Manitoba to build 6 new care homes, pilot supported living program for seniors

The province plans to build six new personal care homes in Manitoba, including two in Winnipeg, while also launching a pilot program to help seniors with complex health needs continue to live independently.

Once completed, the new care homes are expected to create more than 670 long-term care beds in Manitoba, the province said Friday.

Four of the care homes will be built in the Interlake communities of Arborg, Lac du Bonnet, Oakbank and Stonewall, Seniors and Long-term Care Minister Scott Johnston said.

The Winnipeg care homes will be built on Portage Avenue and in the Bridgwater area. 

The Progressive Conservative government has earmarked $15 million for the planning and design phase of this project. 

However, the Official Opposition accused the Tories of failing to live up to a 2016 election pledge to build 1,200 personal care home beds within eight years. 

As of September 2022, the province had added more than 450 beds since 2016, according to a document obtained last year by the NDP through a freedom of information request.

However, the total number of licensed beds actually available dropped over that period, due in part to the closure of Parkview Place, the downtown facility that was the site of one of the province's deadliest COVID-19 outbreaks.

"That's this government's real record: cuts, lies and broken promises," NDP health critic Uzoma Asagwara said in a statement.

Supported living program

The province also announced a pilot program Friday to help seniors who don't require a personal care home but need some support to live on their own. 

The program will create a total of 288 supported housing spaces, including 105 spaces in its first phase.

Clients of the program will rent their suite and pay for a service package that includes meals, laundry service and light housekeeping. They'll also have access to 24/7 on-site health supports, Johnston said.  

Too often, seniors with complex health needs are placed in personal care homes because are no other options available, said Vikas Sethi, the provincial clinical integration lead with Shared Health, at a news conference Friday. 

That approach is starting to change, he said.

"The goal of this new program is to provide safe, supportive care to seniors in an affordable and innovative community-based housing with on-site care support, so they can continue to have the best possible quality of life in the community close to their family and friends."

The program will be piloted in the Ashern-Eriksdale area, Selkirk, Swan River and the Emerson-Franklin area.