Construction of the new long-term care home on the site of the Ajax Pickering Hospital, is moving quickly, according to Lakeridge Health.
Last summer, the Ontario Government announced a collaborative partnership with Lakeridge Health and Infrastructure Ontario to build a new long-term care home on the site of the Ajax Pickering Hospital.
Both the second and third floors are expected to be completed by the end of this month, and the 7-story elevator core has been sealed off to support elevator deliveries throughout the remainder of the construction project. Work over the next few weeks and months will look and sound largely the same as the team installs steel walls and floor panels and advance to the fourth and fifth floors, said an announcement.
In addition, prefabricated resident washroom pods continue to be delivered and placed on-site. Throughout the entire build, and especially during the current stay at home order, strict Covid-19 protocols are in place to keep workers on the site, their families, and our community healthy and safe.
In addition to bringing 320 new beds to the Durham Region, the home’s planning includes innovative infection prevention and control (IPAC) measures and a modern design that prioritizes residents’ quality of life. The home’s floor plans, for example, include secure and landscaped courtyards and a number of social spaces to connect with co-residents and family. A daylight study was conducted to create bright and sunny spaces, wide hallways will support resident mobility and private and semi-private resident rooms create comfortable environments. Best practice IPAC standards are also central to the home’s design to promote the safest environment possible for residents, families and staff.
The home is divided into 16-bed ‘clusters’, each with their own dining spaces, sun rooms, lounges and activity spaces. These clusters create a more comfortable, home-like environment and, if required, can support the cohorting of residents in an outbreak scenario. Separate from resident spaces, staff will have exclusive access to ‘clean’ traffic routes to keep soiled laundry and other used items separate from incoming food deliveries or clean laundry for example. Ajax Pickering Hospital and the entire Lakeridge Health system will also support the home and its staff with medical and infection prevention and control expertise. The new home ultimately embodies the most up-to-date thinking, design and practices to create a comfortable and safe home for residents and their families, and an enriching workplace for staff.
With the continued growth of on-site personnel, parking capacity around the site is becoming challenging. The team working on a plan, starting in early June, that will give construction crews access to a development lot near the corner of Barr Road and Monarch Avenue to park their personal vehicles.
The new parking location will help keep residential roads in the immediate vicinity clear; however, developers do expect increased foot traffic on the sidewalks and through the Clements Woodlot trail as workers walk to and from the site.
A long-time locally owned family business generously donated the land to Lakeridge Health until the home’s completion in early 2022. All of our neighbours’ generosity has already gone such a long way toward helping make this new build a reality and we’d like to thank everyone who has supported the build to date, said the announcement.