A letter writing campaign has been launched by advocates concerned over the state of an aging care home in Lloydminster. Darrell Dunn, vice president of the Lloydminster Concerned Citizens for Seniors Care Society joined NDP MLA Keith Jorgenson on Wednesday at the legislature to push the province to replace Jubilee Home. According to Dunn, The Jubilee Home has been in need of replacement for decades. The 50-bed facility was built in 1985, replacing an older facility from 1958. “One of the biggest challenges we have in Lloydminster, of course, is we’re half Saskatchewan, half Alberta, and there is always a trade-off in who’s going to do what, and so it makes it extremely different, difficult to look at a planned program of how things are going to move forward,” he said. “It, of course, demands the input and the involvement of both governments on some of these projects.” Population growth Dunn noted there’s about 5,300 seniors in the city, with 2,700 signatures collected demanding the home be replaced. He said the home is not keeping up with the growing population. “The Saskatchewan government has not put a single new long-term bed into Lloydminster for some 50 plus years, and the population growth in Lloydminster during that period of time has gone from 10 or 12,000 up to 35,0000 and will continue to go on, so the need is very much there,” he said. Dunn said the project needs attention because people are being sent out of town for long-term care, which is a concern for many families. “That makes a problem for a lot of folks when their loved one is out of the community and they have to travel to see them, and Jubilee is full; it’s not a question of there being room in Jubilee,” he said. He added there are seniors in hospital who are eligible to go to long-term care but have no place no place to go. Dunn said it is frustrating because it’s an ongoing situation — referencing a study that was done last year which referenced another study in 2013 which outlined solutions to the issue. “It’s not a question of do we know what needs to be done, it’s a question of when’s it going to get done,” he said. Aging building As an aged building, Dunn said there are plenty of ongoing issues with the home’s condition. “You have leaky windows, you have potential for mold, the exterior envelope leaks. There’s a variety of conditions you can go through and just do a complete checklist of what needs to be done,” he said. Jorgenson also referenced the 2013 study, saying it indicated the facility needed to be replaced within 15 years. “There was a second report that was commissioned, which the government first tried to hide, and now is again ignoring the implementation of that report,” he said. Health minister says talks will continue Speaking during legislative assembly on Wednesday, Minister of Health Jeremy Cockrill said conversations surrounding the care home will continue. “Like with communities right across the province, we have an opportunity to engage directly with Lloydminster and local stakeholders, in regards to concerns that they may have around health-care services available in their community,” he said. ‘We’ve done the needs assessment in 2013, another needs assessment completed just recently. Again, like with Jubilee and investments right across the province, we’ll continue to engage with those communities directly and then evaluate those priorities.” Cockrill said the report is publicly available on the Government of Saskatchewan and Government of Alberta websites. “We encourage the residents to read that report and we will continue … engaging with Mayor Aalbers and his council and local residents to understand what are the next investments to make in the city of Lloydminster,” he said.
