Long Wait Lists and New Services at Centennial Place

 

Photo Karen Graham. Centennial Place staff hosted a BBQ lunch last week, raising funds for the United Way.

Centennial Place is a privately owned Long Term Care Home operated by AON of Peterborough, and part of a local family-owned company that builds, owns and operates a variety of residential and commercial properties.

Their buildings include a family of residences for seniors, with four long term seniors’ residences offering assisted living options, seniors’ apartments and general residential units in the Peterborough area as well as in Houston, Texas.

The Millbrook facility is a long-term care home or a nursing home accredited through CARF (Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities), where residents have access to 24-hour nursing, personal care and help with their daily activities.   It has a total of 158 private and shared rooms, and consistently boasts occupancy levels above 99%.

As in all government-supported nursing homes in Ontario, Centennial Place has an extensive wait list of qualified potential residents.  Currently there are 261 names on the basic room list, and 193 names on the private room wait list, representing wait times of five years and three years respectively.  While these numbers appear daunting, they are also misleading, as they include a great deal of duplication.  Each person can put their names on as many as five homes, and can have their names on different accommodation types for any given home, so most people are on multiple wait lists.

In order to get on any of these lists, individuals must qualify for the type of care these homes provide, so it is not possible to put your name on lists years ahead in anticipation of a health decline that would render you eligible to move in at a future date.  Access to these facilities and to their corresponding wait lists is only available through the local Community Care Access Centre (CCAC) which screen and authorize applicants on behalf of the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.

Because of its dedicated staff, inviting facilities and small town location, Centennial Place is a popular destination for seniors from both near and far.  At the middle of September, they had already provided more than 400 tours to prospective residents this year.

The home is expecting to receive approval of its application to provide in-room dialysis for their residents in partnership with the Peterborough Regional Health Centre and the Renal Network of Ontario.  Called Peritoneal dialysis, this is a self-administered treatment for kidney failure that uses the abdominal lining to filter wastes and balance blood fluid.  It can be administered while the patient sleeps or through regular exchanges throughout the day in their room or even as they participate in low level activities.  While not suitable for all patients, the treatment is less complex than the traditional hemodialysis HDPD which requires patients to transfer to medical clinics for treatments several times a week and leaves them with significant recovery times between treatments.

An active community participant, Centennial Place staff actively engages with the community and hosts outreach events across all demographics.  Their Fireside Lounge is the centre of events for community groups including the Millbrook Historical Society, the Community Choir and the local library and is the venue for Toddler and elementary school programs and the very popular East Egg Hunt.   These activities ensure that residents don’t have to leave the facilities to feel like part of the community, which benefits all involved. KG

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