Unionized employees of Cassellholme Home for the Aged walked an information picket line yesterday, fearing its board may turn the facility into an independent not for profit corporation.
The president of CUPE local 146, Angie Whaley told BayToday that management consultant firm KPMG is preparing a report for the facility's board about options going forward that will pick how it will run in the future.
"Not for profit is like privatization and we do not want that to happen because that means the level of care will go down, the ratio of staff per resident (will increase). Municipal homes are the best. They provide the best care at a higher level.
"We want to remind the politicians of this area that they have a responsibility to keep Cassellholme public, and the employees want it to remain a municipal home. Our concern is the residents."
About 230 unionized workers are employed at Cassellholme.
Board Chairman and City Councillor Chris Mayne says it's definitely something that is being looked at.
Right now the governance model is the district nursing home, which means Cassellholme receives a portion of its funding from all the supporting municipalities.
One option is becoming a private nursing home like Waters Edge, (formerly Leisure World) where it's run by a corporation with shareholders.
But it's a third option that is the most likely outcome.
"The not for profit model is the one we're pursuing, so it would still be owned by a stand alone board, hopefully detached from the current municipal model," says Mayne. "The goal is there would still be some level of funding committed to by the member municipalities.
"If it changed from district nursing home to not for profit, the next morning all the existing labour agreements are in place. It's not like we'd slash and burn salaries. It's long term savings."
He says there are already three nursing homes operating successfully as not for profits in northern Ontario, and do so at lower operating costs than Cassellholme.
"The goal is to manage down costs over the long run."
The study was sparked by a number of Mattawa area municipalities, Mattawa, Papineau-Cameron, Calvin and Mattawan, seeking to withdraw their funding from Cassellholme, aiming to support Algonquin Nursing Home in Mattawa. The four are now in default of their levies.
"The concern for the other member municipalities is," explains Mayne, "They don't want to have to step in and pay a higher share.
"The reason for the new governance model is, how can we find a means that allows everyone to benefit from lower costs and basically reach consensus for everyone to leave."
That's also meant a delay in a $60 million rebuild of Cassellholme.
The board looked at new locations downtown and in the Marshall Park area of West Ferris but found them too expensive and in September decided the best redevelopment site was the present location off Cassells and Olive Street.
An update on construction costs will be done in the next few weeks.
"As long as we are looking at a change in governance I don't think we're going to get shovels in the ground until that is done," said Mayne.
As far as a change in governance, "If we can get a business case organized by this spring it can then be sent to the ministry for approval and if everyone's in agreement with whatever that business case is, if the ministry likes the proposal and they're comfortable that resident needs will still be met with a high level of care and everybody signs off, the earliest opportunity for shovels in the ground would be spring of 2017."
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