A Milestone In Health Care

   That's one conceptual design of what the new Children's Hospital of Saskatchewan will look like. It was a historic day in Saskatoon yesterday, as shovels finally hit the ground on the 176 bed facility, due to be completed in 2017. There had been delays as the design for the hospital was tweaked and improved, but work is now under way.
   As you can well imagine, facilities like this don't come cheap. The projected total is some 250 million dollars, 235 million of which is coming from the province. But it's not just the physical building that has to be paid for. There's specialized equipment designed for children. That's also going to cost millions.
   And that's why the Children's Health Foundation has been fundraising for years. When I worked in Regina, our radio stations would dedicate 3 solid days (later reduced to 2) for a Radiothon, helping to raise the needed funds. And our stations weren't the only ones either.
   When the hospital is finally built, equipped and opened in 2017, it will leave just one province in Canada, Prince Edward Island, as the only one without a children's hospital. When it's opened in 2017, it will mean parents and children will no longer have to travel out of province for specialized care. When it's opened in 2017, it will also mean kids will be treated in a more child friendly atmosphere. Hospitals are scary places for kids at the best of times, but having one in our province dedicated to their needs will help immensely. I just hope there's room at the site for expansion should the need for that arise.

TTFN