Redevelop/build new/or status quo: Sun Parlour Home in good condition, but is it suitable for long-term care?
Council for the County of Essex authorized Administration to continue exploring options to redevelop Sun Parlor Home – the County-run long-term care home in Leamington that has 206 beds – by engaging a consultant.
It also received a Building Condition Assessment for information.
Jayne Brooks-Keller, Administrator for Sun Parlour Home, explained in 2023 funds to conduct a Building Assessment were allocated in the budget. This was not only to assess the building, but look at the future of the home in how it measures up to standards.
Overall, the good news is that the facility is in good condition. The question she posed to County Council was whether or not it is a good building to be a long-term care home.
“The building itself is in good shape, but is it in good shape when you look at the type of residents [who] come to live in long-term care now?” Brooks-Keller asked. “These residents have much more complex needs. Most of them ... over 80% come in with extensive mobility needs.”
She spoke of how many residents use large wheelchairs or wheeled-walkers, and that makes it challenging in these older homes, as doorways are not wide enough and washrooms are too small to make for safe transfers.
Sun Parlour is classified as an “A” bed home through the Ministry, which Brooks-Keller noted is pushing to get “B” and “C” bed homes up to new standards. The Ministry has announced funding to help that along. There is no funding for “A” bed categories right now, and she suspects funding to get what she called “older A bed homes” redeveloped will not come until the “B” and “C” bed homes are complete.
“You have a home you should all be very proud of,” Brooks-Keller said. “We have taken really good care of it over the years. We have great resident satisfaction. You have a great team that works there. These are all very strong positives for this County. Now, we need to make sure the physical space supports all that great work that is happening at the home.”
Brooks-Keller presented three options to Council to consider: Redeveloping the building would include modifications like widening doorways, replacing windows, and upgrading lighting systems and competing retrofits necessary to address inadequate square footage for a total estimated cost of $2.7 million. Building a brand-new home is estimated to cost around $500,000 per bed and does not include land acquisition. Maintaining the status quo and completing renovations and upgrades as needed would avoid immediate capital expenditure, but poses long-term financial and operational risks due to increasing maintenance and compliance costs.
Upgrades, she warned, must meet current standards set in 2015, often requiring more space. Even if County Council decided to maintain the status quo, not enough money is being set aside for the capital projects that will be needed going forward, Brooks-Keller warned.
All options, she said, are expensive.
She felt responsible to have the conversation with County Council, so decision-makers can determine which path to take. The Report to Council noted there was $252,262 in reserve for Sun Parlour Home at the end of 2023, utilized for capital asset requirements.
The targeted investment rate is 2.19%, while the County is investing only 0.17%, the report notes. The next step, Brooks-Keller said, would be to utilize the remaining money set aside for the Building Assessment in the 2023 Budget for another consultant to take a look at what are realistic options, if Council wants to explore how to move forward further.
Tecumseh Mayor Gary McNamara said the elephant in the room is that the County does not have a proper asset management plan for Sun Parlour Home. He was more inclined to implement a life-cycling plan for all the County assets.
CAO Sandra Zwiers explained that at the previous County Council meeting, an Asset Management Plan was presented and the chart provided for Sun Parlour’s needs over the next decade was an excerpt from that document.
She agreed with the idea of dedicating levy dollars towards closing that gap.
County Council does not need to make a decision on how to move forward with the Home now, but the County does need to start putting money aside to prepare, whether it is for maintenance of future redevelopment, Zwiers added.
She also spoke of being motivated to capitalize on any provincial money that may be available.
Essex Mayor Sherry Bondy asked if the County does decide to move forward with building new, if there could be the possibility of increasing the number of beds.
Brooks-Keller said the County would have to make an application to the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, posing what is believed to be viable as part of the process. Bondy would like to look into that, and would also like to tour the facility.
Sylene Argent, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Essex Free Press
