PREMIER ANNOUNCES NEW LONG-TERM CARE FACILITY FOR SWIFT CURRENT

Innovative Approach to Facility Renewal will be Pursued

Premier Brad Wall announced today that the provincial government is moving forward on the next phase to replace three aging long-term care homes built in Swift Current in the 1950s and 1960s.

"The replacement of the Palliser Regional Care Centre, the Swift Current Care Centre and the Prairie Pioneers Lodge has been a priority for the people of Swift Current and for me as the local MLA for a long time," Wall said.

The Cypress Health Region will conduct an open process asking for expressions of interest for the construction of a new state-of-the-art, standard-of-care long-term care facility in Swift Current.

"The new facility will offer an increase in total beds and the efficiency and convenience of a co-location at the site of the hospital," Wall said.

The three existing long-term care homes in Swift Current are at the end of their useful life: Swift Current Care Centre (built in 1966), Prairie Pioneer Lodge (1957) and Palliser Regional Care Centre (1963). In 2009, the provincial government provided $450,000 to the Cypress Health Region to create a capital plan for the replacement of the three existing facilities which currently represent a total of 198 beds.

Residents, their family members and staff will be included in "Lean technique" continuous improvement planning to ensure the facility is designed to reduce wasted effort and free up staff to better meet the needs of residents. That same Lean process has saved millions of dollars and improved the design of the Children's Hospital project currently underway in Saskatoon.

Once expressions of interest are received, the Cypress Health Region and the Ministry of Health will proceed with an open request for proposals. Partnerships where third party agencies provide buildings under contract to health regions are common in the long-term care sector.

"We have for years had a blend of government and non-government agencies involved in long term care in the province," Wall said. "This expression of interest is the beginning of a process to build on that tradition and construct a brand new long term care facility in Swift Current."

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For more information, contact:

Kathy Young
Executive Council
Regina
Phone: 306-787-0425
Email: kathy.young@gov.sk.ca
Cell: 306-526-8927