'Things are grim': Seniors worry struggling Sask. care home will close

A struggling seniors' care home claims a dangerous section of highway used to access their community is partly to blame for financial woes that are threateningto force the centre to close.

"I've got a son in Calgary.I was talking to him last night and he said, 'Mom you can come here any day' but that's not my home," said Gaudet, who has been at Bellevue for eight years.

"I've lived here a long time."

Home needs more residents

The seniors' home is located near St. Louis, Sask., which is about 120 kilometres northeast ofSaskatoon. The home cannot survive unless it secures two new residents to fill some of its eight empty beds, said spokesperson Jennie Baudais on Friday.

"If we ... did nothing at all, by Nov. 1, there'd be no money to pay employees," said Baudais.

"We're not going to let that happen, because it's just not an option.

"We've invested too much time and too much money, too much effort in this home to simply give up and let it go."

Baudais said low occupancy in the 18-bed home has been causing the residence financial trouble for about seven months.

The home currently has 10 residents, but Baudais said it needs 12 to break even and 14 to operate comfortably.

"Things are grim here in the Bellevue care home," she said.

Baudais added that the home has experienced dips in its occupancy before, but never for this length of time.

Highway troubles

She believes the condition of Highway 225, the main road that leads to the community, is partly to blame for the vacancies.

She believes it would be easier to find residents for the home if the road was in better condition.Baudais hopes it can be paved in the near future.

The Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure said in a statement to CBC/Radio-Canada that safety is a priority for its department.

Works underway

"The ministry is working in partnership with the Rural Municipality of St. Louis (RM 431) to improve the condition of the east-west portion of Highway 225," said the statement.

It added that regular maintenancesuch as gravelling and blading is also carried out as needed.

Emile Boutin, reeve of the RM of St. Louis, said work to fix the road has been ongoing for at least five years.

He said this year's roadworks will straighten a problem section of curved highway, work thatshould be complete before the end of this fall.

"Up untilnow, the highway kind of goes around the side of the mountain and the side of the hill is slumping onto the road and we're scared someone is going to get hurt," said Boutin.

"It's very dangerous."

Once completed, Boutin said the section of road will be safer to drive but will still not be paved.

The RM hasbeen unable to secure provincial funding to pave the road, he added.

"It's still an all-weather road. There's no reason that someone can't get down that road because it's going to be an all-weather road, passable at all times of the year," said Boutin.

Residents want to stay

According to Baudais, the spokesperson for the home, Bellevue Care Home needs $24,000 a month to stay operational.

The centre is working with banks to find a way to survive, and is looking for donations, but Baudais said generosity will have a limit.

"We can do fundraisers and we can get donations and that's wonderful but it's a band-aid, it doesn't fix the problem," said Baudais.

"We have to get people in here and people have to know about it."

Baudaissaid the community has worked tirelessly to keep the 14-year-old home open,making herdetermined not to let it close.

Robert Gareau, one of the home's first residents, has been at Bellevue since the year it opened. He said he came to the home after becoming a widower.

Leo Gaudet, the son of 93-year-old Lydia, said his mom will have a home with him if she is forced to leave.

But for his mom's sake, he hopes she will not have to.

"She'd rather be here than anywhere else because she's as mobile here as she can be. She's not a spring chicken, so she has to use a walker," said Gaudet.