“We had some important legislation we had to get through, we had a budget we wanted to pass so that we could get projects out the door and make those announcements for the communities, and keep the work going in Saskatchewan,” said Carr. The budget included a number spending commitments for Estevan, including the planning of a new Estevan Regional Nursing Home, the expansion of the addictions treatment centre at St. Joseph’s Hospital, the addition of a Police and Crisis Team for the Estevan Police Service, and funding for additional early years family resource centre in Estevan, through a partnership with the South East Cornerstone Public School Division.
Auxiliary treasurer Darla Wilhelm marvelled at the generosity of the Trofimenkoff couple. “It has been a really big godsend for us, and I’ve been quite emotional about it,” said Wilhelm, who noted the Trofimenkoffs were long-time supporters of the auxiliary. The auxiliary was going to tackle a smaller project this time, but they decided to fundraise for the x-ray suite after learning of the estate donation. “The x-ray equipment is getting older and breaking down, and it needs to be replaced, and we decided we wanted to do a complete suite,” said Wilhelm. The Trofimenkoffs’ niece, Debbie Lapitsky, and their nephew, Harvey Schindel, are the executors of the estate.
The government also announced planning for long-term care facilities in Watrous and Regina. Don Kindopp, who is the chairperson of the new nursing home committee, noted it’s been about 15 years since the first discussions of a new nursing home were held. And it’s been six years since the Hearthstone Community Campaign reached its fundraising goal of $8 million, which was 20 per cent of the projected cost for a new nursing home and the amount needed to get into the queue for a new facility. But since Hearthstone reached its goal, the project has been in the queue for new long-term care facilities.
Editorial: Nursing home announcement long overdue estevanmercury.ca - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from estevanmercury.ca Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Carr reflects on a budget packed with good news for Estevan estevanmercury.ca - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from estevanmercury.ca Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.