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Modern standards force larger footprint

The current Oak Bay Lodge does not meet modern standards of care

Re: Why not reno? (Letters, Aug. 8)

A writer asked me what “modern standards” would require a larger Oak Bay Lodge.

The answer is simple: the current building does not meet modern standards of care. If one takes the legally mandated square footage per resident and multiplies that by the current number of residents, it would require a significantly larger building than exists today. We had near-unanimous desire to keep these beds in Oak Bay, and so supporting that principle also required supporting a larger building.

The current building may be used for other purposes in the future, but not for residential and dementia care as currently exists.

For all the pros and cons of the Oak Bay Lodge proposal, we now face the reality that Oak Bay will be the only core municipality without residential care or dementia beds. We will have lost 280 care beds, 256 full time jobs, and the ability to provide a full continuum of care within Oak Bay. Rather than increasing community care by a fairly modest 14 per cent, we are losing it all. Rather than contributing to the regional care needs, we will now be wholly dependent on other communities to house our elderly in need.

Even those opposed to the specifics of the project can recognize that Oak Bay will be poorer for this loss.

Kevin Murdoch

Oak Bay councillor