Select for Confidential

M E M O   /   N O T E   D E   S E R V I C E

 

 


 

To / Destinataire

To Mayor and Members of Council /

Maire et membres du Conseil

 

File/N° de fichier:
ACS2003-PEO-HEA-0003

From / Expéditeur

FromJocelyne St Jean
General Manager/Directrice générale,

People Services / Services aux citoyens

Contact :Diane Officer

Senior Administrator

ext. 21426

Subject / Objet

SubjectThe Garry J. Armstrong Long Term Care Centre / Centre de soins de longue durée Garry J. Armstrong

Date:  Date06 March 2003 / le 6 mars 2003

 

BACKGROUND

 

Island Lodge has operated as a long term care facility on Porter Island for some 40 years.  The complex, providing accommodation for 331 frail, elderly residents, consisted of two buildings, Allan House opened in 1964 and Bradford House opened in 1972.  Both buildings were classified as “D” facilities, that is they did not meet the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care’s structural requirements for a long term care centre and Council has committed to replace them by 2006. 

 

The People Services Department of the City of Ottawa developed a two-phase renovation and replacement plan for Island Lodge in the City of Ottawa:

 

Phase one of the plan included the development and construction of the Peter D. Clark Long-Term Care Centre in the former municipality of Nepean.  The Clark Centre consists of 166 beds relocated from Island Lodge and 50 new dementia care beds awarded to the Region of Ottawa-Carleton in 1998.  This first phase was completed in May 2001, and, as a result, half the residents and staff were transferred from Island Lodge to the Clark Centre. 

 

Following the relocation to the Clark Centre, the remaining residents were consolidated in Allan House on Porter Island, and Bradford House was demolished.  The second and final phase of this project is to build a new 180-bed facility on the west end of Porter Island, in the location previously occupied by the now demolished Bradford House.  Testing and research has revealed that Porter Island has in the past had municipal garbage placed upon it to raise the level of the island to prevent flooding.  Soils excavated for the new building will have to be disposed of at a landfill site, therefore an objective of the project is to minimize the need for excavation thereby reducing costs.

 

 

information previously distributed

to be listed on health, recreation and social services committee agenda 41–
20
March  2003

information distribuée antérieurement

à inscrire à l’ordre du jour 41 du comité de la santé, des loisirs et des services sociaux –

le 20 mars 2003

 


 

 

The relocation of residents from Allan House into the new Garry J. Armstrong Long-Term Care Centre will effectively make Allan House surplus to city needs and will allow for the redevelopment of the property under private ownership.

 

GOING FORWARD

 

In order to ensure the most cost-effective use of capital and operating dollars, the Department has developed a four-point plan:

 

1.  Use the public-private partnership (3P) process as an opportunity to reduce capital costs.  The City's capital contribution should be reduced by partnering with a proponent who would both construct the new building and lease the existing Allan House building, which is surplus to City needs, for a use compatible with the new centre.

 

2.  Minimize the environmental impact.  Since excavation and disposal of the contaminated soil on Porter Island is very expensive, building a seven-storey building in the area of the former Bradford House will minimize the footprint and the amount of new excavation.  This approach is the most cost effective on this site.

 

3.  Design the new accommodation in line with Provincial standards and market demand by providing 40% of the rooms as basic accommodation.  Basic accommodation requires less capital contribution while still providing excellent quality of life for residents.  This is a higher proportion of basic accommodation than exists in the City's other long-term care centres.

 

4.  Maximize unit capital and operating efficiencies by increasing the number of beds from 165 to 180.    Providing accommodation for 180 residents allows for an optimal 30 residents on each of the six resident floors, making best use of amenity space and staff allocation, as well as increasing revenue.

 

 

SCHEDULE

 

The essential aspects of the project schedule are:

 

Request for Qualifications issued in February 2003

Public consultation sessions in March and July, 2003

Council approval in April 2003 (recommended short list)

Request for Proposal issued in May 2003

Council approval in August 2003 (recommended partner)

Construction Start in September 2003

Centre ready for occupancy in April 2005

 

The public-private partnership approach provides a unique opportunity for the City to construct a much-needed replacement for Island Lodge and to offer dignified accommodation to our most vulnerable seniors.