Health Care Centres in St. Lawrence and Grand Bank Receive Funding

The U.S. Memorial Health Centre, Blue Crest Nursing Home and Blue Crest Senior Citizens Cottages will benefit from approximately $1 million for infrastructure upgrading. The Honourable Jerome Kennedy, Minister of Health and Community Services, was joined by the Honourable Darin King, Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment and MHA for Grand Bank; Vickie Kaminski, President and CEO, Eastern Health; Wayde Rowsell, Mayor of St. Lawrence; and, Darrell Lafosse, Mayor of Grand Bank, for the announcements.

“Communities on the Burin Peninsula deserve well-maintained and accessible health care services to meet the needs of residents and address the demands placed on them by their geography,” said Minister Kennedy. “It is important for our government to continue investing in health care infrastructure for rural Newfoundland and Labrador so that we strengthen our overall health care system and ensure that everyone has access to critical medical equipment and facilities.”

The U.S. Memorial Health Centre is allocated $816,000 that will be used to replace the facility’s roof as well as to install an x-ray machine.

“Our region is continuing to reap the benefits of our government’s commitment to health care in rural Newfoundland and Labrador,” said Minister King. “These announcements in St. Lawrence and Grand Bank will ensure residents in the region have access to our quality health care system.”

The Blue Crest Nursing Home is provided $80,000 for 10 ceiling lifts that will be used to assist the transfer of patients who reside at this long-term care facility.

The Blue Crest Senior Citizens Cottages will benefit from $100,000 for general upgrades to the cottages including the replacement of furniture, carpeting and windows, as well as floor repairs.

“These substantial investments will strengthen our infrastructure and enable us to provide safe, high quality care,” said Ms. Kaminski. “On behalf of Eastern Health, I extend sincere appreciation to the Provincial Government for its ongoing commitment to both the clinical care and comfort of our patients and residents on the Burin Peninsula.”

Over $3.8 million has been provided over the past number of years for the U.S. Memorial Health Centre, Blue Crest Nursing Home and Grand Bank Community Health Centre for new capital equipment, repairs and renovations.

Budget 2011 Standing Strong: For Prosperity. For Our Future. For Newfoundland and Labrador furthered the Provincial Government’s commitment of advancing health infrastructure throughout the province with a total investment of $272.2 million, which includes $200.6 million for new and continuing construction and redevelopment projects, $50 million for new equipment and $21.6 million for repairs and renovations.

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2011 08 04             10:05 a.m.