Town of Grenfell on the way to a new long-term care facility

The town of Grenfell has been working toward and preparing for a new long-term care home for years, and it seems the time is just about here.

On Thursday, Grenfell was the subject of one of three requests for proposals put out by the Saskatchewan Health Authority. It requests a proposal to build one or more long-term care facilities in the town and to deliver long-term care services.

“We’ve been working for this for 30-plus years and we’re finally getting somewhere and, hopefully, ‘gonna get long-term care restored back into Grenfell,” said Grenfell Mayor Rod Wolfe.

Wolfe said the amount of time it’s taken to get a new home would get frustrating for anyone, however, he also said the town has had good dealings with the health authority.

“We understand that there’s a process and that, and, I mean, it’s not unique to Grenfell, there’s a shortage for long-term care facilities within the province,” said Wolfe.

Wolfe and many people in the town are excited about the news. He said they’re sitting with bated breath to see how this goes because they’ve heard rumblings about a new facility before but they’ve never gotten this far in the process.

Years ago the town put aside space for a new facility right next to the town’s health clinic.

“They’ve actually even put in doors in the back wing (of the clinic) that kind of lead to nowhere – to this parcel of land that we had kind of designated to build the new (facility).”

The town has a trust account with about $1.2 million in it that was raised years ago for a new facility. Depending on how the proposals shake out, that money may not be used, and Wolfe said it would be put toward some other health-related venture in the town.

There’s currently no long-term care facility in the town. The Grenfell Pioneer Home is sitting empty after mould and asbestos problems were found in August. The residents had to be moved out of the home and to facilities in other towns. The employees were laid off in September.

The health authority also put out a Request for Proposals for a facility to replace Regina Pioneer Village, and another for a field test for community-based long-term care services in Regina.