38 beds and 22 jobs lost at Regina long-term care home

The Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region is permanently closing 38 long-term care beds in the city's largest nursing home.

Unit 3 East in Pioneer Village is slated to be shut down by sometime in September.

Greta Lynn Ell, the executive director ofcontinuing care programming and utilization for thehealth region, told CBC the region is closing the bedsto make repairs to the building.

"There are some fairly significant structural deficiencies within Pioneer Village. Closing down this area is part of a plan to be able to repair and renovate where necessary," said Ell.

She addedthey are working with the 38 residents affected by this change to either move them within Pioneer Village, place them in their preferred nursing homes within the region, or some may be able to leave the facility.

"On occasion, people are well enough that they are able to be discharged home," she said.

Residents occupying these beds require level 3 and 4 care, meaning they are unable to care for themselves.Their needs range from some help or nursing care to being bed ridden and requiring around the clock care.

The region says each long-term bed cost approximately $7,300 per month.

Jobs lost

The closure of the beds in Pioneer Village will mean the loss of the equivalent of 22 full-time jobs.

In an email to CBC, the health region outlined those jobs as three registered nursing jobs, and 19 full-time equivalent CUPE jobs.

Unrelated to health region's deficit

In June, the health region announced it would subsidize 30 assisted living beds in Mutchmor Lodge and in an Eden Care facility in Regina.

The region stresses that the closure of long-term care beds and the subsidizing of assisted living beds are two separate things.There are no plans to move any of the 38 residents in Pioneer Village to these assisted living beds, which are for people who need a much lower level of care.

Ell adds the bed closures and job losses also have nothing to do with the Region's deficitand funding shortfall.

"We are intending that this will be cost neutral," said Ell.

"We don't expect the region to go into great debt, nor do we expect there will be huge savings. We're really focusing on what is the right service for folks at the right timeand what is the right environment."

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