Steinbach charity aims to create regional medical hub for southeast Manitoba | CBC News
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A Steinbach charity is creating a campus of health care for people in southeast Manitoba.
Bethesda Wellness bought seven more acres beside its Stonebridge Wellness Centre property, which houses Southern Health and private health-care providers.
Its sister charity, the Bethesda Foundation, receives donations and shares some of those with Bethesda Wellness, which envisions what it would like to build on the newly purchased field.
“Right now, a hospice is certainly in the cards. We’re looking at potential plans that would allow us to have spaces for short-term care for people at end of life. We also have a number of other needs when it comes to private providers that want to locate here in the campus of our health-care area,” foundation board chair Chris Goertzen said.
Goertzen also sits on the board of Bethesda Wellness, which works closely with the foundation.
Southern Health sees leasing property from the charity as an advantage.
Staff members were moved from Steinbach’s hospital, the Bethesda Regional Health Centre, into the Bethesda Wellness property. That made room for a new dialysis unit at the hospital.
“Having an organization that’s willing to look at what the ‘art of possible’ is opens up other opportunities for us to kind of consider, and it allows a little bit more flexibility in terms of planning and thinking about the future,” said Timothy Gosselin, Southern Health’s associate chief medical officer.
Buying more space also has other organizations looking to expand what they offer, such as Eden Health Care Services, which focuses on mental health. It provides psychiatry, employment and housing services.
“We’re service providers. What we focus on is clinical work and clinical care and therapeutic care. And so, having a partner that has expertise of planning, of construction, of development is huge,” Eden CEO Brad Unger said.
Steinbach hospital expansion complete, will start treating patients in March
As Bethesda Wellness continues its expansion, the charity foundation is pouring money into other health projects. Its latest capital contribution was the largest in its 35-year history: $8 million toward expanding Steinbach’s hospital.
That 59,000-square-foot expansion added three operating theatres, 15 medicine and palliative care beds, and laboratory services.
The foundation gave its input on design, which is why there are features such as a dedicated quiet space for ceremonies and family gatherings, and beds that can expand their sides to fit another person who wants to hold their loved one close.
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“Doctors and nurses are going to be focused on medicine and helping with all your activities and daily life. But there’s other parts of living and being human — like having space and time with family, and a moment for a spiritual ceremony — that bring meaning and value to people’s lives as well,” Gosselin said.
The Bethesda Foundation has almost reached the goal for its current capital campaign, $22 million.
All of it will be going to health care in Steinbach.
Bethesda Wellness has bought seven acres of land beside its Stonebridge Wellness Centre, with the aim of expanding its public and private health-care campus.