In fall 2018, the Marianhill Foundation announced BUILDING CARE, a major redevelopment project at Marianhill — one of Pembroke’s most established long-term care facilities.
Founded in 1954, Marianhill has a proud history of providing love and compassionate care in the Catholic tradition to older adults from across Renfrew County.
Like most long-term care facilities, Marianhill has a consistently long waiting list of people with significant health challenges and cognitive impairment who need 24-hour access to nursing care and supervision.
In November 2018, the Government of Ontario announced its support of the Building Care project as part of its promise to end hallway medicine and provide better access to long-term care across the province.
Over the next several years, Marianhill’s Cecelia Street site will undergo a multi-million dollar redevelopment that will see it grow from 131 long-term care beds to 160, while improving standards throughout the facility.
To further increase access to services, the Marianhill Board of Directors has agreed to provide fifty percent of these beds as basic subsidized long-term care spaces. This means more people in need who live on a basic pension will have better access to the specialized care offered at Marianhill.
Plans for the project comprise a two-storey addition built onto the existing D Wing. Designed to meet new government standards, floor plans comprise a ring of private, accessible resident rooms, public lounges, dining areas and care stations overlooking an open-air courtyard.
According to Building Care Campaign Chair Hec Clouthier, true success comes from the generosity of the community at large.
“We have all benefited from Marianhill, whether it be a family member who receives devoted care, someone close who experienced a good and loving death, or one of thousands who’ve been employed with the corporation throughout its 65-year history.”
Anne Goodwin (pictured with Hec Clouthier) of Lake Clear, one of the first donors to the Building Care capital campaign, reaffirms Mr Clouthier’s comments. “My parents Bill and Teresa Goulet, along with my Aunt Marcella O’Brien, were among the first residents of the then-new Marianhill facility that opened back in 1981 on Cecelia Street.”
Since then, Ms Goodwin has had several elderly relatives and friends cared for at Marianhill. She remembers those folks talking about the friendliness and genuine caring they have felt from staff. “People who need taking care of find a good home here,” she adds. “There’s such a good feeling!”
The Foundation aims to raise $2 million towards the multi-million dollar redevelopment project. Asked why she donated to Building Care, Goodwin adds, “Because every amount helps.”
Whether you’re a private individual, member of a local community group, or manager of a corporation, you can contribute to the Building Care campaign.
