Thunder Bay Facility Gains Approval to Convert 64 Transitional Beds to Long-Term Care

St. Joseph's Care Group in Thunder Bay, Ontario, has received approval from the Ministry of Long-Term Care to convert 64 temporary transitional beds into permanent long-term care beds. The beds have been operated jointly with Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre since 2018.

They were originally planned as part of a 2015 expansion of Hogarth Riverview Manor but remained unused for long-term care after the ministry directed the organization not to open them.

The conversion is expected to be completed by fall 2026. In exchange, St. Joseph's Care Group will receive 14 new community-based transitional beds. Janine Black, president and chief executive officer of St. Joseph's Care Group, said the organization had waited years for the permanent beds.

"The 64 beds were put in a balance by the Ministry of Long-Term Care. They said, 'we don't want you to open those beds, you're not prepared to open them,'" Black said.

Crocker-Ellacott, president and chief executive officer of Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, welcomed the added long-term care capacity but expressed concern about reduced transitional care options. As of May 22, 2026, the hospital had 76 patients no longer requiring acute care, including 36 waiting for long-term care beds.

Crocker-Ellacott said the loss of the 64 transitional beds could increase pressure on acute care beds. "There is a cohort of patients that very much benefit from transitional care and we are concerned that [at] the Health Sciences Centre, we need to have access to that type of bed," she said.

A ministry spokesperson stated that the Capital Funding Program, launched in July 2025, aims to increase long-term care capacity across northern Ontario.