Dear Editor
I am a special care aid at River Heights Lodge in North Battleford. I have been employed at RHL for 17 years and love the job of caring for our seniors.
River Heights has been fondly referred to as the "Old Folks Home" of the Battlefords for over 40 years. However, over the past few years Prairie North Health Region has been placing younger, handicapped residents in the seniors' home. To me, this is wrong. The straw that broke this camel's back was when they admitted an 11-year-old boy into the facility. This has caused stress to residents.
It is not right for the region to expect these young handicapped people to co-exist with the elderly. It is simply not fair to either.
In the meantime, local seniors are being transferred out of the Battlefords away from family and loved ones when they need us most. My father, Graham Wright, along with four other seniors was recently relocated to Maidstone from Battlefords Union Hospital. Maidstone has a wonderful facility but it is a 50-minute drive to get there.
One woman has been separated from her husband of 54 years. This woman doesn't drive and has no family here. The bus does not even stop in Maidstone. This is a brutal thing to be doing to this couple at this stage of their lives. Efforts to have someone else take the Maidstone opening were to no avail. Promises were made to arrange a ride for this woman to visit her husband, but as of June 17 that had not occurred.
Where has the respect, love and compassion for our elderly disappeared to? This is cruel and heartless and I want the people of the Battlefords to know what is going on. Some of you have experienced this three-ring circus. If the rest of you turn a blind eye, be assured, sooner or later, you will find yourselves in the same situation.
We need to speak up now. Let's at least keep River Heights Lodge an "old folks home." At present we have five beds occupied by people under the age of 40 and we have five seniors waiting in Maidstone for placement in River Heights Lodge.
I have spoken to the mayors of both communities about this issue, as well as MLA Len Taylor and the Saskatchewan Party's Herb Cox, as well as retired senator Herb Sparrow. All have voiced verbal support for my fight to retain RHL for seniors.
You need to raise your voices too, for today's seniors, and for those who will need the facility in the future. Call me at 937-3258 to voice your support.
Lorraine Wright
North Battleford
