A little more than 10 years ago, Creighton Lodge was faced with an uncertain future. The building was for sale by the Sun Country Regional Health Authority, and many of its suites were empty.
Then a consortium of southeast rural municipalities – Estevan, Coalfields, Cambria, Benson and Cymri – stepped in to purchase the facility. The lodge had once been owned by RMs, who sold it to the former South East Health District, with a proviso that if the lodge ever came on the market, the RMs would get first right of refusal to buy it back.
Eventually the health district was amalgamated into Sun Country, and when Sun Country decided to sell the lodge, the RMs stepped forward to buy it.
“They got together and they gathered any other RMs in the area that were willing to basically come together and form a committee to take the management over of Creighton Lodge,” said lodge manager Shelly Veroba.
Creighton Lodge marked 10 years of RM ownership on July 1.
When the RMs took ownership, there were 28 residents, so almost half of the building was vacant.
“There was a back wing, that we call the Valley Wing now, that was actually not even rentable,” said Veroba. “We had to completely renovate it at the time, in order to be able to rent those suites.”
Residents were able to move into those suites in December 2010. Early in 2011, they had all of their units filled, and a wait list was needed.
Now they have 49 residents, including three married couples, occupying their 46 units. And their wait list now stands at 157 people.
In the past 10 years, the lodge has been able to accomplish a lot, with the support of the RMs, the business community and others in the Estevan area. One of the biggest accomplishments was the completion of their lounge expansion at the end of 2015. It gave them a 2,000 square foot area that could be used for a variety of functions. A new entrance area and office were also constructed.
“We used to just have parties with the residents and a few honoured guests, and now we’re able to host 200 people at most of our functions,” said Veroba. “And so it’s been a blessing, because it’s allowed us to have our families, friends, our supporters and volunteers, in at some of our functions.”
COVID-19 has brought the lodge’s functions to a halt, but they look forward to the day when they can have crowds gather in their lounge again.
They have also replaced all of the windows in the lodge and the roof over the south hallway. Parking lots have been resurfaced.
“Our cement pads in our parking lots were starting to crack and cause a safety issue for the residents who live here,” she said.
A fence has been installed in the back, which has been a good addition because children would play in the rear parking lot.
And all 46 rooms have been renovated with new flooring, new paint and more.
“Everybody coming together has just made sure that Creighton Lodge, since July 1, 2010, has not had to look back. We just keep looking forward,” Veroba said.
The lodge had planned to have a barbecue in mid-June to mark the 10-year milestone. A Little Taste of Heaven catering was to prepare food for 250-300 people. All current and former council members from the RMs since July 1, 2010, were going to be invited, along with past and present volunteers, and possibly even family members of residents who became close to them.
But after Creighton Lodge cancelled their Duelling Pianos fundraiser scheduled for March, it became evident they weren’t going to have the barbecue bash, either.
“We are still holding out hope that there could be a fall celebration, but because our seniors are most vulnerable (to COVID-19) and the most important to us, we are just going to make darn sure that before we even entertain that idea, that we are going to be able to do it safely,” said Veroba.
COVID-19 has forced them to have more staff working with extra shifts. They place an emphasis on social distancing. When they were limited to 10 or 15 people in a room at once, they had to use the dining room and lounge for meals, with two separate sittings, but now they can serve everyone in one sitting.
The lodge also purchased new dining tables just before the pandemic. They can have 20 tables set up, with two people at each table.
“We have increased our cleaning procedures. We have always been a very clean building, but now we’re making sure that things are sanitized and sterilized twice a day as per the provincial requirements. Our staff are wearing masks any time that we’re interacting with the residents,” said Veroba.
She views Creighton Lodge as a valuable part of the community. It’s not a nursing home, but it’s what Veroba called an enriched living facility.
“We don’t provide actual care. What we provide is a building filled with caring people,” said Veroba. “We’re here for the people to live independently, however we do supply meals, we supply 24-hour staff in the building, and we make sure that the seniors have someone to go to 24-7 when they need something,” said Veroba.
And if it’s something they can’t help with, they find someone who can.
“It’s just a building that’s really here for the seniors of southeast Saskatchewan, and because we provide the meals while still allowing them to live independently, we’re unique in the fact that we’re the only building in Estevan that provides that service,” she said.
