New development will provide affordable housing options to meet senior residents’ living needs

In a partnership that is already attracting attention from across the province, Peterborough Housing Corporation (PHC) and Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) will break ground on an 80-unit supportive seniors’ housing initiative this fall.

Also partnering and providing input throughout the 18-month planning process for this initiative were the Central East Local Health Integration Network (LHIN), the Central East Community Care Access Centre (CCAC) and the Peterborough Family Health Team.

The development, located on Bonaccord St., will include a total of 80 units for seniors, which are expected to be ready for residents to move into by 2018-2019.

Of these 80 units, 50 will provide support services for residents. Thirty (30) will be designated for older adults from the community who require support with daily living activities, and 20 will be reserved for patients in the hospital who are designated Alternate Level of Care (ALC) and who no longer require hospitalization.

The supported units will be designed to allow senior residents to live safely, comfortably and affordably within the community, maintaining independence while also receiving the necessary level of daily care. With the support of the Central East LHIN and the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, these units will be staffed with Personal Support Workers (PSWs) who will provide essential services to meet residents’ living needs.

“This project and partnership are groundbreaking for us on many fronts, and we are thrilled to be working with Peterborough Housing Corporation and our other partners, with the support of the Central East LHIN, to bring this development to fruition,” said Dr. Peter McLaughlin, President & CEO of PRHC. “The availability of this housing will not only help us to better meet the living needs of these individuals – it will also allow PRHC to dedicate more beds and resources to providing acute, hospital-level care for our patients, at a crucial time when those resources are in greater demand than ever before.”

“It has been part of Peterborough Housing Corporation’s long-term vision to provide an affordable housing model for seniors with supports and services in place, in collaboration with other community partners,” said Darlene Cook, General Manager and CEO of Peterborough Housing Corporation. “The demographics of our area support the need for this building, and this initiative demonstrates that it is possible to provide wraparound services to bridge economic barriers that may exist for some clients. PHC has been an innovative leader in the social and affordable housing sector and will bring its expertise to this project and work diligently with our partners who are experts in their respective fields. Partnerships are the key to success, and working with PRHC, the Central East LHIN, the CE CCAC and other agencies has provided the necessary ingredients to make this collaborative project a successful reality. We are so excited to get our largest undertaking to date started, and to work together with our partners for years to come to continue to provide this facility for our community.”

“The Central East LHIN recognizes the need to increase the availability of options for affordable, supported living environments to decrease alternate level of care rates,” said Deborah Hammons, Chief Executive Officer with the Central East LHIN. “The LHIN has supported health service providers and other partners to develop innovative and collaborative solutions that will improve access to high quality, timely, equitable services to support residents in securing and maintaining safe, affordable and accessible housing with health and social supports. Congratulations to all partners involved in today’s announcement.”

“Peterborough has one of the largest seniors’ populations in the country; this initiative will be a positive step forward to ensuring all seniors who require assistance are able to access these important supports in our community,” said the Hon. Jeff Leal, MPP. “I want to congratulate Peterborough Regional Health Centre and Peterborough Housing Corporation on the successful partnership to bring this project to a realization.”

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For further information, please contact:
Michelene Ough
Director, Communications
Peterborough Regional Health Centre
705-743-2121 x. 4259
mough@prhc.on.ca

Darlene Cook
Chief Executive Officer
Peterborough Housing Corporation
705-742-0439 x 204
dcook@ptbohousingcorp.ca