Ontario Provides Additional Protection for Retirement Home Residents and Staff in Dufferin-Caledon
Dufferin-Caledon: The Ontario government is investing $30 million to help the retirement home sector cover COVID-19 related costs such as hiring, training and testing additional staff, and sanitizing residences and purchasing supplies to prevent and contain the spread of infection. This funding is in addition to the $30.9 million that the province provided retirement homes earlier in the pandemic. Locally, over $250,000 is being invested to help keep our seniors safe.
| Retirement Home Name |
Total payments to Home |
| Avalon Retirement Lodge |
$ 32,582.64 |
| Bethsaida Retirement Home Ltd |
$ 23,633.58 |
| Bolton Mills Retirement Community |
$ 45,870.65 |
| Chartwell Montgomery Village Retirement Residence |
$ 52,379.07 |
| Lord Dufferin Centre |
$ 36,108.03 |
| Shelburne Retirement Community |
$ 23,091.21 |
| Sorrento Retirement Residence |
$ 53,463.80 |
“This investment is good news for our retirement homes who were required to shoulder additional costs due to the pandemic,” said Dufferin-Caledon MPP Sylvia Jones. “Keeping our loved ones safe has always been our highest priority, and this funding for continued sanitization and PPE will help.”
Ontario has more than 770 licensed retirement homes and many are run by small operators who urgently need the government’s support to deal with rising costs related to fighting COVID-19. Ontario’s retirement homes have been working cooperatively with public health officials across the province to ensure best practices are being followed to prevent and control COVID-19 and to help get residents and staff vaccinated.
“Retirement home operators are working tirelessly to stop the spread of COVID-19 and keep residents and staff safe,” said Raymond Cho, Minister for Seniors and Accessibility. “Our government’s additional funding will enable retirement homes to purchase more critical supplies like PPE, products to carry out deep cleaning, or to support more on-site testing to help further prevent and contain outbreaks.”
“Our priority since the start of the pandemic has been clear – protecting people’s health. That means ensuring retirement home operators and staff have the resources they need to keep people safe,” said Peter Bethlenfalvy, Minister of Finance and President of the Treasury Board. “Making sure our seniors are protected and cared for is part of our plan to do whatever is necessary to defeat COVID-19.”
On March 24, the government will release the 2021 Ontario Budget. It will focus on protecting people’s health, with a plan to defeat COVID-19, and support for people and jobs.
QUICK FACTS
- Ontario has more than 770 retirement homes with capacity to house more than 66,000 residents.
- Visit Ontario’s websiteto learn more about how the province continues to protect the people of Ontario from COVID-19.
- By 2023, there will be 3 million Ontarians over the age of 65 – older adults are the province’s fastest growing demographic.
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