‘Substantial completion’ of Rankin Inlet elders home expected in November
Slideshow | 24-bed facility to include a salon, recreation rooms and spiritual room
The future 24-bed elders home is under construction in Rankin Inlet on Oct. 4. (Photo by Arty Sarkisian)
Rankin Inlet’s long-term care facility is still on track to be finished this year.
“Substantial completion” of the 24-bed facility is expected by the end of November, Greg Belanger, spokesperson for the Department of Community and Government Services, said in an email.
The $59.4-million project was first approved by the Government of Nunavut in 2019 as part of a goal to offer 156 extended-care beds to elders in the territory by 2030: 24 beds in the Kivalliq region, 24 beds in the Kitikmeot region and 108 beds for Iqaluit.
The plan was a response to the government’s assessment that the “continuing care system in Nunavut is beyond capacity and does not meet the needs of Nunavummiut,” according to the GN’s planning document for the Rankin Inlet centre.
The centre was originally set for completion in 2023. But that date was pushed to 2024 because of payment issues between the project’s contractor and subcontractor.
Nunatsiaq News visited the construction site Oct. 4.
The project is almost finished, with most of the furniture and appliances in place, one of workers on-site said.
The centre will house 24 elders. It will have a hair salon, prayer room, carving room and several recreational and gathering spaces.
The facility will serve people who require different levels of support. It will be open to both those who just need “minimal to moderate daily support” and those who need 24-hour supervision and care, according to the GN’s plan.
The facility is being constructed by Mikim Construction Ltd. and will be jointly overseen by Sakku Investments Corp. and Embassy West Senior Living.
They received a $150-million, 10-year contract from the Nunavut government to operate the care centre.
The contract will be worth $15 million per year and will create 43 jobs.
This is one of the rooms inside the soon-to-be-completed 24-bed elders home in Rankin Inlet. Nunatsiaq News received a tour of the facility in October. (Photo by Arty Sarkisian)
$15 million a year for 24 residents, thats equal to $625,000 per resident annually for the Rankin Inlet Elders’ Home. Now that’s some elder-gent inflation! While I fully support caring for our Elders, it’s hard to believe this hefty price tag translates to better care than what they got down south at a fraction of the cost.
With half of that we could home-sweet-home their own houses/public housing and provide round-the-clock live-in care, keeping them aging in place and in their communities. It’s penny wise and pound foolish not to explore a more community-based, affordable option.
Let’s not put all our eggs in one old-age basket.
Damn, where were you during consultations? Too late now for your expert analysis. Maybe one day you can have bed there with all your complaining.
Medical equipment, appliances, heating and plumbing, and licenses.
considering this is government funded(?) & approved, usually those licensed in trades or red seals, which isn’t cheap, and flying in and sea lifting necessary materials to build this, it is expensive. also the terrain, permafrost, and having to research and determine best foundation to build it on. it all adds up.
down south, yes, it is cheaper to make, but this is Nunavut.
to be honest, this is better than nothing, considering it’ll some what create jobs, have Elders meet with old friends they haven’t seen in decades.
hopefully when there’s a new prime minister and smarter cabinet and MLA, it’ll get better
Not to mention the 43 jobs created and all the programming that will have to be delivered in all those recreational spaces under that $15M/Y Contract. We don’t expect our elders to be locked away in a room to shrivel up and wither away – like down south…
Optics are everything.
43 jobs at $150,000 per job (that’s a lot more than care givers earn in Ontario, where most Elder care is done by recent immigrants to Canada who work for minimum wage) works out to $6.45 million per year.
NHC says it costs them $20,000 per year in operating costs for a public housing unit (typically 3 bedrooms). Let’s say an operating cost (not counting salaries) of $20,000 per bed, to be very generous for heating, lighting, maintenance, etc. That comes to almost $500,000 per year.
Let’s make sure our Elders get the best food possible, lots of country food every day, plus fresh fruit (like blueberries flown in from Peru) and vegetables (like fresh lettuce flown in from South Africa) every day. Figure $200 per elder per day to pay for that food. That comes to $1,752,000 per year for groceries.
Let’s add $5,000 per week to bring in performers to keep our Elders entertained. That’s another $250,000 per year.
Then add another $5,000 per week to buy skins, other craft materials, and puzzles to improve the lives of our Elder. Another $250,000 per year.
That comes to $8.2 million per year.
Subtract a very generous $8.2 million from $15 million per year. That leaves $6.8 million per year for the salaries of the executives who negotiated the contracts and the profit of those for whom they are working.
Wasn’t there something, along the line to here, that said the GN was looking for a not-for-profit to run its Elder Care facilities?