Riverview Home Corporation Update

MOPC District 7 Coun.  David Parker said the Riverview Home Corporation is facing financial challenges as it tries to meet the provincial goal to move residents into community settings.

Coun. Parker, who sits on the Riverview Home Corporation’s Board of Directors,  told Council that more group homes have been purchased and residents are moving from Riverview Home in Riverton to the smaller settings, but this means that the per diem funding from the province is also reduced.

The Riverview Home completed a multi-million-dollar renovation in 2014.  The construction project was scheduled to take place in three phases but after the province released its plan to move towards community housing, a decision was made not to complete phase three of the project and the north wing of the building was demolished in 2015.

Riverview currently has six group homes in Pictou County that provide home-like environments where the residents receive care, support, and life opportunities.

Parker said about two-thirds of the per diem money received for residents goes to pay the home’s mortgage and the other one-third goes to operational costs.  

As the Riverview Board follows the provincial mandate and moves more residents to smaller group home settings, the per diems coming in are less because the per diem for a person in a group home is $200 a day where it is three times that for residents in Riverview Home.  

He said the Riverview Board is trying to work with the province, but the situation is challenging and could result in a significant deficit at the end of the fiscal year.