewer care home beds will be needed and older buildings are likely to be closed. We do not want our Boyne Lodge closed in 30 years, and a new building now will ensure that we will continue to have a personal care home in our region for decades to come.
Why is the present location so important for the new Boyne Lodge?
Although the Boyne Lodge in its present form is no longer suited for long term care, it is structurally sound. Once the new Personal Care Home is built, the present building will undergo extensive renovations to create 30 full-time long-term care beds in the small house model. Renovations will also create office space on the main floor to be leased by Southern Health. In addition, the present kitchen facilities will be the basis for the food services for the whole complex, eliminating costs in building a whole new kitchen.
Integrating the new Boyne Lodge, and future phases of assisted living and supportive housing into one complex fulfills the goal of a “living in place” campus, where people can remain in the same environment even if their care needs increase.
Re-purposing existing buildings helps to fulfill Manitoba’s commitment to environmental sustainability, and adding waiting placement beds allows seniors who have been paneled to wait for long-term placement in an environment much more suited to their needs than a hospital.
The final reason is the peacefulness of the location, on the banks of the Boyne River, with windows looking out on plenty of trees, and the green of the golf course.
Why are we going with the alternative of a community-built personal care home, rather than the traditional model of having the government build it?
When the Mayor of the Town of Carman and the Reeve of the R.M. of Dufferin approached Manitoba Health to build a new Personal Care Home, they learned that the Boyne Lodge was not on the priority list for replacement, and would not be considered for at least 20 years. Statistics indicate that by the year 2032, Manitoba will need 5,000 additional PCH beds.
Although the Boyne Lodge is far from adequate, it is functioning, and the increasing level of demand for new beds would suggest that the government will be building them in areas that do not have PCH beds. It became very evident that if our communities were to have a new PCH, we would have to build it ourselves.
How will a new Personal Care Home be paid for?
The business plan calls for a multi-pronged approach to pay for the new Boyne Lodge:
Provincial Support – The Province of Manitoba will make a contribution toward the capital building costs.
Municipal funding – the Town of Carman and the R.M.s of Roland, Thompson, Grey and Dufferin have committed $3.5 million to the project, resulting in a total down-payment of $7 million.
Community fundraising – the capital campaign raised in excess of $3.5 million as part of the initial down-payment on a long-term mortgage.
Other Services – Boyne Care is exploring the provision of additional services to the PCH under a contract with Southern Health-Santé Sud.