MOOSOMIN — Cobblestone House in Moosomin is expected to open by Aug.1.
The building will serve as a long-term care and assisted living facility with 42 units. It is located next to Pipestone Villas on Wright Road in Moosomin.
“We have staff starting on July 17 for two weeks of orientation, and hopefully we have residents starting to move in after August 1,” said Amber Hintz, Home Administrator of Cobblestone House.
“Right now we’re about half full. We’re going to have an open house probably at the end of August or beginning of September.
“Once we get everything figured out I would expect it to fill shortly after that. I can’t see it not filling especially after the tour. It’s hard to put a deposit down on a room when you haven’t or can’t see it.”
There will be around 16 employees working at the facility.
“We’ve hired 14 staff and we still have to hire maintenance and activity workers. There will be more relief and part-time workers once we fill up spots,” said Hintz.
“There’s myself, as a relief nurse, I will probably hire one more relief nurse and the rest will be multi-service workers. They’re responsible for the daily care of our residents, a little bit of housekeeping, laundry, a little bit of meal preparation and meal service. We also hired two cooks.”
Layout of the facility
The structure of the new facility has three levels with each floor in the building being dedicated to a specific service.
With Cobblestone House being the second long-term care facility in the community, Hintz was asked if she thinks the new centre will be a good fit for the community.
“Moosomin is always growing so eventually we’ll need more beds, but I think we have a lot to offer with there being three levels,” said Hintz.
“The top level is for independent living, the second level is for assisted living, and with the third level being for long-term care, if there’s more need for long-term care we can always extend it to the second floor.
“This should fill a huge gap. Hopefully, we don’t have to send people down the line to Broadview or somewhere else.”
With half of the 42 rooms in the Cobblestone House already being reserved, Hintz spoke about which floor currently has the most spots booked.
"The most people that we have right now are booked on the second floor which is the assisted living floor," she said.
"The reason I think that filled a little sooner is because those are the people who are maybe at home and can foresee themselves needing a little bit more care, but I do feel the long-term care floor will fill fast once we open the doors.
"The fact that we have a couple of rooms already booked on that floor was surprising to me. I think that should fill fast once we open."
Living in Moosomin her whole life and having worked in the health-care sector, Hintz said the new facility will be a great addition to the community.
“This will be huge, of course, because of the jobs, but also huge for the community,” she said.
“Because I’ve worked in all areas before, I’ve worked in long-term care for quite a while, I’ve worked a little in acute care, and I’ve worked most recently in primary health care—which is home care and community services—I’ve seen a little bit of everything, but the most heartbreaking thing was watching people who have lived in this community their entire life, including my grandmother for one, having to go down the line to wait on a bed to get into Moosomin.
“Our home is a little different than the long-term care facility, it’s not for everyone, but hopefully it takes the burden off of the long-term care facility here in Moosomin, and the people who can and want to be in our home are there. This is huge for the community and the aging population.
“I know I’ve talked to certain people in Moosomin that are moving into the third floor or are looking into moving into the third floor, they’re looking ahead.
“They’re securing their spot so when they do get to that stage where they know they need more help they know it’s there, and they can move down to the floor below.
“That way they’re not looking to see if there’s a bed at the long-term care home or if they have to go down to Broadview or Grenfell, or wherever.”
As the home administrator, Hintz will be responsible for supervising the delivery of care to residential patients in the facility.
“I will basically be doing a little bit of everything. I’m in charge of the staffing, and making sure the home runs efficiently, as well as the nursing on the floor,” she said.
“They approached me two years ago, right in the middle of Covid, to see if I would be interested in this position. Then I didn’t hear from them until it was time for them to hire.
“I’ve always wanted to actually have my own home in Moosomin but of course the expense of it and all those kind of things, so I started Family Tree Homecare Services and did that for a little while, so this position was the perfect fit.”
