After calling off a health forum that was supposed to take place here March 4, Fort Frances Mayor Dan Onichuk announced the Rainy River District Municipal Association now will meet April 1 to come up with a consensus on the future direction of Rainycrest Home for the Aged.
“We’re going to have a general discussion regarding Rainycrest,” the mayor noted after Monday night’s council meeting. “We’ll go through the history of Rainycrest, the legislation surrounding Rainycrest, and certain options that we have.
“And from that, hopefully, a recommendation will to go the [Rainycrest] board of management,” he added.
“The ultimate decision rests with the board of management and the ministry,” stressed Mayor Onichuk, who also is president of the RRDMA.
“At this point in time, [the meeting on] April 1 is to take a look at some of the options,” he explained. “There was a lot of things tabled at a special executive meeting of the RRDMA, and at the end of the day everybody agreed we should all be heading in the same direction.
“So let’s have this meeting, come up with certain options, and then make recommendations to the board of management.”
Mayor Onichuk said this is a meeting for all RRDMA members, meaning all the district reeves, councillors, administration, or whoever else is a RRDMA member will be invited to attend.
While an exact time and location still has to be confirmed, the meeting likely will be held at the Civic Centre.
Coun. Roy Avis noted town council has to be on the same page—before any final decisions are made by the Rainycrest board—as to who it wants to see run the home in the future.
He added the town’s reps on the Rainycrest board (Mayor Onichuk and Coun. Neil Kabel) should keep in mind council passed a motion back on March 4, 2005 supporting Riverside Health Care Facilities, Inc. managing the home.
This resolution stated the Rainycrest board of management make application that Riverside Health Care Facilities, Inc. be appointed interim manager, and that the Rainycrest board of management approve Riverside’s proposal to manage and operate the home for the aged.
And unless the motion is brought back for reconsideration by council, this will remain the town’s stance.
“I just have a concern. Sitting here for eight years now, and knowing the troubles Rainycrest has been in over the last seven or eight years, it seems the compliance issues have more than disappeared . . . it seems to be running better,” Coun. Avis said.
“You don’t have the complaints—at least, you don’t hear it on the streets like we have in the past,” he added. “If it’s running properly, don’t fix it.”
Coun. Avis also said he’s been frustrated by the lack of communication between the Rainycrest board and town council, noting he wasn’t even aware the Rainy River District Social Services Administrative Board had ever officially submitted a proposal to run the home.
He added that after finding out on Monday, Feb. 27 that there was to be a health forum meeting on Saturday, March 4, he decided he should catch up on what the Rainycrest board has been up to in the last year.
However, Coun. Avis noted he soon discovered could find no minutes of any meetings it had.
Mayor Onichuk noted the Rainycrest board of management only had two regular meetings in the past year, and that the minutes of the last meeting would be available by the end of this week.
The minutes for the second one would be approved at the board’s next meeting.
He added the board of management has met three other times, but these were meetings with the Ministry of Health—not regular ones.
Coun. Tannis Drysdale noted the Rainycrest board used to have regular meetings and asked if they don’t do this anymore.
Coun. Kabel replied that other than when the ministry asks for a meeting, there has been no pressing need for them to meet since Riverside has been running the home on an interim basis.
The April 1 meeting only will address Rainycrest and not other local health care issues as the March 4 forum had been intended to do.
But Mayor Onichuk did note a general meeting of the RRDMA is coming up May 17, at which he is inviting representatives from Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs) and Family Health Teams to make presentations on their respective subjects.
Fort Frances Times
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