Ridley Terrace
448 Louth St.,
St. Catharines, ON
Tel: (905) 641-4911
Fax: (905)641-0731
e-mail: dyokubowski@marchofdimes.ca
Web site: www.marchofdimes.ca

For suite rental cost contact Dale Yokubowski, Support Services Manager, Ridley Services Centre, at addresses above.

If you or a family member needs some attendant care while on vacation in Niagara, the Ontario March of Dimes South Region has a two bedroom respite care suite available by the day or week for people who truly need it.

Located in an area surrounded by shops, grocery stores, banks, drug stores and restaurants and within rolling distance to downtown St. Catharines and only 20 minutes by car to Niagara Falls, the Ridley Terrace suite would be ideal for a family or couple who need some kind of care that cannot be provided in a hotel.

The suite is located in a 60 unit building, 21 of which are for people with disabilities who need attendant care. There is 24 hour staff on duty: five in the daytime, four in the afternoons from 4 until 11 p.m. and two at night from 11 to 7 a.m. Staff all wear pagers so they are easily reached. If you are visiting and using the suite, attendant care may be purchased for $23 an hour. That hour may be split up so if you need someone for a half hour in the morning for toileting and perhaps a half hour in the evening for a shower, it will cost you $23 a day for an attendant to help with these things. Staff at Ridley Terrace are only permitted to perform delegated acts if they are trained specifically with that consumer, so being that visitors would only be there for a short stay, procedures such as insulin injections, checking blood and bowel routines would have to be done by the family or purchased nursing services. It would be suggested that you contact the local Community Care Access Centre Niagara (905)684-9441 and arrange for a person trained to do what you need to come to the apartment at a set time to attend to your care.

Equipment is also available on site because residents both past and present have needed it or donated it. An ARJO lift that will lift a person weighing up to 450 pounds off the ground is available on a minute's notice so no more falling and calling 911.

The rest of the apartments are rented to people in the community so there is a very normal atmosphere to the building. While it is totally accessible throughout, it doesn't look or feel like an institution and it isn't as lavish as a hotel but feels like a modest apartment building.

There is a large parking lot with five designated parking spots near the front entrance that would accommodate side or rear loading vans. The lot is so big that anyone needing extra room to park wouldn't have a problem.

The pedestrian entrance is covered and the main entrance doors are automatic. The building is secure and you simply buzz one of two OMOD buttons to have the second set of doors answered. There is no braille anywhere in the public areas or in the suite in question and there is nothing special set up for people with hearing impairment.

The OMOD offices are down the hall to the left and upon registering they will set you up with four remote controls. Each door can be opened with a portable remote that you simply push. Your door remote, TV, VCR and electric bed all have remote controls. All interior doors in the respite suite are 36" (91.4 cm) wide.

Apartment 111 has a kitchen, living and dining area, two bedrooms and a bathroom. As you enter and just to your right is a bright little kitchen with lowered sink and stove top and a lowered wall oven. It is totally accessible for a person using a wheelchair. All utensils, dishes, pots and pans are supplied. There is also a small table in the kitchen as well as a side by side refrigerator/freezer.
The living area is equipped with a color TV and VCR, an automatic EZ lift chair and several comfortable occasional chairs. There is a balcony with a ramped door frame that gives you access to fresh air and sunshine and there are also reachable thermostat and air-conditioning controls to control the apartment temperature.

Telephones are located in the living room and there is a cordless phone in the bedroom that may be taken in the bathroom for safety reasons. Any long-distance charges are redirected to the person using the suite. There is also a list of all the emergency numbers you need to know on the wall in the living room so you have them right in front of you.

The two bedrooms are modest in size and one has a double electric bed in it, bedside tables with lamp and an armoire that will hold clothing. The bed in this room is up on blocks right now for easy transfer but it can be returned to normal height. The TV in the living room has a long enough cable cord to be brought into this bedroom, if desired. The second bedroom is large enough for two single beds and both could be electric. A cot could be supplied for a child if needed. There are closets with lowered clothes bars in each room. There are higher plugs in both bedrooms for charging equipment or running aids.

The hallway into the bedrooms and bathroom is the one problem spot in the apartment. It is just 4' (1.22 metres) wide and less depending on what angle you need to get into a room it can be tight. A scooter definitely has problems in this space but a wheelchair would not.

The bathroom gives you approximately 41/2' by 8' (1.37 metres x 2.44 metres) of clear maneuvering space. You enter via a pocket sliding door so nothing is obstructed by the door when it is open. The sink to the left is 31" (78.7 cm) from the floor and open underneath for wheelchair users and the 4' counter top the sink sits in will hold accessories, makeup, towels, whatever. There is a large, lowered tilted mirror over the sink and the lighting is good. The taps are easy but small with a push pull and twist lever. There is a plug for a hair dryer right at knee height under the counter.

The toilet is 16" (40.6 cm) from the floor to seat and can be accessed from the right side with 32" ( 81.3 cm) of space between it and the shower or from the front. A raised toilet seat, Versaframe or Versamode is available. Extra paper is on the back of the toilet and the paper holder is in the back wall. Grab bars are on both the back and side of the toilet.

The roll-in shower is truly a roll-in. There is no lip, nothing to get over. It is large and equipped with grab bars on the back and end and a J-bar on the other end. It has a hand-held shower head with an extended water hose. A shower chair or roll-in commode is available if needed. There is room for soap and places to balance shampoo, etc. An attendant could easily access this shower to help a person bathe. There is no overhead light in the shower.

There is ample storage in the bathroom for towels and cleaning supplies. It is suggested that people might want to bring their own bed linens and towels with them but they can be supplied if necessary. There is a well-equipped laundry right down the hall from the apartment. Don't forget this isn't a hotel, it is an apartment unit that has attendant care capabilities for those who simply cannot leave home without having an accessible place to go directly to and attendant care lined up when they get there.

Ridley Terrace is only a few minutes from the Via Rail train station, is directly off the Queen Elizabeth Highway and Highway 406 from Niagara or Toronto and a half hour from Hamilton airport. It could be the answer to your travel needs if attendant care is necessary.

March of Dimes Vision: Creating a society inclusive of people with physical disabilities
Mission: To maximize the independence, personal empowerment, and community participation of people with physical disabilities