While Fairvern’s volunteer board and administrative staff are optimistic about the nursing home’s redevelopment, they won’t get by without a little help from friends.
Why redevelop now?
The 67-year-old former Huntsville hospital building no longer meets Ministry standards and its time is ticking. The not-for-profit long-term care home has been classed as a C facility, one up from becoming a D, which means you either redevelop in some form or risk getting shut down.
But that scenario isn’t sitting well with anyone.
A bit about Fairvern
Fairvern provides 76 licensed beds in Huntsville that serve people in need of support as well as their families. It has a waiting list of about 200 people at any given time and it has an annual operating budget of about $5.3 million. It gets $3.7 million from the Province, $1.5 million from resident co-payments and about $100,000 from fundraisers and donations, according to a report compiled by a Fairvern consultant. That same report states it spends 81 per cent of its operating budget on payroll employing 102 people. According to Fairvern Administrator Tracey Badger, the jobs are made up of a combination of full-time, part-time and casual positions as well as nine non-unionized administrative ones.
Badger pointed out that Fairvern also serves as a place of training for future nurses. “This year we have hired four RN (Registered Nurse) students who will work as PSWs (Personal Support Workers) for the summer, so they get experience in long-term care. Hopefully some of them will come home to work here.”
Ministry standards have changed
Badger is hopeful the redevelopment will move forward expeditiously in order to meet and exceed the Ministry’s standards. Among its current shortfalls: its doorways are barely wide enough to fit wheelchairs, the washrooms are not big enough, the hallways are too long and confusing for certain residents, and the home’s basic accommodation means four patients in one room sharing a bathroom. That will change with the redevelopment, explained Badger, with basic accommodation seeing two patients in a room sharing a common bathroom as per Ministry standards.
Farivern’s current redevelopment plan estimated at $18 million
Huntsville Mayor Scott Aitchison and District Chair John Klink put pen to paper last July. They urged the chair of the North Simcoe Muskoka Local Health Integration Network – which administers health care funding dollars in Muskoka, most of the County of Simcoe and a portion of Grey County – to support the home’s redevelopment. Fairvern has already submitted a redevelopment proposal for its 76-bed home to the Ministry and is awaiting final approval. Attempts to get more licensed beds have not been successful. Its proposal would see a new building constructed on the same lands at an estimated price tag of $18 million, but the Province would only fund about $10 million of it.
They’re exploring their options by looking at possible grants, borrowing options, fundraisers as well as asking the municipal sector to pitch in. The latter, according to Aitchison, has been well received.
They would be, hopefully, in a position to borrow some money, put a mortgage on a new building but they probably wouldn’t be able to borrow enough to cover the whole thing so they’ve met with myself a couple of times, District Chair John Klink and obviously District staff about the District coming on board with some support financially as well for the project. Huntsville Mayor Scott Aitchison
He said Commissioner of Community Services Rick Williams has “ably demonstrated the importance of Fairvern, not just to Huntsville but all of Muskoka and the role it serves for the whole community.”
Huntsville Mayor makes a case for District support
Aitchison also noted that when the Muskoka Act was created one of the requirements of the region was to construct and operate a long-term care facility. “And they’ve done that, they’ve done that twice actually. They built the Pines and then they built the new Pines, so that’s happened twice in Bracebridge, I think there’s probably a pretty solid case to be made that there’s a role for the District to play in supporting a Fairvern facility in Huntsville.”
Group to look at Fairvern redevelopment issue
Fairvern Board Chair Rob Laver and Administrator Tracey Badger are excited and hopeful about the home’s redevelopment.
A group comprised of Fairvern, District and Huntsville representatives will be meeting to further discuss the issue. Discussions are expected to include the home’s existing redevelopment plan and funding, as well as the idea of the District lending the home administrative support, among other scenarios. You can find the District report by clicking on this link.
When asked about the idea of the District taking over the administration of Fairvern, Aitchison said it is one of the options that will be explored.
“It currently operates as a not-for-profit organization with a volunteer board. I think that’s worked well. I guess the question that needs to be answered is if in fact it were to become a municipal facility, would there be economies of scale to be found by one organization operating two facilities as opposed to having separate organizations? It sort of speaks to the same issue we’ve been talking about with healthcare in general, really. All these… different siloed organizations and trying to find savings through merging agencies and having these more vertically integrated.”
District Commissioner Williams reiterated the importance of the home. “Fairvern has a good history here. Long-term care is in high demand in our community that we need to service and it’s also a good basis for employment. There’s over 100 staff that are tied to the organization. So for those purposes, I think both the Town and the District are keen to help out to make sure that Fairvern remains a vital operation and remains located and operating in Muskoka,” he said.
A report is expected to be presented to District Council following discussions.
Rob’s points are well taken: the wheels of change move very slowly and it’s incredibly frustrating! I too was on the Fairvern board when we were aware redevelopment was needed. The board went through many different options for redevelopment (many that Rob mentions in his response from the 6th) and each one was carefully investigated. It was incredibly challenging because there were issues with ownership of the property, on-going changes with the ministry requirements and of course the political parties who were in power at the time. Due to these mitigating factors beyond our control, redevelopment plans had to keep changing. I applaud the Fairvern board who have had the tenacity to continue pursuing redevelopment and working through the barriers that change brings. Bottom line: Fairvern is very precious to Huntsville, it needs to redevelop and the volunteer board continues to persevere to make sure it happens and it will! Bravo board members. Thank you, you will get there. Huntsville needs you!
Sue Dixon,
Former Fairvern Board Member
I am likely more a “hold back” kind of guy, but as Sue G. has said – when something is so badly needed how can we get everyone on board and get this done. I was on the Board of Directors in the planning of Algonquin Grace – the province was the hold up – but the need was great – finally that funding was made available and the building went up. My experience with Algonquin Grace and many similar situations – it is far easier to get money for the building than to operate it. Let’s get the new Fairvern built and soon.
Whatever happened to our much lauded “campus of care”? I thought that Fairvern was to be rebuilt as townhomes to help underwrite the cost of moving to the hospital property. Then there was the years-old plan to develop a retirement community on the Fairvern property adjacent to the Big East with a pedestrian bridge across the river. Fairvern residents would move there until the present Fairvern is reconstructed, and then paying customers could occupy the new building(s). Again, funds would be created to lessen the requirement on government.
Furthermore, $18 million is an extremely modest estimate; given all the requirements under the AODA, 2005 (Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act). A project manager with expertise in all disabilities is required, and they are considerably more expensive than the norm.
Why is the most expensive and impractical scenario always chosen? And why does it take forever? A developer has been waiting for several years to construct a retirement home (nursing home too, I believe) just north of the hospital site on District Road 3 N., and his plans have been in abeyance, awaiting some firm decision.
As a former, and hopefully future Fairvern Director, all this vacillating is very disturbing.
I don’t understand why, if there are 200 people on the waiting list at any given time, and that number will continue to grow as the babyboomers age and as more seniors retire to Muskoka – why aren’t we addressing that need too?
Our loved ones need Fairvern! Best of luck in redevelopment endeavours!!!
Please remember Fairvern when paddlers are out asking for donations for the Paddle For Fairvern event. All donations are appreciated. The community needs Fairvern. Fairvern needs the community. Just ask the residents and families how they would feel if FV wasn’t able to rebuild and provide a loving home to those in need of LTC.