WEYBURN – Officials from the provincial government, City of Weyburn, Saskatchewan Health Authority and the Weyburn and District Hospital Foundation were on hand on Monday for the official ground-breaking ceremony for the new Weyburn General Hospital on Fifth Avenue North.
Earth-moving on the site began a couple of weeks ago by Wright Construction, and the official ceremony for ground-breaking was held to officially kick off the construction phase.
The provincial government has committed a total of $127.9 million in total to the new 35-bed hospital facility, with $38 million in place for the first year of construction.
The facility will include 25 acute care beds and 10 inpatient mental health beds, to be relocated from Tatagwa View care facility, plus a new base of operations for Weyburn EMS, a helipad, and the new offices for the Weyburn and District Hospital Foundation.
Everett Hindley, minister of Rural and Remote Health, spoke about the “important milestone” that has now been reached with the project now underway.
He shared a personal experience from a decade ago, when he was in Weyburn with his stepson for motocross races. Due to an accident, he had to bring his stepson in to the current hospital for treatment.
“The care we received there from staff was absolutely outstanding. Secondly, in the time I spent here, the Weyburn hospital was desperate need of replacement even then, as I saw as the parent of a patient,” he said, noting he then understood why MLA Dustin Duncan was advocating so strongly for a new hospital here.
Hindley thanked the Hospital Foundation for their “extraordinary efforts” to raise funds to enable the construction to begin on the hospital, which “will benefit the community of Weyburn and surrounding area for decades to come.”
“What a great day,” said Weyburn-Big Muddy MLA and Education Minister Duncan. “A lot of us been looking forward to this day and planning for some time, as today we break ground on a new hospital that will serve the community of Weyburn and area for decades to come.”
He noted the 35-bed facility will have 9,730 square metres of space to replace the existing Weyburn hospital, and noted, “That’s bigger than a CFL football field.”
Duncan paid tribute to the current and past members of the Hospital Foundation, and the current and past municipal councils, both the City and area RMs that have pledged support as well.
“I look forward to celebrate our next milestone together,” he added.
Derek Miller, the chief operating officer for the Sask. Health Authority, thanked the province for their investment in the Weyburn community, and the Hospital Foundation, and said, “It’s amazing to see your dedication to this project.”
He noted several members of the SHA’s team and Health ministry officials were present for the ceremonies as well.
Miller said a First Nations pipe ceremony was held on the site on May 23, led by elder Michael Lonechild, who also started the ceremonies on Monday with a prayer. He said the First Nations knowledge keepers and elders have provided the SHA with guidance as cultural advisors on the project.
Mayor Marcel Roy thanked Sask Builds and the government for getting the hospital building underway, and noted the new technology to be used will bring the best quality health care possible to Weyburn and area.
He noted that he had spent time in Madagascar a number of years, and said the difference from their health care to what Weyburn’s hospital will have is like “night and day”.
“This is a wonderful day for all residents for the beginning of this new hospital,” said the mayor.
Jeff Hayward, chair of the Weyburn Hospital Foundation, noted he only began on the board in 2013, but said there have been many members of the foundation who worked on this project since the 1990s. All of their efforts were instrumental in making this day a reality with the start of construction on the new hospital.
The Weyburn Hospital Foundation has raised $26 million to date for the building and for new equipment, said Hayward, and “we still have a little bit of work to do.”
He also pointed out that stakeholders, such as community groups and municipalities, have pledged a total of $9.6 million towards the new facility.
