Town, NEHA ask province for care home commitment
By Marc Zienkiewicz
Updated 3 years ago
A meeting held recently between Lac du Bonnet municipal government, an area health authority, and provincial health officials was very positive and will hopefully reinforce the need for a new health facility in Lac du Bonnet, Mayor Paul Chapman says.
The meeting took place in Winnipeg with Health Minister Theresa Oswald, in an effort to elicit a firm commitment from the province toward Lac du Bonnet’s need for a facility — most likely to come in the form of a 70-bed personal care home — which was left out of the province’s latest budget.
“It was a very productive meeting. The response we got was very positive and I think there’s good reason to be very hopeful,” Chapman said at last Thursday’s meeting of town council.
In attendance at the meeting with Oswald were Chapman, Reeve Rick Lussier, and North Eastman Health Association (NEHA) CEO Jim Hayes.
The need for a 70-bed care home in the region was first proposed by NEHA in November of 2006, when Hayes informed the town that the health authority would begin lobbying the province to fund the facility’s construction.
Currently, Hayes said there’s a 14-month waiting list for care home space in town, with the current personal care facility containing only 30 beds.
A new facility would hold 70 beds, and the current care home converted to offer 12 supportive housing units for seniors who need some assistance, but not full-time care.
The new facility would also be used to enhance current adult day programs and other seniors services. The town currently has several acres of land set aside for the care home.
When the NDP government failed to set aside funding for the care home in its most recent budget, lobbying efforts were stepped up to ensure the issue wouldn’t be relegated to the back burner or forgotten altogether.
On Monday, Hayes said he’s more optimistic than ever that funding will eventually come through.
“We’re hopeful in the coming months that we’ll see a favourable response from the province,” Hayes said. “(Oswald) said she wants to keep the issue alive and she asked for some more time to work on this. I think that’s the most we can hope for at this point.”
The meeting included an extensive presentation by town chief administrative officer Colleen Johnson, who gave a comprehensive history of the community’s need for the care home, going all the way back to 2002 when the town and RM lobbied extensively for a hospital to be built in the area.
At last week’s meeting of town council, Coun. Bill Campbell said the care home option is the one to shoot for.
“My feeling is we don’t have a hope in hell of getting a hospital here unless we increase our population threefold,” he said.