Arborg Mayor Peter Dueck says he and the community are thrilled to see long-standing efforts paying off, as construction on a long-awaited personal care home is finally set to begin.
"This is the result of the years and years of lobbying, a ton of background work, and a ton of the planning and preparation for this," said Dueck. "We had certainly expected that the PCH would be up and operational by this time, but we are absolutely delighted to know that it is coming."
Facility designed with 60-bed pod layout
The planned facility will include 60 beds, arranged in a pod model with 12 beds per pod.
"What we know so far is that there's been an announcement in this year's provincial budget of $5.3 million to get us to the construction stage," said Dueck. "Right now we are anticipating a letter from the Department of Health which will advise us on next steps, but we are anticipating that we will be completely shovel-ready in the next few months."
Construction is expected to take between 18 and 24 months once work begins.
Community hopeful this time is different
"All the community is really, really excited," said Dueck. "We've had carrots dangled before, but we hope that this is now the one that's more real. Well, the community — both the Municipality of Bifrost-Riverton and the Town of Arborg — are raring to go. We are completely on board and we are just looking forward to next steps now."
One of four proposals selected
Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority CEO Marion Ellis said four proposals for personal care homes were put forward, including one from their region.
"There was an announcement for Transcona. And then there was an announcement last Thursday during the budget that there will be a personal care home built in Arborg," she said. "That community, like Lac du Bonnet, put forward a proposal to Manitoba Health, Seniors and Long-Term Care for the build of a personal care home."
Ellis added that progress is underway and activity is expected to take place within the year.
