StratfordToday received the following letter to the editor regarding proposed long-term care homes.
I was adding up the numbers of beds assigned to People Care Inc. (160 beds), originally at the Cooper site and Hillside Manor (128 beds) approved for the Avon Crest site which add up to 288 beds.
Is this Long Term Care (LTC) centre for the Hillside relocation and Peoplecare or is this just a huge coincidence?
Will both LTC centres be joined into one at this site? Or are we going to have the Hillcrest Manor beds at Avon Crest, 160 beds at the Cooper site and 288 more beds at Vivian Line?
The City needs to be transparent and let the citizens know what is going on and how many total beds we are talking about.
Why has no one ever given us details about the current state of which beds are going where before now? When asking about it, I did hear rumours about Hillside going to VIvian Lne. Are these rumours true or not?
Wouldn't this five-storey building have too many residents squished together in a city like Stratford? Plans like the more spacious Spruce Lodge and Greenwood in Stratford should be a guide for other homes in Stratford. Two properties with smaller, more spacious buildings would be better to relieve the density problem and might possibly make this a more palatable option for the citizens to accept as there would be more landscaped area for the enjoyment of the residents.
If this is what will happen, what will become of the Avon Crest site? Yes, this all matters as 95% of the people going past Avon Crest during last year's vigils showed their support to keep the facade of the building!
The Revera site for Hillside Manor was conveniently announced by Huron Perth Health Alliance the day residents were delegating to Council last March regarding Avon Crest's future as HPHA wanted to demolish the building. This is just speculation on my part even if the numbers do add up.
The good taxpayers deserve to know what is going on. This concerns all of us. Would a five-storey size building not be more suitable for a larger centre, like Toronto, Ottawa or the GTA/?
What we currently have are smaller LTC homes with lots of attention and outdoor space which is more suitable for Stratford. Why push this higher density on Stratford and pack the people in like sardines on too small a property when we now have two separate properties available and more space for two different LTC homes?
Mr. Mayor needs to be transparent and answer this question, possibly in the media, "How many new beds are we going to have in total and where are they going to be?", so all residents have a chance to hear a response from you before Council accepts or adopts anything.
Our senior citizens deserve and demand to know before a decision is made on their behalf. Were there easements concerning using other properties and discounts given for the Vivian Line land?
Our senior citizens deserve more than this current plan is offering! We need and demand an open, transparent and accountable decision to be made!
Inquiring minds need to know.
Jane Marie Mitchell
Stratford
