As progress continues on the construction of the new Southwest Integrated Healthcare Facility (SIHF) in Maple Creek, a formal announcement was made in relation to the official names of the three long term care homes that will be part of the integrated building.

The Cypress Lodge Nursing Home hosted a ‘Long Term Care Home Naming Revealing Party’ on June 18 where the names of the three homes were announced to the residents and their families. Each home is being designed with a unique interior design that focuses on the elements of the surrounding ecology on Southwest Saskatchewan.

After an extensive voting and selection process, the following names were chosen:

• Prairie Oasis – incorporating the blue colors along with designs that reflect the big Saskatchewan sky and the waters in the Maple Creek area;
• Paradise Pines – utilizes green colors along with designs that reflect the forests of the Cypress Hills;
• Prairie Meadows – incorporates the yellow colors along with designs that reflect the grasslands and farms of the Southwest.

Residents, family members, volunteers, and staff members were provided with the opportunity to suggest names for the three homes. Following a series of voting processes, the final selections were identified due to the suitability of them to the overall facility/home design and their relation to the beauties of the Southwest Saskatchewan area.

Janice Wagner, Cypress Lodge’s Activities department staff member, was involved in the home naming process and spent much time discussing it with residents and family members. “Within the Eden philosophy of care within long term care settings, the residents and family members play a big role in helping to shape their living environment and the issues that affect where they reside,” stated Wagner.

“This naming process certainly did that, as we had a lot of feedback and voting from the residents as what they want to see in their future home. They have waited for some time for a new building to call their home, and now the move into it is right around the corner – they are so excited.”

The informal announcement event was attended by approximately 45 individuals including Cypress Lodge residents, family members, staff from the Maple Creek area, and Cypress Health Region representatives. A celebration cake with a picture of the new facility and an ice cream sundae bar was enjoyed by everyone.

Residents at the Cypress Lodge were happy to be involved in the home naming process and appreciate the progress updates on the facility’s construction. “I am delighted that we are getting closer to the move-in date for our new facility,” said Irene Olsen, resident at the Cypress Lodge. “I am looking forward to it and am hoping to get a room in the Paradise Pines Home, so that I can have a view of Highway 21 and the comings and goings of the Hospital.”

The new SIHF is anticipated to be completed in the fall of 2014. Construction crews are making significant progress inside and outside of the building. The health region encourages regular visits to the SIHF webpage to view the ongoing progress of the new facility’s construction, and to view the on-site camera feed that provides real-time images (new photo taken every 15 minutes) of the construction site.