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Cassellholme "remarkable" model, health minister says

Cassellholme Home for the Aged is a “remarkable” model for long-term care facilities, Ontario Health and Long Term Care Minister George Smitherman says.
Cassellholme Home for the Aged is a “remarkable” model for long-term care facilities, Ontario Health and Long Term Care Minister George Smitherman says.

Smitherman was in North Bay Sunday with Nipissing MPP Monique Smith as part of a weekend-long visit to Northern Ontario health care facilities.

Smith is also Smitherman’s parliamentary assistant and has been reviewing long term care in Ontario for her boss.

Well connected to residents
The minister spent some time at Cassellholme talking to residents and staff, and said he was very impressed with what he saw.

“The facility is bright, the residents seem to be well-cared for, I was very impressed with the cleanliness of the facility, and the staff struck me like they were people who were very well connected to the residents,” Smitherman said.

“Many of them are being greeted in the hallway on a very friendly basis, and it’s clear there’s a strong connection being made.”

Remarkable model
Smitherman was driven around the area, he said, and saw a “very remarkable cluster” of services being provided to other community facilities from the Cassellholme building.
“I think that’s a remarkable model,” he said.

Part of the challenge with some other long term care facilities in Ontario, Smitherman said, is that they’re not as well connected with family and community as Cassellholme is.

“I think that’s a key point. We need to make sure that long term care facilities have open doors that invite the engagement of the local community,” Smitherman said.

Favourable impact
Casselholme, Smitherman said he had been told, has a volunteer coordinator and as many as 200 volunteers helping to humanize “what can be come an institutional environment.”

“And I think I’ve seen lots here that would, if implemented, have a very favourable impact on the operation of other facilities that we have in the province of Ontario, so I’m impressed,” Smitherman said.

Serious challenges
He also addressed the issue of the new North Bay Regional Health Care Centre.

North Bay needs a new hospital, that’s very clear, and it’s been clear in the community for a long time.”

Smitherman said he had had a “terrific” meeting with the hospital board chair Barry Bertrand and with hospital CAO Mark Hurst, and was “very impressed” with their understanding of the situation.

From his perspective, Smitherman said, there are some “really serious challenges” around the funding of Northern Ontario hospitals.

“I’m determined to work very quickly to resolve these matters, because we need more certainty on those issues,” Smitherman said.

“North Bay needs the hospital, we need to find a way to make it happen and I’ve made a commitment to go back and get this resolved.”