NEWS RELEASE

Ontario Breaks Ground on New Long-Term Care Home in Huron County

Southbridge Goderich will bring 160 much-needed beds to the province

GODERICH — Construction is underway at Southbridge Goderich, a new long-term care home in Huron County. This is part of the government’s $6.4 billion commitment to build more than 30,000 new beds by 2028 and 28,000 upgraded long-term care beds across the province.

“Congratulations to Southbridge Goderich on their ground-breaking for a brand new home. Our government is fixing long-term care and a key part of that plan is building modern, safe, and comfortable homes for our seniors,” said Paul Calandra, Minister of Long-Term Care. “Four new long-term care homes are in the planning stages for Huron County – and today marks a significant milestone as construction begins on the first home. When Southbridge Goderich is completed, 160 residents will have a new place to call home, near their family and friends.”

The new long-term care home is expected to welcome its first residents in early 2025, and will provide 69 new and 91 upgraded beds for a total of 160 safe, modern, long-term care beds in Goderich. The brand new building will have specific design improvements including home-like areas – with bedrooms, lounges, dining and activity areas – no ward rooms, larger resident common areas and air conditioning throughout the home.

Once built, the home intends to integrate into the broader health care system to connect residents with behavioural support and palliative care services, and ensure residents have access to the care they need.

In addition to projects like Southbridge Goderich in Goderich, Ontario is supporting another three projects in Huron County, including the development of long-term care homes in Exeter and the Township of Morris-Turnberry. Together, these four projects will provide 181 new and 363 upgraded long-term care beds, for a total of 544 beds built to modern design standards. These projects will help Ontario address the growing demand for long-term care, which has increased wait times for beds and contributed to hallway health care.

The government is fixing long-term care to ensure Ontario’s seniors get the quality of care and quality of life they need and deserve both now and in the future. The plan is built on three pillars: staffing and care; accountability, enforcement, and transparency; and building modern, safe, comfortable homes for seniors.

Quick Facts

• The Ontario government is on track to build 30,000 much-needed new long-term care beds in the province by 2028, and is redeveloping older beds to modern design standards. Through a $6.4 billion investment, Ontario has 31,705 new and 28,648 upgraded beds in the planning, construction and opening stages of the development process. This will help increase overall bed capacity, address long-term care waitlists and hallway health care, and provide our seniors the care they deserve.
• Building more modern, safe and comfortable homes for our seniors is part of the Government of Ontario’s Fixing Long-Term Care Act, 2021.
• The province is taking innovative steps to get long-term care homes built, including modernizing its funding model, selling unused lands with the requirement that long-term care homes be built on portions of the properties, and leveraging hospital-owned land to build urgently needed homes in large urban areas.
• The Ontario government is providing a supplemental increase to the construction funding subsidy to stimulate the start of construction by August 31, 2023 for more long-term care homes across the province, including Southbridge Goderich. Not-for-profit homes have the option to receive a portion of the funding as an up-front construction grant payable at the start of construction. More information about funding for long-term care home development is available here.
• As of November 2022, more than 39,000 people were on the waitlist to access a long-term care bed in Ontario. The median wait time is 126 days for applicants to be placed in long-term care.

Quotes

“This construction start means so much to so many in Goderich and the community. It will be a legacy for the champions from the community who worked together to see the collective vision become a reality. I am proud to be part of a government that is delivering on its commitment to build new long-term care beds throughout the province. These 160 beds will be critical for delivering care to seniors, closer to home.”

– Lisa Thompson
MPP, Huron—Bruce

“The health and safety of our residents is our number one priority. We thank Minister Calandra and the Ministry of Long-Term Care for the opportunity to enhance and prioritize long-term care in Ontario with this new project. We are excited to be breaking ground on Southbridge Goderich, our fifth new long-term care home, where residents will experience a modern, safe and community-minded approach to living.”

– Ryan Bell
CEO, Southbridge Care Homes

“I would like to thank the Province of Ontario and Southbridge Goderich for their investment in a brand-new, 160-bed long-term care home in the Town of Goderich. Recognizing the need for facilities such as this in our community, this state-of-the-art development will be a vital amenity for so many and serve as a major employer in this area.”

– Myles Murdock
Mayor, Town of Goderich