After a two-hour session behind closed doors Tuesday morning, the board of management of Rainycrest Home for the Aged here voted to rescind a motion passed at a special meeting in November, effectively taking the option of establishing a contract with Extendicare Inc.—a private health care company—off the table.
“It means, to the board and to myself, that we’re now continuing our dialogue and discussions with Riverside [Health Care Facilities, Inc.],” said board chair Dennis Brown, who also is the mayor of Atikokan.
“The people of the Rainy River District have told us their preference is we deal with Riverside. It will benefit residents, workers, and everyone,” he added.
At its regular meeting Nov. 30, the board heard from staff members, local municipal leaders, and family and friends of Rainycrest residents, urging them to seek a partnership with Riverside rather than deal with a private management company to run the home.
The motion, moved by Fort Frances Mayor Dan Onichuk and seconded by Ken McKinnon, was passed unanimously by the six members in attendance for Tuesday’s meeting.
Mayor Brown said the Rainycrest board will hold its first meeting with the Riverside board on Jan. 5 to discuss a possible partnership.
Riverside has been taking care of Rainycrest’s payroll, benefits, and human resources functions since August.
On Tuesday, the board passed a motion to extend the contract with Riverside until Dec. 31, 2005. Mayor Brown said the contract—which was set to expire at the end of the month—had worked out well, and that it likely would be renewed again if things continued in the same way.
He also said the board hopes to find further areas where Riverside can help Rainycrest during their discussions next week. “Maybe they have the resources to help us even more,” Mayor Brown remarked.
He also noted the move was supported by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.
The Rainycrest board initially identified the need to seek help in the operation of the home back in July, citing spiralling costs and unmet standards during regular inspections by the ministry.
At that time, the board had projected a deficit of nearly $300,000 for Rainycrest by the end of 2004.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Rainycrest administrator Jill Colquhoun reported a reduction in the deficit from the previous month, dropping from roughly $183,000 in October to $108,750 in November.
“That’s quite a significant change,” Colquhoun noted.
“We’d like to commend the people responsible. We certainly are encouraged by that,” Mayor Brown said.
He added it may be possible for Rainycrest to end the year with a deficit of just over $100,000, rather than the $300,000 projected only a few months ago.
“That’s very good from the board’s point of view,” he said.
The Rainycrest board will hold a meeting Jan. 18 to discuss the budget for the upcoming year and to determine the levy increase to district municipalities, if any.
Last year, Rainycrest increased the levy by 12.5 percent—meaning district municipalities contributed about $1.2 million to Rainycrest in 2004.
The home continues to be monitored by the ministry on a regular basis, and continues to struggle to meet provincial regulations for long-term care facilities.
According to the ministry’s website, Rainycrest had three citations under legislation and 12 unmet standards/criteria from June 1, 2003 to May 31, 2004.
More recent information is not currently available, although the home has had at least two more inspections since May.
At an in-camera meeting earlier this month, the board moved to contact the ministry for its assistance in the management of the home.
Two ministry reps will speak to the board at its next regular meeting, tentatively scheduled for Jan. 25, depending on when the representatives arrive.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
