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Elliot Lake, Kirkland Lake among communities to receive new LTC beds

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The Ontario government announced Friday it is adding 128 new and 100 upgraded long-term care beds at six long-term care homes in northern Ontario.

The new beds are spread across rural areas in the north. Communities in northeastern Ontario getting more beds include Elliot Lake (32), Kirkland Lake (28) and Killarney (14).

“Our government has a plan to fix long-term care and a key part of that plan is building modern, safe, and comfortable homes for our seniors,” Paul Calandra, Minister of Long-Term Care, said in a news release announcing the funding.

“When these six homes in northern Ontario are completed, 228 residents will have a new place to call home, near their family and friends.”

“For far too long, the previous government let our long-term care home system deteriorate, and our government has a plan to fix it," Greg Rickford, Minister for Northern Development and Mines, said in the release.

"Today’s announcement is positive news for northern Ontarians and their families as we work to ensure that seniors across the north have access to the quality care that they deserve."

The funding will pay for the following projects:

• 14 new beds in Killarney. Construction is expected to start by spring 2023.

• 22 new beds at the Atikokan General Hospital. This will be a new addition to the existing long-term care home, bringing the total number of beds in this home to 48. Construction is expected to start by spring 2023.

• 28 new and 100 upgraded beds at Extendicare Kirkland Lake. This is a new building for the existing home. Construction is expected to start by fall 2023.

• 14 new beds in Marathon, allocated to the North of Superior Healthcare Group. Construction of this long-term care wing, which will be attached to the Wilson Memorial General Hospital, is expected to start by spring 2023.

• 32 new beds at St. Joseph's Manor, licensed to St. Joseph’s General Hospital in Elliot Lake. This will be an addition to the existing long-term care home, bringing the total number of beds in this home to 96. Construction is expected to start by fall 2022.

• 18 new beds at Santé Manitouwadge Health. This will be an addition to the existing long-term care home, bringing the total number of beds in this home to 27. Construction is expected to start by spring 2023.

In total, there are now 1,249 new and 1,977 upgraded long-term care beds in development or under construction across northern Ontario. The projects are part of the government’s $6.4 billion plan to build more than 30,000 net new beds by 2028 and 28,000 upgraded long-term care beds across the province.

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