SIOUX LOOKOUT – Sioux Lookout is one step closer to getting a new 96-bed long-term care facility.
The Meno Ya Win Health Centre earlier this month confirmed it will be receiving a grant of up to $2.5 million from the province’s Ministry of Long-Term Care, money that will allow the organization to move beyond the planning stage and into the construction phase of the project.
“This money will support the costs undertaken to complete the required planning, design and tender-ready submissions for the project. The new build will be part of the hospital, which was part of the original design when the hospital itself was built,” says Dean Osmond, SLMHC president and CEO, in a release issued by the health centre.
At present, the Sioux Lookout Meno Ya Win Centre operates the 21-bed William A. George Extended Care Facility.
Hospital officials say the current lack of beds means they are often unable to get acute care patients out of the emergency department and into a bed, and it makes it tougher to repatriate residents of the community in a timely manner from larger hospitals, like Thunder Bay’s Regional Health Sciences Centre.
This latest news was welcomed with open arms, Osmond said.
“We have been assigned a project manager from the Ministry, who we will be working with throughout the process. It has been a long journey, but this announcement makes it all worthwhile. Our critically-needed LTC facility will finally become a reality. I look forward to collaborating with the Ministry of Long-Term Care to see this project through,” Osmond said.
