Early Planning Underway for the Quill Plains Centennial Lodge in Watson

Released on June 2, 2023

Early planning is underway for the Quill Plains Centennial Lodge long-term care home in Watson.

A needs assessment for Quill Plains Centennial Lodge began in October 2022 and is now complete. 

"Our government is committed to providing safe and comfortable care to seniors throughout Saskatchewan," Rural and Remote Health Minister Everett Hindley said. "I am pleased that plans are underway for a new long-term care home in Watson and I look forward to seeing the progress toward construction."

The needs assessment work focused on current and future demographic trends, clinical needs, bed numbers, the condition of the current facility and the type of future spaces required.  

The needs assessment identified the future need for approximately seven additional long-term care beds for the community. This is expected to bring the total number of beds in Watson to approximately 60 from the current 53 beds. A business case will be developed to validate the bed numbers based on the cost estimates and other parameters. 

"The Saskatchewan Health Authority is pleased to see the continued support for expanded long-term care in the town of Watson," Saskatchewan Health Authority Vice President of Quality, Safety and Chief Information Officer Michelle Mula  said. "Through the business case phase, the Saskatchewan Health Authority will help inform the types of health service that are critical to this community as we continue to prioritize care as close to home as possible."

"It's very exciting to see the Watson Long-Term Care home project moving into the business case phase," Melfort MLA Todd Goudy said. "The early planning will help bring this project one step closer to procurement, design, construction and ultimately opening to serve the Watson community."

Business case development includes: an analysis of infrastructure options; scoping of building and land size requirements; environmental and heritage reviews; a traffic impact assessment; utility, zoning, drainage and geotechnical scanning; a preliminary high-level cost estimate of each option; and a Procurement Options Analysis to determine the best procurement strategy.

The business case phase prepares the project team to enter into pre-design and design and supports the fundraising efforts by the community.

The 2023-24 budget earmarked $1 million for the Watson Long-Term Care redevelopment project, as part of the Government of Saskatchewan's record $3.7 billion capital plan.

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