The objective is to restore communal cooking and food service at Creighton Lodge, but how they are going to get there could be the subject of discussion and debate for the next couple of months.
The lodge is in the middle of an ownership transition plan and restoring kitchen services is just one component of an overall plan.
The Sun Country Regional Health Authority has been managing and operating Creighton Lodge ever since the regional system was introduced about 15 years ago. Since it is a Level 1 and 2 facility, the lodge did not qualify as an official health region facility since their mandate is to only provide services for residents in Level 3 and 4 (more intense care) facilities.
There had never been an interested buyer for Creighton Lodge and Saskatchewan Housing and the City of Estevan expressed no interest in taking on the role so Sun Country continued to operate the facility for the residents, taking it on as a moral obligation, they said.
Last year a consortium of five rural municipalities, led by the RM of Estevan, decided they could provide the operating and management expertise, making a bid for the lodge. The Lutheran Home Care agency, a provincial body also expressed interest in the lodge, but the ultimate decision was made to transfer the ownership to the RM consortium.
Shortly after Sun Country assumed management of Creighton Lodge in the mid-1990s, the kitchen services were cancelled in favour of a centralized food service emanating from St. Joseph's Hospital which was made available to the residents at the lodge at an additional cost. Some larger suites in the lodge featured kitchenettes while other residents became dependent on the hospital food which many residents complained was not very appetizing.
Therefore, when it was learned that the ownership transition was in place, Creighton Lodge residents made an appeal to the new management team to have food preparation returned to them.
What has happened has turned into the tale of the rusty stove.
At one of the transition meetings between the RMs and Sun Country, the question was raised as to whether the large commercial stove/oven and matching convection oven that used to be in service at Creighton Lodge, was still around.
Sun Country made the investigation and discovered that it was, although it had been under a tarp, sitting in Weyburn where Sun Country is headquartered, for a number of years.
The request was made to have the stove and oven returned, but when it arrived, the residents' excited expectations soon turned to sadness once they saw the condition it was in.
"We felt it could have been cleaned up a bit before it got here," said resident Mary Grube, who added that Sun Country's maintenance people who were trying to assess whether it was usable again, weren't to blame for the sorry sight. "They shouldn't have to be responsible," she said. "This is the stove they took out. Now they're bringing it back, 15 years later. I don't know if it will work, just look at it!"
Grube said all residents who dine communally and even those with kitchen capabilities in their apartments, are anxious to have the food service restored.
"The hospital meals I believe are around $8.90 for the regular meal and I'm sure they are nourishing, but they usually arrived cold and not very appetizing. Some people would talk with the nutritionists or dietitans and the service would improve for a few days and then slide back to the same old thing," Grube said.
But she is a realist, and she said that if the old stove and oven can't be restored to working mode, a replacement would probably cost thousands of dollars, something that the residents can't afford right now, not with recent increases in the rents which upped the average monthly rate to over $800, putting several of the residents right on the financial cusp, or over it in terms of being able to afford.
"And we know this lodge is probably the lowest cost facility of its kind in Estevan, so there aren't any options for a lot of people here," said Grube, who said the residents are interested in fundraising activities if that is what it would take.
"Maybe we could do a walkerthon," she said with a grin, using a little play on words.
"We can put the coffee crowd to work and get some ideas. We just want a kitchen back," she said. "We have a great bunch of residents. They're family and we're all disappointed in how this is turning out. I guess Creighton Lodge just fell through the cracks these past few years."
Greg Hoffort, administrator for the RM of Estevan, said the lodge currently serves 36 residents with three or four available suites. He figured the official transition to the new ownership model will take place this summer.
Hal Schmidt, vice-president of finance and corporate services for Sun Country, told The Mercury that it was a simple request made by the new ownership group at a meeting to have the stove and oven returned if it was still around.
"The intention I believe was to have it cleaned up and then do the favour of returning it," Schmidt said, adding that the assessment would eventually fall into the hands of the new ownership group as to whether they wanted to hook it up and when they wanted to hook it up and how they were going to staff the lodge.
"We'd have to determine safety issues first," said Hoffort, "then determine whether we want to use it or not. It's just unfortunate it was returned in the condition it was in."
Hoffort said the new ownership management committee, made up of administrators from the five RMs, the others being Laureen Keating, (Benson); Pam Scott, (Cymri); Dale Shauf (Cambria) and Barry Katschke, (Coalfields) had already visited with residents and heard their concerns about food service and other items.
Grube said the residents definitely appreciated the visit and the attention they received from the RM ad hoc management team.
"We're still in the very early stages of a budgeting process," said Hoffort, therefore it was too early to determine whether the old stove could be replaced. He said 21 of the suites have kitchen facilities, but some of those people might prefer the communal dining experience if it can be restored.
"There are several items we need to discuss yet, like night time management coverage and security, maintenance, kitchen staff and/or other staff," Hoffort added.
There is no firm takeover date yet. The first draft of transfer agreement has been presented and approved but Hoffort said it might not happen until June or later.
Schmidt agreed with that assessment, saying that the best case scenario would probably point to April, but more than likely it would be June or July before the transaction could be completed.
"It's unfortunate though, that this stove issue has come out this way. It was sitting in storage for years. We didn't assess whether it was refurbishable or not. We just wanted to return it to the lodge."
Schmidt added that while food service would be the issue for the new ownership group going forward, "perhaps during the transition period, if they kept the food service as is and then look at it again once they know the associated costs, that would be a good time to make the decision, but that's only a suggestion."
As for the ownership transfer, Schmidt said that will happen "once everyone feels comfortable with the ownership and operations plan."
Hoffort said, "it will take a bit of time to review all that needs to be looked at before the takeover date is established firmly but felt the June/July timeline was realistic.
