Nursing home's closure adds to shortage of beds

Downtown facility is latest to shutter as wait-list grows

- KENYON WALLACE

As Toronto continues to face a massive wait-list for long-term-care beds, the Star has learned another nursing home in the city is shutting down the fifth facility to close in less than three years.

White Eagle Long-Term Care Residence, located in Parkdale, says it is aiming to close by Sept. 30, leaving its more than three dozen residents to find somewhere else to live. While the home's operating licence does not expire until June 2025, owner Chartwell says the aging infrastructure of the building, along with the financial challenges of operating a small home, has made it "unsustainable to continue operations."

With its closure, White Eagle will become the fifth long-term-care home in Toronto to shut its doors since 2022, bringing the total number of lost beds in the city to 524 by the Star's count.

Seniors' advocates say some of these closures are part of a developing trend in which nursing home owners, faced with costly provincial requirements to meet modern design standards, may choose instead to sell the properties to capitalize on the city's sky-high real estate values.

In the case of White Eagle, Chartwell says it plans to sell the property and expects it will be redeveloped for alternative residential use.

A Star analysis of long-term-care home licensing data published this month found a total of 31 Toronto facilities, both for-profit and nonprofit, are set to see their licences expire in the summer of 2025.

While the Ministry of Long-Term Care has announced redevelopment plans or new beds for many of these nursing homes, the fate of a handful is unclear.