Union, families, Opposition criticize coming closure of Regina long-term care home

Residents and staff at Regina Lutheran Home face an uncertain future after its operator announced it would be closing the long-term care facility by April 2024.

Eden Care Communities informed residents last month that it won't continue to operate the home and will be transitioning the responsibility for the residents to the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA). The SHA has said it will not take over the facility, but will relocate the residents.

SHA said in a statement that it has decided not to purchase the Lutheran Home property because the building is at the end of its lifespan.

"The SHA determined it may require further assessment and potentially significant repair work," it said.

Saskatchewan's Opposition NDP is criticizing the closure. Opposition critic for seniors Matt Love held a news conference Thursday along with CUPE members, family members of residents and care home staff. 

"This government is asking them to move out of their homes when they snap their fingers," Love said. "Many folks here have made this place a home for years of their lives."

Love said seniors have been put in hospital beds across the province due to a lack of long-term care beds. 

"This decision simply defies all logic and we're here today hoping the Sask. Party will come to its senses, will listen to these families, to these workers, and all of these concerned citizens and reverse course," Love said. 

Val Schalme's father and brother, who has mental and physical disabilities, are currently residents at Regina Lutheran Home. 

"We're very concerned that they won't end up together. They're very emotionally dependent upon each other. They need to be together, they need each other," Schalme said at the NDP news conference.

In an email to CBC, Schalme said that she thinks it makes no sense to move these elders out when they're already stuffed into care homes like "sardines in a tin."

Schalme said this change affects more than a handful of families, as there are many seniors waiting in hospitals for a long-term care bed, and more will end up in hospital while they wait for a bed.

"Premier Moe, you claim on your billboards, growth that works for everyone. This is not growth, this is destruction. This is a horrible blow to our whole health-care system," she said at the news conference. 

Lorraine Simpson, whose mother has been at Lutheran home since December 2019, said at the news conference that her mother's health has declined over time and that she is totally dependent on the care home staff.

Simpson said she feels not having the same staff and routine will worsen her mother's condition. She asked the government to keep the facility running until a new one is built so that residents can move there directly. 

Don Gunderson's wife, who had a stroke in 2012, is a resident at Lutheran Care. Gunderson said they had to wait a long time for her to get into the facility, which is eight minutes from their home, so he can easily go to see her every day. 

"It just breaks my heart to see her losing her home and her family," he said. 

Bashir Jalloh, president of CUPE 5430, the union that represents staff at the home, told Afternoon Edition host Garth Materie that residents are feeling stressed about having to move.

"In Regina right now, we do not have any capacity for long-term care beds and this has been confirmed by SHA that they do not have the capacity," Jalloh said. "If you do not have the capacity currently in Regina and you're going to move these patients, where are you going to move these patients to?"

The union is also anticipating job losses. Some of the 100 staff members have worked at the care home for more than 30 years, Jalloh said.

Eden Care CEO Bill Pratt said in an email to families that the company is moving its focus "towards safe and affordable community-based housing for seniors, families and people living with disabilities."

Pratt said the SHA will be meeting with each of the 62 residents and family members to discuss options and the moving process over the next six months.