ESTEVAN - A visit to the emergency room might be a bit brighter for Estevan children, made possible by a local charity organization.
Dustin’s Corner is a new room planned for the St. Joseph’s Hospital waiting room, a renovated version of the kid’s room in the emergency waiting room.
The Dustin Pratt Memorial Fund was created to honour and celebrate him, after he passed away in an oilfield accident.
“We lost our son in 2016, and so in order to keep his memory alive, we decided to start the foundation. We wanted to raise money for kids, and keep the money local,” said Roxane Pratt, Dustin’s mother.
“It’s in the waiting room area of the emergency department. A little cornered off room for kids. It hasn’t had work in years, so we wanted to brighten it up and make it more welcoming for kids,” she said.
Breanne Van De Woestyne, executive director of the St. Joseph’s Hospital Foundation, says that she was approached by the Dustin Pratt Memorial Fund. They wanted to use the fund in a way that would benefit and comfort kids in the community, so they decided to renovate the waiting room, specifically the spot in the waiting room for children.
“We were awarded the donation in 2019, and so we’ve been working with the family to decide on a theme,” Van De Woestyne said. “Obviously, the hospital has been on restricted access to get contractors in to get renovations done. We had everything ready to be put up and built but COVID hit and the hospital was put on lockdown.”
After the restrictions were lifted, workers continued with construction on Dustin’s Corner and it’s near its completion.
“It’s been a long process. We’re excited to get it open,” she said.
“(We’ve got) new furniture, a big mural going up, a few window decals with the Dustin’s Memorial Fund logo, and some colouring books and crayons,” Van De Woestyne continues. “A place where kids who are waiting in the ER, and a place where kids who are in the hospital can go get that positive and welcoming environment.”
“I know that the decals have been put up,” Roxane says. “As part of this hospital donation, we also started boxes, so each kid that's admitted to the hospital, or kids who are admitted for surgery, get a box. It’s to make their stay a little better, especially the kids who are going in for surgery.”
“The biggest thing that the family wanted to do was to provide something to kids,” Van De Woestyne added. “That was important to us. Also as a part of the Dustin Pratt Memorial Fund was to help kids in our community. They’re constantly working to help the kids. Having the opportunity to help with kids, both in the hospital and in the ER waiting room is great.”
“We’re trying to keep the money local, and our main focus is sick children and kids who need help,” Roxane said. “We thought the children’s department needed help. The room needed work, needed some brightening up and cheering.
“We were hoping to have it done by the golf tournament next weekend.”
The tournament is the Dustin Pratt Memorial Redneck Golf Tournament at the TS&M Woodlawn Golf Course, hosted and sponsored by the Dustin Pratt Memorial Fund.
“You can still enter. We’ll take entries as long as we can, as long as there’s spots available,” Roxane explains. “We’d like to get to 25 teams.” Registrations can be found online at the Dustin Pratt Memorial Fund Facebook page.
“Dustin had a heart of gold.” Roxane says. “He loved children, and he loved people. And that’s why we chose to help kids who need the help.”
