The Ontario government announced that a new long-term care home will be built at Humber River Hospital’s Finch site in months, not years. The Toronto project is part of the province’s Accelerated Build Pilot Program.
By working with Humber River Hospital and Infrastructure Ontario, the province intends to build up to 320 new long-term care beds at this site by the end of next year.
The pilot program is part of the government’s plan to create new long-term care beds across the province that include features such as air conditioning and private or semi-private rooms, beginning immediately. The pilot program was on July 21, 2020 in Mississauga, where two new homes with up to 640 new beds will be built, and followed up with another project announced on July 28, 2020 in Ajax where 320 new beds will be built.
“After years of underinvestment in long-term care, we are getting shovels in the ground faster and delivering on our commitment to build 30,000 long-term care beds over the next decade,” said Premier Doug Ford. “We’re working with innovative partners like Humber River Hospital and Infrastructure Ontario to help get our seniors off waitlists and into modern rooms, so they receive the quality care they deserve sooner.”
Through the use of hospital lands, and a range of accelerating measures such as modular construction and rapid procurement, the government and its partners are targeting completion of the project by the end of 2021, years faster than the traditional timeline for long-term care development. Humber River Hospital will work with Infrastructure Ontario to manage the day-to-day construction and commissioning oversight.
“Infrastructure Ontario is proud to partner with another hospital to fast-track a new long-term care facility through the Accelerated Build Pilot Program,” said Michael, Lindsay, president of project delivery for Infrastructure Ontario. “This project at Humber River Hospital, along with recently-announced facilities in Mississauga and Ajax, will create much-needed capacity in the long-term care sector.”
