The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) will be taking over long-term care operations at an assisted living facility in north Regina.

The agreement will affect the Capital Crossing Assisted Living and Memory Care on Argyle Street N and its 139 long-term care spaces. The SHA will assume operations later this year with no immediate changes planned, according to the announcement.

“Our collective goal is continued, high-quality care for long-term care residents and their families,” SHA chief operating officer Derek Miller said in the announcement. “This transition is being designed to ensure stability for residents and families, while strengthening the integration of these existing spaces within Saskatchewan’s publicly operated long-term care system.”

According to Brightwater CEO Quinton King, the company’s collaboration with the SHA over the last five years has been positive and it is “committed to the success of this transition and ensuring continuity of care.”

“We will continue working closely with Saskatchewan Health Authority to support thoughtful planning and clear communication throughout this process,” King noted in the announcement.

CUPE 5430 President Bashir Jalloh says the facility’s workers will join the union as part of the public transition.

“We welcome this, it is good news for the people of Saskatchewan,” he told CTV News. “… We resisted this private long-term care model from the beginning. We have done a lot of work to try and prove to the SHA that this move is not a good one.”

Jalloh argued the transition is proof the SHA realizes the public model is the “best way forward.”

However, he also criticized the lack of communication from the health authority.

“They told us about a meeting tomorrow… but that’s all. We didn’t hear anything else until it came out in the press,” he said.

Jalloh reiterated that the shift to public at the Regina facility is a good sign but called out wait times for long-term care spaces and the potential privatization of long-term care facilities in Watson and Estevan.

“They should really think about this and think about the past, what has happened in this province and select the public option,” he said. “Which is better for the employees, better for the residents, better for the family, it’s better for the community as a whole.”

CUPE 5430, Saskatchewan’s largest health care union, represents over 14,000 members. It was formed in 2017 when five locals across northwest and southeast Saskatchewan merged into a single organization.

The SHA currently operates 157 care homes across the province, which are home to more than 8,200 residents.