Seniors' facility short $20 million
Expansion of Avens campus on hold; GNWT considers partnership
Elaine Anselmi
Northern News Services
Friday, April 3, 2015
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
With only one palliative care bed in the territory, the need for expanded services and housing for seniors is clear, but a planned solution is not yet funded.
"It's embarrassing that we talk about the great quality of health care people can get up in the NWT but we don't have a dedicated palliative care unit," said Jeff Renaud, Avens - A Community for Seniors' CEO.
"It's ridiculous."
A palliative care unit is just one of several new features worked into a 60,000-square-foot plan for the standalone Avens Pavilion.
The holdup constructing the new building is a lack of funding, to the tune of approximately $20 million, out of the $28 million projected cost of the project.
"All we need is a government or partner to say, 'Yes, we're in for 10 beds, we'll fund you to do the extended-care,' and then we can take that funding commitment in the form of a letter to the bank and that would be good enough to take to the bank for a loan," said Renaud.
"We're a small community, how do we fundraise $28 million?"
The project nearly had a backer that would allow construction to start as early as this spring.
"Then we had the client back out, so we're kind of back to square-one where we don't have anything concrete to start building with," said Renaud.
Avens has been working with the Department of Health and Social Services to develop a business plan to bring to the GNWT - a first step in having the new build considered as a capital project.
"Avens is an incredibly important partner of ours and we are working with them closely to address the long-term care needs of our residents here in the Northwest Territories," said Health Minister Glen Abernethy.
"We have to do this recognizing the constrained fiscal environment and obviously, the best way to do this is working together with Avens on their Pavilion project to advance this work."
Abernethy said the department is working with Avens to address some of the restrictions of its current funding arrangement.
"They're bound to our pieces of legislation because they are government-funded, almost exclusively government-funded," said Abernethy.
By looking at different ways of structuring funding for the project, Renaud is hopeful it will come to fruition.
"There are creative ways to fund the project without the government going into deficit," he said.
Renaud said he recognizes the government is working with a limited resource base and competing priorities. While there is a lengthy list of priorities under the department, Renaud and Abernethy agreed addressing the needs of the aging population is non-negotiable.
The Pavilion will include three palliative care rooms, with all of the clinical features of a hospital setting, as well as space for family and visitors.
"The palliative care rooms are bigger, with retractable walls, so when extended family comes to stay to share stories, laughs, humour and love, there is room for everybody to be there without worrying about going a hotel," said Renaud.
"I can share several stories of people, residents that live on (the Avens') campus (who) go to Stanton and get great service, but at the end of life they're sharing a room. They're actively dying and sharing a room with somebody else, with a sheet between them and the next person," said Renaud.
The unit also has a kitchen and the necessary appliances for visitors to cook for themselves while staying with their dying loved-ones.
"A dedicated palliative care centre, you would typically find, they're places of spiritual rest and relaxation, designed to help people die with dignity, in peace and comfort," said Renaud.
The Pavilion would also offer 60 long-term care beds - 29 of which will be transferred over from Avens Manor, which is set to be reconfigured as an independent living facility.
A long-term care wing is not included in the Stanton Renewal Project, Abernethy said, due to the added cost of incorporating long-term care into an acute care facility - rather, he said it is more cost-effective for long-term care to be in a separate facility altogether.
The partnership with Avens, Abernethy said, is being considered as a possible solution and way to provide some of the support needed for the Pavilion project.
