REGINA — Constructing a new structure for the Saskatoon Cancer Patient Lodge is entering the design phase.
This component to Saskatchewan's health-care infrastructure aims to provide a "home-away-from-home" for patients undergoing treatments at nearby health care facilities, according to a Sask. Health press release.
Early designs include 33 private patient rooms with 14 companion accommodation spaces, a kitchen that can tailor meals to ensure proper nutrition for patients, lounge areas where patients and companions can watch TV and connect with others, as well as common spaces for games and puzzles and an exercise room with light equipment.
The new facility will be built on the existing lodge site at 1036-College Dr., keeping the facility close to the Royal University Hospital Saskatoon Cancer Center (RUH SCC) and negating the need for rezoning permits and other costs associated with site selection.
A needs assessment has determined the original lodge building constructed in 1924, has reached the end of its useful life expectancy and requires substantial repairs or replacement.
In early 2023, Group2 Architecture Interior Design was selected through a request for proposal (RFP) to provide professional project management and multidisciplinary advisory services prior to the design phase. Now that a conceptual model has been approved, formal design work is set to begin.
The Government of Saskatchewan and Saskatchewan Cancer Agency (SCA) announced plans to advance to the design phase in a release Tuesday.