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Grenfell’s previous long-term care home was shut down in 2018 due to mould concerns. The money committed on Tuesday will fund a 33-bed facility to replace it. Warren Kaeding, Saskatchewan’s rural and remote health minister, said the beds will be filled by 2022-23.

The same goes for a new 80-room facility in La Ronge, where Kaeding said there are “significant needs for long-term care placements.” The current 16-bed facility was insufficient for the north-central area of the province. Kaeding was not yet able to say what will happen to it after the new home is complete.

The total cost of those two projects is pegged at $73 million. The government will also be spending $7.2 million this fiscal year on 82 projects in 51 long-term care homes across Saskatchewan, including floor and window replacements, heating and air conditioner upgrades and water and sewer line replacements.

That affects approximately one-third of the 151 designated special-care homes in the province.

The money is part of the province’s two-year stimulus package announced in May, which devoted $200 million to health infrastructure.

There have been demands from the Opposition NDP and health care unions to ensure that the Grenfell facility, in particular, is publicly built and publicly operated. Kaeding did not commit to that on Tuesday. He called it “the last piece of the puzzle.”

“We’re not going to preclude any option yet, but we will be making that decision shortly,” he said.

The government put out a request for proposals for the project last year, and is now settling on a short list of bidders. A decision should be made by early summer.

Barb Cape, president of the SEIU-West health care union, called for a publicly built facility operated by the SHA, rather than a private contractor. Though she welcomes the funding commitment, she argued the government is ignoring pressing needs inside the brick and mortar of its facilities.

“It’s not just the physical plant or the infrastructure that’s the problem,” she said. “It’s the lack of human bodies to be able to provide that care to our patients clients and residents.”

Cape called for more operating funding to provide care. She pointed to the example of other provinces like Quebec, where staffing issues in long-term care homes appear to have cost lives.

“People are dying from this pandemic because there’s no people to provide that care,” she said.

SEIU-West represents continuing care aids in long-term care homes. One of those members, Colleen Denniss, works at Rose Villa long-term care home in Health Minister Jim Reiter’s Rosetown-Elrose riding.

“We don’t have enough staffing, that means the residents don’t get cared for. They don’t get baths, there’s not one-on-one time, and that’s what they deserve,” Denniss said.

“We have lots that will ask for two or three (baths). Can we do that? Not unless we have extra staff.”

Meili and NDP health critic Vicki Mowat with the SEIU-West members on the steps of the Saskatchewan Legislative Building on Tuesday morning. The NDP has been calling for an independent investigation into long-term care.

Meili agreed that the new capital investment Kaeding announced is needed to deal with “crumbling infrastructure, mould, leaky roofs.”

But he then shifted to criticism, saying a public build would do a better job of keeping money in the province. He also echoed SEIU-West criticism about staffing levels.

“Understaffing is a huge and chronic problem. The SHA report showed inadequate staffing leading to inadequate care,” he said, pointing to a report authored by senior SHA leadership who visited long-term care homes.

Kaeding responded to staffing concerns by saying that additional operating funds have been provided to the SHA, which health officials are directing to the highest need areas. The 2020-21 budget provided a record $3.74 billion for the SHA.

He also argued that infrastructure improvements will improve working conditions for staff.