Cumberland MLA Doyle Vermette is heading a petition drive in Creighton and Denare Beach to communicate the need for a long-term care facility in the area.
“Your petitioners humbly pray that your Honourable Legislative Assembly may be pleased to cause the government to treat Northern Saskatchewan’s senior citizens with respect and dignity,” the petition reads, “and immediately invest in a new long term care facility in the Creighton and Denare Beach Area.”
Vermette said he has heard from numerous concerned constituents on this topic, and he intends to bring the petition to the legislature.
Today, Creighton and Denare Beach residents requiring long-term care must move across the border to Flin Flon, to the Personal Care Home attached to the hospital or the Northern Lights Manor.
On July 30, Creighton and Denare Beach residents attended a meeting on long-term care led by consultant Lawrence Thompson. The Mamawetan Churchill River Health Region (MCRHR) hired Thompson to conduct an environmental scan of the region to determine need for long-term care across a number of communities.
At the meeting, residents heard that MCRHR is in the planning process for a long-term care facility in La Ronge.
Dennis Strom attended the July 30 meeting, and noted in a letter to Creighton town council that a poll of the 45-person audience revealed no one was prepared to relocate to La Ronge (a four-hour drive away) for long-term care.
“Four hours away isn’t acceptable,” said Vermette, adding that elderly residents should be able to stay in the community where their loved ones live.
Vermette said while the MCRHR is planning to create a 70-bed care home facility in La Ronge, perhaps all 70 beds don’t have to be in one community.
So could the investment be spread beyond La Ronge?
Andrew McLetchie, CEO of MCRHR, said the 70-bed number came from a study of need in the La Ronge area and was not reflective of the need in northern Saskatchewan as a whole.
He explained that MCRHR was in the process of evaluating need across the province, and added there is a need for enhancements in many communities.
The situation in La Ronge, however, is dire compared to that in Creighton, McLetchie said: whereas the wait list for a spot in a care home in Flin Flon is about five people long, the wait list in La Ronge has more than 40 names on it.
McLetchie remarked that while no request has been made by the MCRHR for a long-term care facility in Creighton, nothing has been ruled out.
“There was a misunderstanding that came through that town meeting,” McLetchie said, “that in some way we were focusing on La Ronge and thinking that everybody from the east side of our region, including Creighton, would happily come to La Ronge for long-term care. We fully recognize that that’s not the case…and when it comes to long-term care people want to be as close to home as possible. We’ve heard that message loud and clear.”
Tyler McMurchy, a media relations representative for the Saskatchewan Ministry of Health, confirmed the provincial government had committed $500,000 in funding to the health region for functional planning for a new long-term care facility in La Ronge.
“No funding specifically for capital construction and design has been provided yet; however, when it is, the province will fund 100% of the project,” he wrote in an email.
Vermette said he and his team have distributed copies of the petition at various locations in Creighton and Denare Beach. To request a copy, contact Vermette’s constituency office at
1-877-702-2525.
