The residents of the long-term care facility, Regina Lutheran Home, are facing an uncertain future after the provincial government’s decision to close it.

The government’s announcement came after RLH’s parent company, Eden Care Communities, made the choice to switch from long-term care to providing ‘community-based housing for seniors, families and people living with disabilities’.

The NDP says because they are an affiliate with Eden Care Communities, the Saskatchewan Health Authority had the opportunity to take over the RLH, but they said the building was too old and would be too expensive to update.

Saskatchewan’s opposition party RLH’s 62 long-term care patients will be forced to relocate, and over 100 staff members will be without jobs in the near future.

Opposition Critic for Seniors Matt Love says the government made the decision with no consultation, and the NDP is calling for them to rescind it. Love says wait times time for a bed at a long-term care centre in Regina are already at 53 days, two and a half times the provincial average, and this closure will only put more strain on Saskatchewan’s healthcare system.

Val Schalme whose brother and father were living at RHL, is concerned that the pair won’t be placed together, as they are very emotionally dependent on each other.

She says Premier Scott Moe’s billboards claim his government is for ‘growth that works for everyone’, however this choice will not promote growth, only destruction. She calls it a horrible blow to the healthcare and long-term care systems.