Representatives from Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 2 stand with Mont St. Joseph Foundation CEO Wayne Nogier (middle) for a cheque presentation on Wednesday. (Nigel Maxwell/paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Community support

Poppy Fund helps replace beds at Mont St. Joseph

May 12, 2022 | 12:00 PM

A near $6,000 donation will help improve quality of care at a Prince Albert long term care home.

The money comes from the local Legion’s Poppy Fund, and was used to upgrade two beds for a veteran and their spouse. Colin Riese, Poppy and Wreath committee chair for Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 2, told paNOW the fund is designed to help veterans and their families, adding the community has always been very generous.

“This last year was very good for us and we just like to be able to help wherever we can with veterans and their spouses/family,” he said.

The poppy campaign begins at the end of October and runs until Remembrance Day.

“Every nickle, dime, quarter counts, and we hope again this year the community is as generous as they have been,” Riese said.

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The legion’s donation represents the tail end of a nearly year long campaign by the Mont St. Joseph Foundation to replace all 125 of its beds. When all was said and done, the total cost was over $300,000. Foundation CEO Wayne Nogier said the beds were still in decent shape, but rattled and were getting uncomfortable.

“Our organization in this location is about 25 years old and so we have been replacing for 25 years these beds that have given up their time, but we are at the point now where we were not at fail safe, and so do a full institutional replacement was necessary,” he said.

While planning for the bed replacement started last summer, the actual order went out last November and the campaign itself is set to end on June 8. Nogier said he is very grateful for the legion’s ability to help buy the two beds.

“It just exceeded out expectations and we are elated about that,” he said.

Wayne Nogier provides media with a demonstration of how the beds improve quality of life for residents. (Nigel Maxwell/paNOW Staff)

The beds themselves are state-of-the-art, and when providing a tour for media and representatives from the Legion on Wednesday, Nogier showed how the beds can be controlled by remote to be as low as 13 inches off the ground, thereby reducing the risk of residents sustaining serious injury if they were to fall out of bed.

Depending on a resident’s size, the beds also allow for additions both lengthwise and width.

And a remote with big buttons also allows the residents to move to various sleeping positons or to sit up to watch television. Noting how most residents are unable to express verbally how they feel, Nogier explained they rate their quality of life care based on a resident’s ability to sleep better and physical signs of a decrease in discomfort.

“Those are the sort of quantifiable things we can look at and what we are hearing from those residents that can express, that as well as family members, has really been significant,” he said.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell