The Victoria Hospital expansion project got a big boost on Wednesday as guests and dignitaries from the Saskatchewan Indigenous Gaming Authority (SIGA) gathered to present a $375,000 cheque to the Boreal Healthcare Foundation’s Equip the Vic fundraising campaign.
The funds will go towards the Adult Inpatient Mental Health Unit and First Nations and Metis Health Spiritual Care Centre.
“We want to ensure that the northern First Nations have quality care,” SIGA Chair Reginald Bellerose said in an interview following the ceremony. “Through our success here with Northern Lights Casino, we want to translate that into some major capital financing like this (campaign).”
Bellerose said they’re supported similar hospital projects in the past, such as All Nations Hospital’s campaign for a new dialysis machine in Fort Qu’Appelle. He said they wanted to have more of a presence in northern Saskatchewan, which helped inspire the donation.
“People are travelling great distances for healthcare, so we wanted to close that gap,” he said.
Boreal Healthcare Foundation CEO Cody Barnett and Equip the Vic Fundraising Campaign Chair Patricia Weir were on hand to accept the donation. Weir credited SIGA for being “a shining example” of community in action.
“I can say with certainty this is a proud and powerful day for our community,” Weir said. “This is a good day.”
Barnett said SIGA has supported previous Boreal Healthcare Foundation projects in the past, and was eager to help out with this one.
The Mental Health Unit funds will be used to create an Art Therapy Space, while the Spiritual Care Centre funds will be used to create a collaboration room where elders, healthcare workers, and patients can meet.
Barnett said the Spiritual Care Centre will play a critical role in making Indigenous patients from northern Saskatchewan feel welcome and respected.
“These spaces are really important for us as a city and as the northern part of Saskatchewan,” he said in an interview afterwards. “There is a major gap in healthcare access for First Nations people compared to non-Indigenous patients, and having a cultural space where they can have traditional methods of healing incorporated with the western medicine is really important.”
Wednesday’s donation ceremony was held in the hospital cafeteria, a room with large windows overlooking construction of the new acute care tower. Barnett said workers are in the process of pouring the structure’s fifth floor. He said Boreal Healthcare Foundation is satisfied with the progress so far.
“It’s fun being able to see it when you’re driving in from any direction in the City now,” Barnett said. “You can see it coming up on the sideline, so it’s pretty exciting.”
The Equip the Vic Campaign is a $40 million fundraising campaign aimed at ensuring the Victoria Hospital Expansion opens fully equipped from day one.
In a press release, the Boreal Healthcare Foundation said Victoria Hospital in the major healthcare hub for more than 150,000 residents in Prince Albert and the north.
“Each year more than 24,000 patients bypass Victoria Hospital because beds are full or services are available,” reads the press release. “Thanks to donations like SIGA’s, 10,000 fewer community members will need to travel for care each year. This is vital for positive long-term outcomes and keeping families and loved one nearby during challenging times.”
