NDP MLAs Vicki Mowat and Jared Clarke with the new La Ronge long-term care home in the background. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

health tour

NDP MLAs concerned with staffing, housing requirements for new long-term care home

Aug 19, 2024 | 3:25 PM

NDP MLAs Jared Clarke and Vicki Mowat were in La Ronge for three days last week as part of a provincial health care tour.

The goal of their visit was to see different health care facilities that exist, learn about struggles that are happening locally, and determine where the provincial government can be involved to help to make sure everyone has access to health care when they need it.

During their visit to La Ronge, the MLAs toured the Woodland Wellness Centre, the La Ronge Health Centre and the Piwapan Wellness Centre, as well as met with town administration and other individuals.

“Unfortunately, we’ve seen with the government having been in power for 17 years, there are so many areas where people are not feeling acknowledged, people are not being listened to, and health care workers are being ignored,” Mowat, the critic for health, explained.

“When need to bring back local voices into health care, so that folks have input in terms of what is happening in their communities, and we can recruit and retain the health care workers we need to be able to provide health care services across the province.”

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Last week, the provincial government announced the new La Ronge long-term care home is 30 per cent complete and it is expected to be substantially completed by early 2027. The $100 million project will include 80 beds, living areas, tub rooms, family rooms, a traditional healing space, a serenity room, a commercial kitchen and space for other health services.

An aerial view of the future La Ronge long-term care home. (Government of Saskatchewan)

Renovations to the existing care home are expected to start after the existing area is vacated and residents are transferred to the new home. These renovations will provide increased health centre space and improve several program areas, including therapies, an adult day program, and a new hemodialysis unit.

The Office of the Provincial Auditor has determined 137 new health care professionals will be needed to staff the facility. Clarke noted it will be difficult for the provincial government to not only staff those positions, but find housing for those new workers as well, considering the housing shortage in the tri-communities.

“This is a retention problem. We’ve seen a loss in nursing in rural and remote health across the province, 21 per cent over the last six years. These are problems that the government doesn’t seem interested in fixing,” Clarke, the critic for rural and remote health, said.

“It seems ridiculous you are going to open a brand new long-term care facility, hire hundreds of staff and have nowhere for them live in the community. This doesn’t seem like it is a plan that is going to work.”

According to an email to larongeNOW from the Ministry of Health, the province is aware that more staffing will be required for the new facility, and of the housing challenges in La Ronge.

“We are actively working on what more can be done in advance of the anticipated completion of the new facility in 2027,” the email stated.

“The Deputy Ministers Council, made up of deputy ministers from all ministries across government, has personally visited La Ronge to meet with the community and learn more about its needs.”

The email mentioned the Government of Saskatchewan has invested over $140 million to implement a four-point Health Human Resources (HHR) Action Plan to recruit, train, incentivize, and retain health-care workers. The plan aims to stabilize and increase the health workforce in Saskatchewan and accelerate efforts to attract and retain health-care workers.

The plan included the continued domestic and international recruitment of health-care workers and providing attractive incentive packages for new health professionals to work in rural and remote areas of the province.

Examples include the Saskatchewan Rural and Remote Recruitment Incentive, providing up to $50,000 for a three-year return-in-service agreement in 50 rural and remote communities, including La Ronge, and the Student Loan Forgiveness Program, encouraging practice in rural or remote communities by forgiving up to $20,000 of their Saskatchewan Student Loan.

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derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com