Friday, July 30, 2010 THE LAC DU BONNET LEADER 3

Health care cash going to care home

RM will have to come up with $500,000, reeve says

By Marc Zienkiewicz A $94,000 reserve fund kept by the RM of Lac du Bonnet will go toward a new care home for the community, council decided July 27. After tabling the matter twice over the past several weeks, Reeve Rick Lussier and several council members said the money would be best used as part of an estimated $500,000 the RM will have to raise if the province is to bring a new personal care home to the community. A meeting took place last week between the North Eastman Health Association (NEHA) and municipal officials, who were informed that if a new care home is approved for Lac du Bonnet, the community itself will be responsible for 10 per cent of the $25-$30 million total project cost. That means the community will have to come up with around $3 million in public donations, NEHA Chief Executive Offi cer Jim Hayes told the Leader last week. "As we were informed at the meeting, the (care home) has not been approved, but it's at the point in the process where the community can now begin fundraising," Lussier said. Th e reserve fund has been a topic of contention in recent months. The money was originally supposed to go toward a new hospital for the community, but the RM recently decided to re-designate the fund to go toward diff erent health care-related initiatives. A public hearing took place a month ago where the matter was debated. Although sing the fund for a personal care home was iscussed, Coun. Don Sikora wanted to see he cash go at least partly toward funding a eniors' housing initiative. Coun. Vera Cardial also tossed around the idea of using some f the money to help Dr. Michel Bruneau of wan Lake open a private clinic in Lac du onnet. Bruneau has since decided to work out of the Lac du Bonnet Health Centre, and on Tuesday all members of council except Sikora felt seniors' housing should be funded separately. Sikora, a co-founder of the Lac du Bonnet Seniors' Housing Corporation, expressed his displeasure with what he said is council's about-face on the matter. At one point, when Cardinal began speaking over Sikora, he told Lussier he would leave the meeting if we wasn't permitted to "speak his peace" on the matter. "We had a public hearing where we decided the wording (of the bylaw) was supposed to include seniors' housing. I'm not against some of this money going to a care home, but I'd like seniors' housing included," Sikora said. "Can we at least have $25,000? I don't like this politicking of taking it all. Now I have to go back to my committee and explain why (seniors' housing) got nothing out of this even though we had an agreement in an open forum." Coun. Russ Preston and Cardinal disputed Sikora's opinion that council had "agreed" to use some of the cash for seniors' housing. "Th ere was never an agreement," Cardinal said. Reeve Rick Lussier intervened to calm the proceedings. "Either way we slice it, if we choose to fund seniors' housing, it's going to come from the taxpayer anyway," Lussier said. Preston agreed. "Seniors' housing can be put in our budget for 2011," Preston said. Sikora said he wouldn't vote against redesignating the fund for the care home only, but said he was disappointed council didn't allot any of the cash for seniors' housing. Th e resolution to set aside the $94,000 for a care home was passed unanimously toward the end of the meeting. By Marc Zienkiewicz A Swan Lake-area doctor who recently planned to build a private clinic in Lac du Bonnet has instead decided to work out of the community health centre. Dr. Michel Bruneau said on Tuesday that he recently made the decision to work out of the health centre, operated by the North Eastman Health Association (NEHA), after a recent meeting with the health authority. He said "several" factors were responsible for his decision, one being NEHA's recent commitment to make some major renovations to the facility to give physicians more space to work. He could not yet say for sure when he will begin work there, as he is going to wait until the renovations are complete. FILE PHOTO/Marc Zienkiewicz Coun. Don Sikora tried to convince his council on Tuesday to give some of its $94,000 reserve fund to the community's seniors' housing initiative. Council declined.

Plan to build private clinic not going ahead

Bruneau made headlines in the Leader this year when he asked the RM of Lac du Bonnet for grant money to start his own clinic. The town also decided to donate a $30,000 piece of property next to the library so the clinic could be built. "I don't think working for NEHA or any other regional health authority would keep me happy professionally," Bruneau told RM council in early June. However, NEHA chief executive officer Jim Hayes said a week later that the health authority was in "active talks" with Bruneau regarding having him fi ll a vacant position at the health centre. MEMBERS & GUESTS Lac du Bonnet Royal Canadian Legion Branch #164

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7pm Legion Lounge HARD CARD BINGO Photo: Dr. Michel Bruneau has announced he will not be building a private clinic in Lac du Bonnet.

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