Resident Therese D’Amour helps decorate a tree in the reception area of the Margaret Stewart Ellis long-term care home in O’Leary. An expansion to the home was completed last summer but the increase in manor beds has been delayed until February so renovations to the old section can be completed.
O’LEARY -- The population at the Margaret Stewart Ellis long-term care home in O’Leary is set to increase by eight in February.
John Martin, long-term care administrator for West Prince said from February 19 to 22 two new residents will be welcomed each day.
That follows the completion last summer of a major expansion at the facility last summer. Since then staff of the facility have been carrying out renovations to the older section. As a result, some of the rooms in the new section are already occupied but the population has actually decreased from 25 to 24.
When construction was announced, it was indicated the number of long-term care beds at the O’Leary facility would increase from 25 to 40, but Martin said a decision was subsequently made to convert two-bed rooms in the old section into single bedrooms. Once all the beds are occupied, there will be 36 long-term care beds and one respite care bed.
With the eight new residents in February and the re-opening of the respite care bed, the occupancy number will increase to 33. Martin said the remaining four beds will be filled in the next fiscal year, some time after April 1.
The residents will live in the Lighthouse Cove, Green Acres and Harvest View neighbourhoods. The changes include new dining and lounge areas, a sun room and central bathing and whirlpool area.
Nurse manager Brian Chant said the resident rooms are much larger and less institutional looking than in the past, offering residents more opportunities to personalize their space and to visit with family and friends.
Martin said individual rooms are more respectiful of individuals’ privacy and should help protect against the spread of the flu and certain infections.
He said the additional beds should help to address the wait time for manor beds in West Prince. Currently, he said, there are about 20 people on the waiting list, and the average wait time for a manor bed is 180 to 200 days. “This should put us on par with the rest of P.E.I.,” he said.
Administration is currently in the process of hiring 17 staff members to fill 11.7 full-time equivalent positions the expansion will necessitate.
Chant said some of the positions will be filled prior to the expansion so that staff members can become familiar with their new work environment. To be hired are 12 resident care workers, (7.7 FTEs), three combined service workers, a 50 per cent Clinical Resource nurse and a 50 per cent recreation assistant.
