Heather Wright/The Independent

Four years after it was first proposed, construction of ‘small home’ for seniors with dementia in Lambton has been approved.

In 2020, staff in Lambton’s long term care division proposed a different approach for people with dementia. Instead of being housed in a traditional nursing home, people would be in a smaller, home-like setting. Each person would have their own room, but there would be a communal kitchen with communal mealtimes. Residents would be given daily tasks and some of the behaviours which are difficult to manage in traditional long term care settings, such as wandering, would be fine in the smaller unit.

County councillors got on board with the project and the staff applied for a licence for the small home with 10 beds. It was approved and later expanded to 12 beds.

In a report to council, Michael Gorgey, general manager of long term care says the province is offering more money for care – as much as $35 more per bed for 25 years – to speed the process along. To be eligible for the money, the projects had to be approved for construction by November. So, July 3, county councillors gave official approval for construction of the $11.2 million project.

The county has set aside money for the expansion but will have to borrow an additional $7.72 million to complete construction. Treasurer Larry Palarchio told councillors while the money would have to be borrowed upfront, the subsidy provided by the province will cover $6.3 million of the loan.