Councillors demand 100 beds for Terrace Lodge

Elgin councillors want to meet with Ontario Health Minister Dr. Eric Hoskins to reinforce that the county expects Terrace Lodge long-term care home, when it is rebuilt, to still house 100 beds.

Homes and Seniors Services Director Rhonda Duffy, at a council meeting Tuesday, June 9, pointed out that the Ontario government now favoured 32-bed wings in long-term care homes.

Terrace Lodge now had four 25-bed wings, and that was expected to be the configuration of a replacement home planned for the same property in Malahide, just outside the east end of Aylmer. Councillors could opt to satisfy the province by adopting another plan for three 32-bed wings, reducing the total to 96, she said.

The Southwest Local Health Integration Network “has identified Elgin County as being ‘overbedded’,” when it came to long-term care homes, she said. But councillors say they’ll stick to their guns and continue with the 100-bed plan.