On 12 September, Niagara West MPP, Sam Oosterhoff announced almost 1,000 more long term care beds and upgraded to nearly 800 more beds in Niagara, Hamilton, Brant and Haldimand-Norfolk. He teamed up with Long Term Care Minister Merrilee Fullerton, parliamentary assistant Effie Trainatafilopoulos and other government officials to make the announcement. The provincial government for Niagara had already announced most of the hundreds of new long term care beds 18 months earlier. The Ministry of Long Term Care says it is fulfilling its commitment to building them.
In April 2018, the previous Liberal government announced many of the same investments. Previous government’s health minister Helena Jaczek teamed with St. Catharines MPP Jim Bradley to announce 81 new beds for Pleasant Manor in Virgil. David Jensen, a spokesperson in current health ministry, explained the re-announcement through an email. The announcement says the minister is fulfilling the commitment to these important projects and announcing a number of new beds in the area. Statistics show that long term care costs $100.380 for a private patient room in a skilled nursing facility. Addition of new beds would provide some relaxation for old patients.
The new project also includes 64 new beds for Royal Rose Place in Welland and 13 new beds in Linhaven in St. Catharines. The announcement includes a new 128-bed facility in Hamilton. The government is aiming to provide long term care beds to the needed residents so that they can access the care whenever they need. The government has already invested $72 million more this year than last year in Ontario long term care system.
