Tag Archives: long term care

Alert, Featured

Wild Fire and Evacuation Situation – Leader Long Term Care Residents Return to Western Senior Citizens Home

Update: 2:05pm October 19

All residents have arrived back in Leader safely and are settling in!

Our emergency operations centre has been revoked.

Update: 11:00am October 19

Great news! With power back on and all necessary clearances now in place, long term care residents from Leader are now able to return home to the Western Senior Citizens Home.  Our plans to transport residents are underway.  We anticipate everyone to be home safe and sound sometime between 12:00pm and 2:00pm.

Plans are also being finalized to return acute inpatients back to the Leader Hospital when medically able to do so.  The status of returning all hospital patients back to Leader will be handled case-by-case.

We thank our patients, residents, family members, staff, and others involved in this evacuation situation for the patience and understanding that has been extended.  While this situation was not ideal, safety is always our top priority.

Update: 1:25pm October 18

We have made the decision that long term care residents of the Western Senior Citizens Home in Leader will remain at The Meadows in Swift Current for the remainder of Wednesday including overnight.  This will be re-evaluated on Thursday morning to determine when it is safe to return to Leader.

Power outages are still in place in many areas of southwest Saskatchewan including Leader.  Timelines for power to be restored are not currently known.

The safety of our residents and staff is the top priority.  It is safest to remain in Swift Current until power is fully restored.

Our health facilities are equipped with backup generators to provide short term emergency power supply in the event of outage. Backup generators are not stable power sources and cannot be relied on for extended periods of time.

We recognize that being away from home for any longer than necessary is not ideal.  We will relocate long term care residents back to the Western Senior Citizens Home as soon as is safe to do so.

Residents will continue to be cared for, including food, drink, medications, and other necessities, by staff from The Meadows and some staff from Leader who have travelled with residents.

Update: 12:05pm, October 18

The Leader Hospital has re-opened with limited services. Emergency outpatient services are now available. Dial 9-1-1 in medical emergency.

Update: 10:20am, October 18

Evacuations in Leader and Burstall are removed, however power is still out in Leader and may be for some time. We are working on plans to re-open the Leader Hospital as soon as possible. Emergency services remain available by dialing 9-1-1.

Update: 9:10am, October 18

We are continuing to evaluate the Leader evacuation and the next steps for long term care residents and hospital patients who were brought to Swift Current. Updates will be provided throughout the day today.

We emphasize that all long term care residents and hospital patients are safe. Family members of evacuated long term care residents may call 306-770-2100 for more information on their loved one.

Update: 8:50 am

Forest Fire Smoke and Your Health Fact Sheet

Updates will continue to be shared on our social media channels and on our website.

Update: 11:50pm

We will continue to monitor the wild fire situation throughout the night. We will contact all long term care resident family members Wednesday morning to provide an update on loved ones. Some staff from Leader have travelled into Swift Current with our residents and will be with them throughout the night.

Our medical health officer, occupational health, and public health staff will continue to monitor the situation at our health facilities in Leader. We will look to transport long term care residents and hospital patients back to Leader as soon as it is safe to do so.

Updates will continue to be shared on our social media channels and on our website.

Update: 9:55pm

All long term care residents and hospital patients from Leader, who were evacuated due to the wild fires near Burstall and area, have arrived safely in Swift Current and are settling in.

We continue to monitor the active wild fire situation and are continuing with our emergency operations centre.

Update: 8:15pm

Our facilities in Leader have been safely evacuated.  The Leader Hospital is currently closed.  Anyone remaining in the area with a medical emergency is asked to dial 9-1-1.

Arrangements are in place at The Meadows and Cypress Regional Hospital to receive the long term care residents and hospital patients that are in transport.

See below for prior information and details.

Update: 6:15pm

The Town of Leader is also being evacuated due to wildfire.

We are immediately evacuating all long term care residents at the Western Senior Citizens Home in Leader and acute inpatients at the Leader Hospital.

All long term care residents and hospital inpatients are being safely transported out of Leader.

Long term care residents from Leader are being transported to The Meadows in Swift Current.  Acute inpatients from the Leader Hospital are being transported by ambulance to the Cypress Regional Hospital in Swift Current.  Family members are being contacted directly.

More information will be posted as it’s available.

http://emergencyalert.saskatchewan.ca/alerts/2017/10/3225.html

Original post:

The community of Burstall is under an immediate evacuation order due to a wild fire.

We have evoked our Emergency Operations Centre to respond to the emergency.  Plans are underway.

Updates will be posted to this page as they are available.

For the latest details on the emergency alert please visit the Saskatchewan emergency alerts page.

News Release

Celebrating Completion of Swift Current’s New Long Term Care Facility

Original release from saskatchewan.ca

Premier Brad Wall today offered an early welcome to residents who will begin moving into The Meadows on June 5, at a celebration of the completion of the new Swift Current long-term care facility.

“The next few months are going to be exciting as more than 200 Swift Current citizens move into their new home, the home they and their families helped design,” Wall said.  “The opening of The Meadows is an important milestone for our city and the entire province.  The facility is the result of an extraordinary collaboration between families, staff and administration, and it is the first public-private partnership completed in our province.  Saskatchewan has a well-earned reputation for innovation and excellence in health care.  That spirit is alive and well today.  The Meadows is evidence.”

The new, 225 bed long-term care facility was completed on schedule and on budget at the beginning of May 2016.  The Meadows replaces three aging long-term care facilities in the community – the Swift Current Care Centre, the Palliser Regional Care Centre and the Prairie Pioneer Lodge.

