The committee trying to bring a new regional nursing home to Estevan might not have received a commitment to proceed from the provincial government about the facility, but they are feeling more optimistic about its future after a meeting in Regina on Monday.
Don Kindopp, the chair of the new regional nursing home committee, was joined by St. Joseph’s Hospital executive director Greg Hoffort and Mayor Roy Ludwig for the meeting.
Representing the province were Minister of Health Jim Reiter, Minister of Rural and Remote Health Greg Ottenbreit and Estevan MLA Lori Carr, who is also the minister of Highways and Infrastructure.
They presented a report by 1080 Architecture Planning from Regina. Kindopp said he believes the report piqued the interest of the ministers, and they want to see how they can proceed in a creative fashion.
Kindopp said this report looks at the cost of replacing the current Estevan Regional Nursing Home (ERNH), and the efficiencies that would be gained.
“What 1080 Architecture did was they looked at three different options,” said Kindopp.
The first would be to build a new nursing home on a parcel of land on its own. The second option would be a three-story, 72-bed structure to be attached to St. Joseph’s Hospital.
In those instances, the architecture company looked at three 24-bed units on one level, a two-floor building and a three-story building.
The third option would be renovating or replacing the current ERNH at its current site.
“It was really something that couldn’t be done on the present location for the Estevan Regional Nursing Home, because of the new standards for building. There wouldn’t be enough room to replace it.”
It would also create a considerable inconvenience for the residents for over a year.
“To renovate to today’s standards would cost more than new construction,” said Hoffort.
The recommendation was to build a three-story facility attached to the hospital, and capitalize on the efficiencies from being attached to the hospital, not just in terms of staff and amenities like the kitchen, but for the proximity to the 30-bed long-term care ward of the hospital.
While the current trend in healthcare has often been to build single-story facilities, Kindopp said multi-story sites have happened in Alberta. A one-level facility looks better, but if building up rather than out can save money, then it’s something that should be considered.
The architecture report helped the committee think of things they hadn’t considered previously, like a multi-story nursing home.
“This firm brought to our attention that they are successfully building multi-story homes,” said Hoffort.
Kindopp said he initially wanted three 24-units surrounding a courtyard area prior to this report, but this report changed his mind.
Also, by having a three-story high building, the price of construction drops from $40 million to $30 million. And using the hospital’s staff and infrastructure could save $500,000 each year.
“I think that’s where the government was really interested in those efficiencies we could bring about,” said Hoffort.
There’s also a report the government has that indicates it would cost $12 million to bring the current nursing home up to today’s standards for air quality and other issues.
Hoffort said the nursing home committee wanted this report because they wanted to prove the new nursing home could be built for a lot less than $40 million, and to ease concerns that a new ERNH would exceed $40 million.
The new nursing home committee has received more than $8.2 million in pledges and donations. The vast majority came through the Hearthstone Community Campaign, which fundraised for the new nursing home from 2011-2015.
When the campaign reached its $8 million goal in 2015, it was expected it would be 20 per cent of the projected $40 million cost.
In an email, Ottenbreit said the Saskatchewan Health Authority identifies capital replacement needs or major infrastructure upgrades, and submits proposals to the ministry. All major capital projects are considered each year as part of the province’s annual budget development process.
A number of factors are considered in the decision-making process, including facility condition and functionality, current and future service delivery needs, workforce availability, population growth and industry and technology changes.
“Approval of major capital projects depends on funding availability,” he said. “Major projects are considered each year during the province’s budget development process.”
The local committee left the meeting feeling they had a great discussion with the right people, and they look forward to further discussions. Another meeting has been scheduled for January.
