The Manitoba government’s expropriation of a personal-care home that was expected to close is raising eyebrows, but a man who has a loved one staying there says he thinks it’s a “terrific” idea.
The Golden Door Geriatric Centre, which sits along the Pembina Highway in Fort Garry, had notified the local health region of its intention to stop operating by March 31, the province said previously.
The publicly funded, 78-bed facility stopped accepting new admissions last March following a closure notice, with more than two dozen vacant beds in late January, the province said.
On Tuesday, CBC News saw a letter from the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority in the building’s lobby that said the WRHA will take over the facility’s operations starting in April, and that an interim administrator has been hired to oversee the transition.
“This transition will not impact day-to-day operations or routines, and all staff will be retained, providing the same level of comfort, compassion and dignity you are accustomed to,” the letter reads.
Maurice Tryhuk, whose wife has lived in the facility for three years, said he had “no idea” that the province was getting involved in operating the facility until this week, but he thinks it’s a “terrific” idea.
“There’s such a demand for places like this. Personal-care homes are extremely important, and to lose one would be insane,” he said.
Tryhuk says he’s noticed the empty beds in the facility.
“It doesn’t add up,” he said. “Something’s amiss, obviously.”
Independent MLA Mark Wasyliw says personal-care home beds are urgently needed in the province.
“There needs to be proper funding of these personal-care homes, and the fact is that this government would have known a year ago that this was happening, and they let 25 beds remain empty,” he said Tuesday.
“When you leave beds empty, they have to go somewhere,” particularly emergency rooms, he said.
The province is working to fill the facility’s vacant beds, Manitoba Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara says.
“We’ve got somebody on the ground who’s going to be working very hard to make sure that we can start readmitting residents to that personal care home,” the minister told CBC News on Tuesday.
“This process is underway, so we’re going to work as quickly as we can to make sure that we protect that housing for seniors.”
However, how much the province will spend on the expropriation is still being negotiated and will be dictated under existing legislation, a spokesperson for Asagwara’s office told CBC News.
‘Actions speak louder than words’
Asagwara says the province is committed to protecting seniors’ housing and care, but did not respond when asked whether the province would step in again if other personal-care homes intend to close.
“The previous government sold off personal-care homes, sold off housing for seniors to for-profit, out-of-province companies,” the minister said, referring to the sale of Lions Place.
Lions Place, built in 1982, offered rents geared to income for those age 55 and over, and was one of the largest non-profit housing units in the province.
Mainstreet Equity, a real estate company, purchased the 287-unit building — now rebranded as Residences at Portage Commons — in early 2023 and removed the age restriction.
Tom Simms, who is part of the Manitoba Seniors Equity Action Coalition — and whose mother was living in Lions Place when it was sold — said “actions speak louder than words” when it comes to the current and former governments.
“The largest non-profit, seniors housing building in the province was sold to the private sector, so it’s really good to see a government seeing the importance of protecting things like long-term care homes for seniors,” he told CBC News.
“One of the things I support is action rather than inaction.”
Simms says his coalition is asking Manitoba’s seniors’ advocate to study non-profit and for-profit care for seniors in the province.
“Government money needs to be going to services and not [to] shareholders or owners of private organizations,” he said.
‘Fragile’ system
Gladys Hrabi, CEO of Manitoba Association of Residential and Community Care Homes for Everyone, said in a statement to CBC News that the province’s move will prevent the loss of personal-care home beds and avoid disruption to residents and staff.
“But this highlights how fragile the long-term system can become when care homes are under prolonged financial pressure,” she said.
Hrabi says her association is calling for immediate and continuing funding solutions for personal-care homes, and plans to work with the province to protect residents and “prevent future crises.”
“Operational funding has not kept pace with rising costs such as food, utilities, medical supplies, necessary infrastructure repairs and replacements, and salary shortfalls,” she said.
The Manitoba government is expropriating Golden Door Geriatric Centre, a personal care home in Winnipeg, to ensure the facility can continue caring for seniors. The area MLA, however, says other long-term care homes are struggling to stay open because of persistent underfunding by the province.
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