Mould at long-term care home in Regina forces 94 residents to move

Mould has been found at Regina's Pioneer Village, and the long-term care home is making plans to move 94 residents in the coming weeks.

"The continued presence of mould" was found in the facility as part of of ongoing maintenance and monitoring in April 2018, the Saskatchewan Health Authority said in a news release.

Work is being done to fix the affected areas of the building, which includes the hostel unit and other long-term care units throughout the building.

Of the 94 residents who will need to be moved, 65 are in the hostel unit and 29 are in long-term care units.

Residents will be moved to other spaces in the community, other provincial long-term care facilities, or elsewhere within the building.

Ongoing issues

The mould comes after a number of issues with the facility in the past year, including closing 10 per cent of the beds in July 2017, a loss of about $200,000 due to billing irregularities from a contractor working on the building, and a water main break in February.

Regina Pioneer Village is "continually monitored" for infrastructure issues because of the age and condition of the building, said the health authority. They note that immediate action will be taken if mould is seen in other areas.

If rooms cannot be remediated, the health authority said they will be closed.

Future options for the building that are being considered include continued maintenance, the construction of a new facility, or partnering with community care facilities.

The Pioneer Village is not accepting new residents during the remediation process.