Residents at the Madonna Community Care nursing home on St. Joseph Blvd. and their families were caught completely by surprise earlier this month when they were informed that the owner/operator would be closing the home indefinitely and that they would have to find accommodations elsewhere.

In a statement provided to the Orléans Star, Sienna Senior Living spokesperson Nadia Daniell-Colarossi states that “the decision to close the home is the result of discovering irreparable water damage and mold, which are linked to the original building design and construction predating our ownership.”

The statement goes on to explain that Sienna was willing to retrofit the facility, but that the scope of the project continued to expand beyond what they say “is reasonable for residents and team members to endure.”

“Proceeding with a reconstruction project of this magnitude would result in residents and team members living and working in a construction zone for multiple years. This situation would not serve the residents’ best interests, their families or our team members,” the statement reads.

Sienna acquired the Madonna nursing home, which has 160 beds, in January 2012. According to the Ministry of Long-Term Care website, there were 228 people on a waiting list for a bed at the facility as of June 2022.

Those people will now have to join a queue waiting for a bed at another facility. In the meantime, Sienna says it is committed to finding accommodations for the 140-plus residents who are currently living there.

“The well-being of the residents continues to be our primary focus and will guide every step we take to ensure their transition to a new home goes smoothly,” says Sienna. “We are currently working with the Ministry to finalize the plan to move residents.”

But just where they will end up is anybody’s guess, because there just aren’t a lot of vacant long-term care beds available in Ottawa.

Long-term care beds are assigned on a first-come, first-serve basis. If your loved one requires long-term care, you must first select up to five facilities where you prefer they be placed. However, since almost every facility in Ottawa functions in a constant state of full capacity your loved one will end up on five waiting lists. Where they end up on each waiting list depends on their age and state of health.

But just because you have selected five potential facilities doesn’t mean you get to choose which one your loved one will eventually end up. That comes down to chance. As soon as a bed becomes available at one of your five preferred choices, you have to take it. If you refuse, you or your loved one will be unceremoniously taken off all five lists and end up having to go through the process all over again starting at the bottom and working your way up.

All of which means the residents current-ly living at the Madonna Community Care nursing home will likely get very little say on where they will end up.

In the meantime, Sienna must still decide whether or not they plan to demolish the home and build a new facility, or sell the property altogether.