Neepawa hospital an ‘encouraging beacon’

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This article was published 18/10/2022 (1219 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

NEEPAWA — Work on Neepawa’s new hospital, complete with 63 acute care inpatient beds, an expanded emergency department, and newly established renal services for kidney patients, will begin in two weeks, the province announced Monday.

At a news conference near a recently harvested field on the east side of Neepawa — the site of the new health centre — Manitoba Health Minister Audrey Gordon said the facility is part of the province’s efforts to build a stronger health-care system in Westman.

“Investing in health-care services in communities throughout Manitoba will not only improve the physical health and well-being of Manitobans, but their mental health as well,” Gordon said.

The new facility will be located on recently rezoned land, east of the Lions Riverbend Campground in Neepawa, near Provincial Trunk Highway 16. In addition to more acute care beds — Neepawa’s current hospital has 38 — the centre will feature a trauma room, stretcher and ambulance bay, and enhanced space for surgery, diagnostics, palliative care programs and various outpatient services, including chemotherapy and ambulatory care.

Crews will set up on the site in the first week of November, and construction on the facility is expected to begin in the new year. The province said the facility, which will cost $127 million, should be complete in 2025.

Prairie Mountain Health is “extremely pleased” to move forward on the new hospital, said CEO Brian Schoonbaert.

“Neepawa and the surrounding area is growing,” Schoonbaert said. “The new health centre, with much expanded physical space … will allow those services to grow alongside the population in this region.”

The health authority has worked closely with staff and physicians at the current hospital to hear their thoughts on what they’d like to see in the new facility, Schoonbaert said.

Plans for additional communications with staff, community leaders and residents will take place soon.

“We’ve tried to do as much engagement as we can,” Schoonbaert said.

Brian Hedley, the acclaimed mayor of Neepawa, said the new health centre will hopefully contribute to the town’s ability to retain residents.

With a population of 5,685, Neepawa was named the third-fastest growing municipality in Manitoba and the 13th-fastest in Canada, according to Statistics Canada’s 2021 census data.

“Having been here for 25 years, health care was always a concern … not only for the community, but for all of us. So, this is going to secure a lot of people being able to remain in Neepawa for the rest of their lives,” Hedley said.

Dr. Nichelle Desilets has been working as a family physician in Neepawa for just over seven years. When she moved to the community in 2015, one of her senior colleagues told her a new hospital might be coming to the area “in about 10 years,” Desilets said at the announcement, adding she was happy to see plans for the new facility come to fruition.

“Working in health care is not an easy job nowadays,” Desilets said. “But seeing the provincial government, the health region and our local and municipal leaders commit to improvements for health care for rural Manitobans is the kind of encouraging beacon that we need.”

Neepawa has done an “outstanding” job of preparing for the new hospital, said Eileen Clarke, Progressive Conservative MLA for Agassiz, which includes the town.

“Neepawa people have been working on this for a very, very long time. Good thing they’re so dedicated, because it’s been a long journey,” she said. “I will be working with Minister Gordon … to ensure that we get people trained, that we get the nurses we need, we have the physicians we need, and we get the people in place.”

Dr. Mauro Verrelli, provincial medical specialty lead for renal health, announced new eight-station renal services at the health centre. The decision to add the services came after a review of the number and frequency of patients travelling to bigger centres for dialysis treatment.

There are currently 28 hemodialysis patients living in the catchment area who could potentially benefit from the new unit, Verrelli said.

“Establishing this service in Neepawa will improve their quality of life by significantly shortening commutes, allowing them to be closer to the network of family and friends they rely upon for support.”

Monday’s announcement was part of the province’s $812-million investment in building, expanding and renovating health-care facilities across Manitoba.

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