As politicians, doctors and other community members gathered together to celebrate the grand opening of St. Paul’s Wellness Centre last Friday, they all agreed on one thing – the facility was a long-held dream that brought satisfaction in its realization.
“It’s a ribbon cutting for something that could have been done eons ago,” said Mayor Glenn Andersen, as he welcomed people to the July 17 opening of the brand-new $8.5 million facility, which boasts offices for doctors, VitalAire, the local MS Society, the Lakeland Primary Care Network, Refresh Derma Spa and which has further space for medical-related businesses and services.
Andersen reflected that for decades, St. Paul residents accessed care at the former Associated Medical Clinic, a smaller, cramped space that was not wheelchair accessible.
He recalled how when people used to enter that former clinic, there were two ways to go, up or down, and once people figured out which way to go, they would enter one of two spaces, filled with furniture and cracked vinyl chairs that appeared to date back to the 1970s.
“When you did get in there, you had to sit knee to knee with three other people who were sick,” he said.
Spurred by discussions with St. Paul doctors, a committee was formed to look at the creation of a Wellness Centre, that would offer space for doctors, nurses and other medical professionals, without burdening them with the costs of owning and maintaining a building of their own.
Eventually, a committee was formed to steer the creation of the centre, although it faced controversy along the way on such things as the site location or the town’s decision to purchase the Associated Medical Clinic. However, Andersen noted some things worked out, as the Associated Medical Clinic was later purchased by a private company and renovated, with the result being, in his view, that “the ugliest looking block in St. Paul is now the nicest looking block in St. Paul.”
With the support of then-MLA and cabinet minister Ray Danyluk, the Wellness Centre secured $2.5 million from the province, with the County of St. Paul contributing $1 million and the town leading the charge with $2.5 million to the building of the centre, and the developer contributing $500,000 in land.
The Town of St. Paul later set aside an extra $1.5 million to develop the north end of the Wellness Centre with space for three more doctors and medical-related offices, and spaces that Andersen is still hopeful that can host diagnostic imaging services.
“It’s all because the citizens of St. Paul and the region asked for this,” he said, later adding, “The sky is the limit for what this facility can do.”
County of St. Paul Reeve Steve Upham, Danyluk, current MLA David Hanson, PCN executive director Rob Foote and Dr. Albert Harmse all spoke on the opening of the centre, with several people noting the building was a model of its type for other small communities to mimic.
Dr. Harvey Woytiuk expressed what the facility has meant to the doctors in the community, saying it was a “major milestone” in his career. “This project, for me, has been an immense pleasure.”
After doctors in St. Paul expressed an interest and eventually joined on board with the Primary Care Network concept, the doctors came to the realization that their old building wasn’t enough to accommodate their needs. On top of that, said Woytiuk, physicians who were coming to the community of St. Paul from foreign countries were not interested in sinking money into bricks and mortar, both of which precipitated the doctors going to the community to talk about creating a wellness facility.
What followed next was a joint effort between service providers, the town, the county and the province to produce the building they stood in that day.
“Quite frankly – should we be happy? Damn right we should,” said Woytiuk. “This is phenomenal.”
In the final statement of the day’s event – one that was met by appreciative chuckles by an equally gleeful audience, Woytiuk said, “I think we should all jump for joy.”
