More long-term care beds are coming to the region with construction underway on two new long-term care homes.
The homes located in Belle River and Leamington.
The home in Belle River will replace the Tilbury Manor Nursing Home. It will have 85 more beds and improve another 75. The new home is expected to open in the fall of 2025.
Minister of Long-term Care Paul Calandra said all modern homes will incorporate new standards for infection prevention.
"They're built around 32-person units, for instance, with separate dining rooms, infection prevention and control built right into the homes. They are completely different and this is why we have been so aggressive in wanting to get these homes built," said Calandra.
The home in Leamington will replace the Franklin Gardens Long Term Care Home. It is being built on the same property of the current home.
The new home will have 40 new beds and upgrade 120 other beds. It will open in the summer of 2026.
In addition to the funding for the construction of the homes, the provincial government has also committed to providing four hours of care for per resident by 2025.
In order to meet these needs, more staff will need to be hired at each new home.
Calandra indicated they have increased enrollment for Personal Support Worker and Registered Practical Nurse programs throughout Ontario to meet those demands.
"We are graduating more than we ever have before, there's more people getting into it than ever before, we have met our targets as approach the four hours of care and I am very confident that we will be able to do that," said Calandra.
The provincial government has committed to improvements at five other homes in Windsor and Essex County. These improvements will provide the region with 236 more beds and upgrade another 564.