Ministry of Health approves purchase of
Arbor Living Centre
Newmarket, Ontario - The Ministry of Health
and Long-Term Care approved the purchase of the Arbor Living Centre
nursing home, located on the north-east corner of Davis Drive
and Prospect, by the Southlake Residential Care Village.
Southlake Village is a newly incorporated, not-for-profit
corporation that will function completely independently of Southlake
Regional Health Centre with its own Board of Directors and accountability
to the Ministry of Health for upholding standards under the Nursing
Homes Act.
"The continuation of care to the residents
and their families during this transition will be seamless,"
stated Victoria van Hemert, acting administrator, Southlake Residential
Care Village.
The Ministry of Health has categorized the current
building as a "Class D" nursing home, which means it
must be rebuilt by March 2006. Although an exact location has
not yet been selected, Ms. van Hemert commented that they would
like to rebuild the nursing home close to the hospital but with
a very residential look and feel to it.
"Building in a new location is substantially
less disruptive to both residents and staff, and is less expensive
than attempting to renovate the current facility," stated
Ms. van Hemert.
The Ministry of Health is fully supportive of Southlake
Village's plans to "fast-track" this redevelopment in
an attempt to open the new facility, which would accommodate all
182 licensed beds, in 2004.
Southlake Regional Health Centre began investigating
the purchase of the Arbor Living Centre when it was put up for
sale over a year ago, as it was felt important to keep the residents
close to home and their families, and to keep jobs in Newmarket.
However, hospitals and nursing homes have different funding mechanisms
as well as legal and regulatory requirements, so Southlake Village
was created by Southlake Regional Health Centre and subsequently
incorporated as a new organization that will be managed separately
from the hospital.
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