Kinsmen Foundation funds X-ray equipment at Regina Urgent Care Centre

Regina’s Urgent Care Centre is getting a financial boost from the Kinsmen Foundation.

The foundation announced Tuesday it’s giving the centre a gift of $305,250 to pay for its X-ray system, providing staff at the centre with immediate access to diagnostic imaging.

“The Kinsmen Foundation is so pleased to support this important investment in new health care equipment for Regina and southern Saskatchewan’” Raelynn Nicholson, the chair of the Kinsmen Foundation’s board of directors, said in a media release.

“Regina’s new Urgent Care Centre fits perfectly with the Foundation’s mandate to improve access to quality health care across Saskatchewan.”

The Urgent Care Centre in Regina is under construction at 1320 Albert St. The Saskatchewan Health Authority will own and operate the facility, which is to be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

In 2020, the province announced plans for urgent care centres in Regina and Saskatoon. The hope was that they’ll alleviate some of the pressure on emergency rooms in the cities’ hospitals by assisting patients who have problems that need to be dealt with right away, including injuries, illnesses, and mental health and addictions issues.

The foundation noted the centres are designed to provide care at a level between a family physician or walk-in clinic, which are available mostly during normal business hours, and the emergency departments at hospitals.

The goal is for the centres to help reduce wait times at hospitals’ ERs, improve the overall patient experience and get people the follow-up care they need.

“Since 1984, the Kinsmen Foundation has been a tremendous partner to our Foundation, supporting our efforts to invest in our hospitals,” Dino Sophocleous, the president and CEO of the Hospitals of Regina Foundation, said in the release.

“Hospitals of Regina Foundation will raise $2.5 million to provide the technology, equipment and furniture needs of the Regina Urgent Care Centre. The Kinsmen Foundation’s support for the X-ray system in our Urgent Care Centre will help our medical teams deliver the best care possible for our southern Saskatchewan community, right here at home.”

Anyone who wishes to donate to the Regina Urgent Care Centre can do so here or by calling 306-781-7500.

The Saskatoon Urgent Care Centre is to be built on the site of what was Pleasant Hill Elementary School on Avenue S South. The school was closed and is being demolished to make way for the urban care centre.

The Government of Saskatchewan has teamed up with Ahtahkakoop Cree Developments to build the new facility in Saskatoon.