Niagara Region still mum on how many Upper Canada Lodge residents are making the move to Fort Erie

A piano and Christmas tree from Upper Canada Lodge are sitting in the foyer of the new Gilmore Lodge. 

But this is all that’s known about who and what will be moved from the Niagara-on-the-Lake site to the new $85-million, 160-bed long-term care home in Fort Erie, which is scheduled to see residents move in on Dec. 18. 

Asked how many Upper Canada residents are planning to call the redeveloped and relocated Gilmore Lodge home, Niagara Region communications consultant Janine Tessmer said at the open house that this information can’t be shared due to privacy concerns. 

Tyler McClellan, the Region’s manager of long-term care facilities redevelopments also did not have information when asked for this number at Thursday night’s open house in Fort Erie.

He also said he couldn’t speak to how many people from other sites in general were relocating to Gilmore Lodge. 

The region did email The Local to say as part of the consolidation of the transfer of the licence for beds, "Ontario Health at Home has successfully facilitated and completed the transfer of residents to their chosen long-term care homes. The remaining residents at Upper Canada Lodge are preparing to transfer to the new Gilmore Lodge on December 18.”

The last time the Region opened a new long-term care home was Deer Park Villa in Grimsby when a redevelopment of that home was completed in 2012. 

Niagara Region chair Jim Bradley recently said the new Gilmore Lodge will set a new “standard” for long-term care in the country. 

The building in Fort Erie, sitting on lands that previously held the County Fair Mall, is also home to a community hub that will offer a number of adult day programs and various services for the public. 

The Region is also redeveloping Linvahen in St. Catharines, which will offer 256 beds as part of a $105-million redevelopment. 

Both Linhaven and Gilmore Lodge have reached the end of their service life and need to be replaced. 

Upper Canada Lodge is an 80-bed facility. During its peak, about 20 per cent of its resident population was from Niagara-on-the-Lake, Henri Koning, Niagara Region’s director of senior services, told The Local last year. 

The community hub at Gilmore Lodge makes up 20,000 square feet of the building’s total footprint of 160,000 square feet, said McClellan.

It will be open to the public and provide things such as healthy, safe and strong fall prevention, exercise programs, seniors outreach programs, respite companion support programs and a space that can be used by various community partners. 

There is a community kitchen and a conference room, along with programming offered by Hotel Dieu Shaver such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and speech language pathology.

McClellan said on Thursday that the new home will enhance the resident experience through measures focusing on infection control, along with the Region pursuing a WELL certification, assisting the health and well-being of residents and staff in new facilities, along with families, guests, and volunteers. 

Everyone is very “excited,” he said