West Lake Terrace, a 47-bed long-term care home 13 km outside of Picton, is close to achieving the magic number of 97 per cent occupancy. The number is magic, says Mary Lynn, because the Ministry of Health funds at a higher level when this is achieved.

“Full occupancy is not a given here,” says Mary Lynn, in part because the home is not within the community of Picton, but in the country. “As beautiful as our area is, it is rural and people seem to want to be in town here,” she notes.

As for how one can overcome the geographic realities, Mary Lynn says it is all about “exceptional care.”

“When you don’t have a waiting list, you make sure you give exceptional care. It’s just like a business. You better be able to offer something the market demands,” she says.

Part of this occupancy goal is achieved through taking residents who have behavioural challenges and dementia. Mary Lynn estimates that at least 30 per cent of their residents fall into these two categories.

“For instance, I have an application in front of me right now for a resident who has schizophrenia. We think we’ll be accepting her, but we know this will be a challenge,” she says. Mary Lynn says the norm is to get a reassurance from the sending facility, such as a psychiatric hospital. “So if the new resident ends up being too disruptive to our residents already here, we then have the option of saying ‘this is too much for us. We have an obligation to our residents already living here to make sure their quality of life is not affected,” she explains.