Council wants VIHA boss to talk about Lodge future
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Updated: November 19, 2009 10:04 AM
Mayor Christopher Causton has invited Vancouver Island Health Authority CEO Howard Waldner to discuss the future of Oak Bay Lodge.
Causton hopes the authority’s boss will attend an upcoming council meeting to discuss plans to close the long-term care building.
VIHA put the Cadboro Bay Road facility up for sale this week, tendering a request for proposals and seeking a buyer for the 37-year-old building. The RFP also asks for proposals to build a new 400-bed assisted living facility. Oak Bay Lodge is a 247-bed facility with 235 complex care beds and 12 respite beds. The new facility will be merged with Mt. Tolmie Hospital, which currently has 73 beds.
“These two facilities are long-standing community supports and the decision to close them was not made lightly,” Waldner said in a press release. “In order to provide care that is safe for both staff and residents, it is necessary to replace these two much-loved buildings and replace them with a brand-new single facility.”
Waldner will be in VIHA board meetings next week and can’t make council’s Nov. 23 meeting. But he might be available for council’s Dec. 14 meeting, a VIHA spokesperson said.
vmoreau@saanichnews.com