The Meadows provides 210 long-term care beds (an increase from 198), and an additional 15 beds for respite and palliative care.  The facility features a unique design of small resident homes that create a community feel and encourage social interaction among residents and the surrounding community.

“This facility has been an important priority for our region and will be a major improvement for our long-term care residents,” Cypress Health Region CEO Beth Vachon said.  “A substantial amount of work has been put behind this project from not only our staff, but also from our residents, family members, patient representatives, and others who were involved in its design.  We are very pleased that our first of three move-in days has finally arrived.  I would like to thank all of those who have been working tirelessly to prepare The Meadows for this move-in to take place.”

The Meadows is the first completed project in the province to be paid for using a P3 public-private partnership funding model in co-operation with Plenary Group, SaskBuilds and the Cypress Health Region, who will retain ownership and operation of the facility.

Those who will be calling The Meadows home will be moving into the new facility in a three phase transition, with the first residents moving in on June 5.  The second phase of move-ins will take place in early August with the final phase occurring mid-September.

Featured, News Release

New 225-Bed Swift Current Long Term Care Facility Name: The Meadows

A motion was made at the April 13 Regional Health Authority Meeting to name the new 225-bed long term care facility in Swift Current as The Meadows.

The Meadows is nearing construction completion and is attached to the existing Cypress Regional Hospital in Swift Current.  The facility will replace the three existing long term care facilities in the community: Palliser Regional Care Centre, Prairie Pioneers Lodge, and the Swift Current Care Centre.

Read more information about the new facility.

News Release

Maple Creek Long Term Care Services to Transition into New Facility

Long term care residents in Maple Creek will be welcoming a new home into their lives as the Southwest Integrated Healthcare Facility will open the doors to its three long term care homes on August 24.

The move will introduce the Southwest Integrated Healthcare Facility as the sole location to the community’s spectrum of health services. The long term care move has been carefully coordinated over the summer months and every effort has been made to create a smooth transition for the 45 residents that will now call the new facility home.

“Moving into a new home is an exciting event to be a part of, but as is the case for anyone making such a move, it can be a stressful adjustment as well. We’ve been very mindful of this as we’ve planned this move and we’re working very hard to ensure it’s as smooth and seamless as possible for all of our residents as well as their family members,” commented Trent Regier, Director of Long Term Care and Integrated Health Services for Cypress Health.

The health region will have adequate staff on-site who will assisting with the relocation of residents on August 24th. Immediate family members of residents have also been invited to assist in the move.

Cypress Health staff are now completing a thorough cleaning of the facility’s three long term care houses (named Prairie Oasis, Paradise Pines, and Prairie Meadows as selected by residents, family members, volunteers, and staff). The furnishings for each resident room are also being moved into position in advance of the opening.

August 24th will be an exciting date for the community; however, the health region is requesting that members of the public avoid visiting the long term care houses during the transition day where possible.

“Monday will be a very exciting day for the community and our health region, but it will also be a very busy day as we make this adjustment. We are aware that many people will be wanting to come and see the long term care houses first-hand, but we are asking them to allow a day or two for our residents and their family members to become familiar with the new surroundings. This will also help to avoid cluttering the facility during our move,” added Regier.

The move into the Southwest Integrated Healthcare Facility will result in a change to the community’s Meals on Wheels service which will be based out of the new facility’s main kitchen beginning Friday, August 21st. As of this date, Meals on Wheels volunteer drivers will be asked to pick up their Meals on Wheels food totes at the kitchen. Volunteers may park in the long term care parking lot on the south side of the facility, use the main long term care entrance, and proceed to the kitchen for this pickup.

A grand opening celebration event for the Southwest Integrated Healthcare Facility is being planned and a date will be announced in the coming weeks.

News Release

Construction Camera Launched for Swift Current Capital Project

Construction of the new Swift Current Long Term Care facility is underway and with the use of a webcam set up on the construction site, you can view the progress being made from the comfort of your home or on-the-go.

The webcam is available on the Cypress Health Region website and can be viewed 24-hours per day by visiting the Swift Current Long Term Care project page and scrolling down to the ‘Construction Camera’ link. The camera takes images every 15 minutes and allows visitors to zoom in on specific areas of the site. A special feature of the webcam provides the opportunity to see the progress from the beginning of the project using a ‘time lapse camera’ feature. Images can also be shared via social media channels with a click of a button.

Another feature of the dedicated webpage that visitors will enjoy is an animation video that was developed by the Plenary Health team. The video provides a video depiction of the conceptual design for the new long term care facility. It includes an a birds-eye view encompassing the entire building and a variety of images that show the main entrance, community centre, 10-bed house, standard resident room, 15-bed house, palliative care room, and many other locations within the facility.

“These two resources were made available on our website so that everyone has the ability to join in the excitement that is building for the new long term care facility,” said Brenda Schwan, Executive Director of Human Resources and Capital Project Lead for the Cypress Health Region. “The animation video offers a sneak peek at the conceptual design of the facility and helps to offer a visual look at the home-like atmosphere that will be emphasized throughout the building.”

Schwan also noted the benefits that the construction site webcam will offer to everyone – to those who live close by the construction site, and those who live farther away and don’t have the ability to stay in touch with the construction progress. “We have utilized a similar webcam with other capital projects within the region and have received numerous notes of appreciation from people who visit the site on a regular basis,” added Schwan. “With the rapid construction timeline that has been set for the project, the webcam will allow everyone to stay up to date with the efforts of our construction partners.”

The Swift Current Long Term Care capital project will consist of 225 long term care beds and will replace the existing three facilities which currently provide long term care services in the community of Swift Current. Anticipated completion of the project is scheduled for late spring of 2016.