Take a stroll through a manor

Letter to the Editor, Charlottetown Guardian

The apparent government decision to replace several ‘manors’, while welcome in itself, could well become one bad situation following in the wake of another.
When the former Beach Grove facility was replaced by the present building, much was already known about design issues, considering the long-term care needs of individuals in care. While the new building offered many improvements, it carried forward the short-stay hospital model whose impact was less than benign; residents were thrown together until the end of their days, in smallish bed-sitting rooms without thought of personal or privacy needs, or personality factors.

It should not be assumed that residents who require placement in these facilities can readily be paired in two-person units, comparable to a forced marriage, in what is potentially a long-term arrangement. Dementia, for example, is a progressive condition in which victims are quite alert about many facets of their lives, which they can self-manage. However, there are some demanding aspects of self-care which, in their extreme state, may contraindicate independent living, absent the presence of partners or kin. At the same time, as their condition deteriorates, they may not make good room-mates in a place like the Prince Edward Home, for example.

I have long been a proponent of enlightened self-interest in management; that is, management decisions should be made on the basis that those making the decisions may some day have to live with the consequences. I was in my 40s when we first attempted to replace Beach Grove when my possible needs represented a theoretical risk. Now well into my 80s, I’m more aware of the undesirable effects of poor building design in long-term care facilities.

I would like assurance that, before irrevocable design commitments are made for replacement facilities now being contemplated, each minister, including the premier, and perhaps even each MLA, would visit one of these facilities and consider it from the point of view of being required to live there for the rest of their days.

Finally, why are we building structures which need to be replaced after less than 50 years, or even less as in the case of Colville Manor? Is that the best our architects and contractors can do?

John Eldon Green, Charlottetown