Dignitaries gathered at the Community Room in the Weyburn Credit Union Friday morning to mark the progress of the construction of the new hospital in Weyburn. Along with Mayor Marcel Roy, the board of the Weyburn and District Hospital Foundation, city councillors and more, Weyburn-Big Muddy MLA Dustin Duncan along with the Minister of Rural and Remote Health, Tim McLeod, were in attendance.  

Speaking after the engagement, Duncan said from outside appearances, things are progressing at the construction site, noting he sees improvement every time he is back in Weyburn. He also noted the company hired for the project, Wright Construction, has a good reputation here in Weyburn. 

“The crew have done, I think, a tremendous job, and I think that was one of the real benefits for people here locally when they knew that Wright Construction had been awarded the contract,” Duncan said, pointing out the same company was behind the construction of Legacy Park Elementary School and the Spark Centre.  

The construction process has had a hand thanks to engagement from the staff who will be working in the hospital, according to Derek Miller. He is the Chief Operating Officer of the Saskatchewan Health Authority.  

“All those little tiny details that make a difference for when you actually operationalize the facility, they’ve been very involved in all of that, and Wright Construction as the design-builder, they’ve been great to work with on that,” Miller commented on the process. “We’re now turning our attention to how we’re going to operate in the spaces – what does the flow of the patient look like, what is the flow of providers and information, and all those different pieces that really come together to be able to deliver care.” 

One of the highlights of the new hospital is the inclusion of 10 mental health beds, which will be coming over from Tatagwa View. The Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, also Tim McLeod, said that having these spaces in this facility will help with some of the goals surrounding mental health care outlined by the provincial government. 

For Duncan, who is in his last term as MLA for Weyburn-Big Muddy, the construction is also something near and dear to him.  

“When I was first elected, this certainly was the top priority for this community, and was my top priority as a member of the Legislature,” he recalled. “So now, to see the project is moving forward, we’re at 30 percent already complete. It certainly does put to bed a lot of the questions of ‘Was the hospital ever going to get built?’ It’s being built, and so I think people are taking a lot of pride in seeing the facility built.” 

The construction of the hospital started in June of last year and is scheduled to be finished in December of next year. Duncan, who was Minister of Health when the new hospital in Moose Jaw opened a few years ago, is already looking to when the project will be complete. 

“It’ll be past the time when I’m the MLA, but I’ll certainly be celebrating and sharing with the people here in Weyburn when the time does come.”