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2 bd 3 wursday, November 18, 2021 | 9° g ES = 5 a 8 5 z o ha @ Active Living adult life- fa style building on Halton @ Hills Drive. z The three-storey, 160- § bed home will replace the $ Bennett's aging 66-bed * space it currently leases the building will start in spring 2023, with an open- ing date projected for fall “The new home will better serve the communi- ty of Halton Hills and also Halton Region," said facil- ity executive director Soo Wong. "There's a lot of ex- citement anda lot of: inter- est from everyone in- volved." With over 200 seniors on the wait list for the Bon nett Centre as last month, board chair Brian Clark said "the need for more beds has never been reater. “There's Soa ritical shortage of long-term care beds in Halton Region," he said during a recent pre- sentation to Halton Hills Council, noting there are fewer beds available local- ly for those over the age 0: 75 than any other regionin the province. “Wait times can be up to two years, which means many seniors in our area are forced to leave the “It is very much needed, not just for Georgetown, but all of Halton and a wide region around Georgetown.” community that they have called home to seek care and accommodations else- where." The new facility will have a secured Specialized behaviour unit in the GTA waiting for a long-term care spot. To help get the $60-mil- lion endeavour off the ground in the most cost-ef- ficient way, the Bennett entre is now appeal the town to consider wai. devoted to Ten nonee wit! Iturally-specifi ‘1c programming and servic- es. Clark said currently there's a list of 700-plus French-speaking seniors SUBMIT YOUR LETTER TO THE EDITOR TODAY! Wotor SAVE $500 OFF A WHOLE HOME SYSTEM NO PAYMENTS UNTIL 2022! Q 5 Mountainview Rd N, Georgetown & (905) 877-6242 theifp.ca ® wwwa.culligan.com | info@culliganwater.ca ing charges. The Bennett team is al- so asking Halton Hills Council to re-confirm its support of the project, en- able town staff to work with Bennett Village staff, and refer the development to regional council for its support. Local residents who have parents living in the Bennett Centre turned out at the recent council meet- ing to back the project and urge the municipality to waive the development fees. "Itis very much needed, not just for Georgetown, but all of Halton and a Hills resident Neil Hage- man, whose parents now both reside at the Bennett after | pending several months on the wait list. “Even hough my y parents are 95 now, I would love to see them move into the new building. sentiment was ech- ocd * “Rick Stomphorst, who spoke of the “loving care" his father has re- ceived at the Bennett Cen- tre since moving in just be- fore the pandemic started. "Georgetown is excep- WAIT TIME FOR BED CAN BE UP TO TWO YEARS tionally lucky to have such a resource in the commu- nity," he said, noting he thinks the new facility will be "a model of Jong -term care in Ontari: Council referred the matter to staff, who will come back with a report addressing the requests at a later date. STORY BEHIND THE STORY: With long-term care spaces continuing to be in high demand locally and across ntario, we wanted to take a closer look at the Bennett Cen- tre's plans to substantially increase the number of beds available in Halton SCAN THIS CODE FOR MORE LOCAL NEWS. Enjoy the freshest coffee delivered right to you! ROASTED IN HALTON DULL | Direct:from the Roastery V7] Freshly. roasted:specialty coffee Ams PX-\IAZ-Va-Lo Male] at ma koM colt | are lee ¢ ORDER ONLINE (@ KCREEKCOFFEE.COM