The people of Grenfell are patiently waiting to find out the future of long-term care in their community.
The Ministry of Rural Health closed the doors to the Grenfell nursing home in August due to the presence of mould.
The government had promised the community to renovate or build a new facility. As of Thursday, exhaust can be seen coming from the chimneys but there is no signs of repairs.
“(I) actually talked to Mr. Ottenbreit. He was in a meeting down in Kipling here a couple months ago and he reiterated level four beds would be restored to the Town of Grenfell,” said Grenfell mayor Rod Wolfe.
“I had a conversation with him here a couple nights ago and he reiterated the same thing.”
One of the options for the community is a privately-owned nursing home, one of the things to be discussed at a town hall meeting in Grenfell Thursday night.
The union, CUPE, believes a privately-owned facility will be inadequate.
“The private sector isn’t the right place to go for long-term care,” said CUPE’s Rebecca Reynard.
“The health region is the most appropriate place to be dealing with long-term care. That’s where you are going to find the professionals that know the work, know the community.”
Twenty-one residences were forced to leave the nursing home in August and the union says 65 full-time and part-time employees were relocated to other communities.
Based on reports by CTV’s Wayne Mantyka
