Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, Andrew Furey was in Gander and Grand Falls-Windsor to mark the completion of construction of two new 60-bed long-term care homes which will soon be open.
Central Health has begun clinical orientation of its staff in each building and will start moving patients into the buildings in April. The opening of these two new facilities has created 155 full-time equivalent positions in various disciplines within Central Health.
Construction began on the two identical 6,195 m2 (66,685 square feet) buildings in 2019. Each building has 60 resident rooms, treatment spaces, outdoor therapy space, and accessible wandering paths. In addition, each building has a hospitality suite for family members of residents that are in palliative care, a salon, a family celebration room, a multi-purpose room, and a spiritual room.
“The 120 new beds in Gander and Grand Falls-Windsor, along with the 20 protective care beds in Botwood, mean that seniors in the region will have high quality care in modern buildings,” said Furey. “As work continues on a new hospital in Corner Brook, a new adult mental health and addictions hospital in St. John’s, and a new mental health care unit in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, our government is continuing work to improve access and services for all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.”
Over the course of construction, almost 90 per cent of the people who worked on the two construction sites combined were from Newfoundland and Labrador.
The buildings are the second and third long-term care homes to open in the province in three years. The 120 beds represent a portion of 285 new beds that have opened in the province since 2020, including a 145-bed long-term care home in Corner Brook and a 20-bed expansion of the protective care unit in Botwood.
“These two modern facilities extends our long-term care capacity and will further create capacity for residents in the region who require acute care services,” said Don Sturge, chair of the Board of Trustees of Central Health. “Staff are excited about the new buildings as the new atmosphere with a state-of-the-art layout, new equipment, and pleasurable dining experience is designed to create positive resident experiences.”
The contract with NL Healthcare Partners to design, build, finance and maintain the two buildings is worth approximately $112 million (net present value), and covers a 30-year period.
The new homes are part of approximately $1.4 billion in active infrastructure projects in Newfoundland and Labrador, including:
- Six new mental health and addictions beds at the Labrador Health Centre in Happy Valley-Goose Bay;
- 18 new beds at the Labrador Correctional Centre in Happy Valley-Goose Bay;
- 102 beds at a new adult mental health and addictions facility in St. John’s; and
- 164 beds at a new hospital in Corner Brook.
Featured image: Andrew Furey, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador (holding scissors), was in Gander and Grand Falls-Windsor March 28 to mark the completion of construction of two new 60-bed long-term care homes.(Twitter-@FureyAndrew)
