It was a chance to look back at the accomplishments of the past 12 months. 

The Weyburn and District Hospital Foundation (WDHF) held its annual general meeting Wednesday night. It may seem like it wasn’t too long ago they held their last AGM, though. Under normal circumstances, the AGM is held in June, but in 2020 it was held in October due to uncertainties and delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

This meeting was held via videoconferencing and covered some of the highlights of the past year for the WDHF. The biggest achievement – the announcement of the site of the new hospital in September.  

“To see something that’s actually going to happen, and you can see where it’s going to be, it’s actually going to transpire into something, was a real relief for a lot of people and made it seem like yes, this project will happen and will move forward,” said WDHF Board Chair Jeff Hayward. 

The news of the site selection in September was followed this spring with the announcement of Group 2, a Saskatoon-based company, to be the project lead. This will include the design of the new hospital. While the fundraising for the building itself may not be as much of a focus at the moment, Hayward pointed out the WDHF still has a key role as the facility is designed, including what will be in the hospital. 

“Once we have a better gauge on that we can probably start some of our fundraising activities around maybe some specific equipment that will be needed for the design of the new hospital,” Hayward added. 

While the COVID-19 pandemic, and the public health orders that were put in place as a result, put a damper on some of the traditional fundraising efforts normally seen for the WDHF, it didn’t mean they no longer received any support from the community. Hayward said there was still quite a bit coming in throughout the year.  

“Actually, donations are still coming in from people, whether it be estates or people wanting to donate to the foundation,” Hayward stated. “We’ve actually seen a pretty good uptake in donations still coming in.” 

The new hospital is set to be built near the intersection of Hamilton Street and 5th Avenue North in Weyburn. It is planned for the ground will break on the new facility in 2022.