Advocacy efforts are underway to lobby the provincial government to begin building a personal care home for Stonewall and surrounding municipalities.
At a Nov. 13 meeting at the South Interlake 55 Plus centre in Stonewall, more than 60 people gathered to hear a presentation and share feedback about efforts to have a new personal care home (PCH) built in the area.
In July 2023, the provincial government announced that six more PCHs would be built across Manitoba to increase capacity in areas with the highest needs. Four of these PCHs will be located within Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority (IERHA) in Arborg, Lac du Bonnet, Oakbank and Stonewall.
The Town of Stonewall has committed to providing a fully serviced site to support the development of the 143-bed personal care home. The proposed project would be located on town-owned property at 4th Street E at the 3rd Avenue S intersection.
A working group with members from Stonewall and nearby municipalities has been encouraging the provincial government to provide the go-ahead for construction to begin at the Stonewall-based site.
Kathy Turner, a retired home-care case coordinator, led the recent meeting. She shared that she’s been passionate about the shortage of long-term care beds since 1999 when she attended a long-term care conference. At that time, she heard that the south Interlake region was in need of increased PCH bed availability, according to a University of Manitoba study.
“The study warned that the situation would become critical,” she said, “and we’re seeing that now, even though we’ve not yet reached the baby boomer bulge, which is projected to double PCH need.”
Even though she’s retired, Turner said she still hears from families whose loved ones are in a PCH outside their home community.
“It’s heartbreaking to see the emotional and financial toll this takes on families. Placing a loved one in a PCH is one of the most difficult decisions a family faces. It’s even harder when the only option is to move them to a facility far from their home community,” she said. “The isolation and stress brought on by leaving their community can have a profoundly negative impact on residents’ already fragile health.”
At the meeting, Stonewall Mayor Sandra Smith provided an update about local municipalities’ efforts to prepare the site, and she shared preliminary architectural designs.
“The town is also finalizing plans to service the site,” Smith said. “Design and specification work will be done this winter, allowing for a tender to proceed in the spring of 2026.”
Attendees at the meeting had the chance to share their stories and provide feedback. One person spoke about the emotional and financial cost she has faced since her husband was placed in the Fisher Branch personal care home 13 months ago, which is a 90-minute drive from their Stonewall home.
Another attendee spoke about her fears of having to leave the community, where she’s lived her whole life, when the time comes for her to seek care. Others spoke about loved ones who are in personal care homes as far as Arborg and Eriksdale.
“PCH bed distribution is uneven across our province. Some regions have more beds per capita than there’s demand for, while the IERHA has a serious shortage,” Smith said.
“Building the Stonewall and district PCH is on the province’s project list, but it has not yet been given the green light. There hasn’t been an update on when that will happen.”
There are currently 16 personal care homes in IERHA, with three additional personal care homes located within and operated by the nations of Peguis, Fisher River and Sagkeeng. Work to build new personal care homes in Lac du Bonnet and Arborg is underway.
The number of individuals waiting for their first choice of personal care home located within IERHA can fluctuate. As of Nov. 21, an IERHA spokesperson noted that 140 people are waiting for their first choice of personal care home, not including those operated by First Nations.
Several local municipalities are working to arrange a meeting with the minister of Health, Seniors and Long-Term Care to discuss the future Stonewall-based personal care home. Turner added that many attendees would also like to connect with the minister and premier directly about the situation.
“I encourage those affected by the bed shortage to write letters to our elected officials, sharing what they are going through and letting them know we’re ready and willing to work with the province to build this critical PCH as soon as possible,” Turner said.
“As a caring community, let’s each do what we can to encourage the province to correct this imbalance by building our new PCH now.”
More information about the Stonewall and district personal care home project, including fundraising details, is available at ourpch.ca.
For those who would like to write letters to elected officials, the working group shared some contact information:
Wab Kinew
Premier of Manitoba
Room 204, Legislative Building
450 Broadway, Wpg, MB, R3C 0V8
Uzoma Asagwara
Minister of Health, Seniors and Long-Term Care
Deputy Premier
Room 302, Legislative Building
450 Broadway, Wpg, MB, R3C 0V8
