RUSSELL — Gloria Tibbatts wiped away tears Wednesday morning during the official grand opening of the new $2.5-million Community Cancer Care Centre built next to the Russell Health Care Centre.
“We did it, we got ’er done,” said Tibbatts, who is co-chair of the Expanding Community Cancer Care Committee. “I don’t want to cry, but it’s the committee — they have been absolutely excellent,” she said.
It took almost 10 years for committee members from 15 communities and seven municipalities surrounding Russell-Binscarth to raise $1.8 million. The province contributed $700,000.
Gloria Tibbatts, co-chair of the Expanding Community Cancer Care Committee, speaks during the grand-opening ceremony on Wednesday. The majority of the funding for the expanded centre was raised by the ECCC. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)
The $1.8 million was raised through bake sales, charity hockey games, walks of hope, galas and, according to committee member Terry Jackson, “massive donations” from the agricultural community.
“The ag community has been amazing,” said Jackson. “Through the Crop of Hope program, $340,000 has been donated to this, and we still have another field of canola that we have to combine this fall.
“They donated all the seed, all the herbicides and crop protection products, and all the producers donated the use of their land — no income off that field. Everything that comes off that field is sold in the name of the Expanding Community Cancer Care Committee,” Jackson said.
Some views of the new Community Cancer Care Centre in Russell during the grand opening on Wednesday. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)
The new chemotherapy unit is in a stand-alone building and, at 3,300 square feet, is four times larger than the original space that was inside the hospital, said Tibbatts.
“In that old and existing chemo unit, there was no privacy. They would have four patients in there, and they could all hold hands in the four chairs — it was terrible. And there was no place for anybody to sit with them. The waiting room was in the hall, and they used the shower stall for storage,” she said.
The new cancer centre has been open since July 15. Since then, there have been 115 visits by patients. There are five treatment stations, one room with a private bed, a private treatment assessment room, a doctor’s office, a dedicated space for a social worker to meet with a client, a waiting room, reception area and staff break room.
Besides the social worker, the facility is staffed by two nurses, two part-time or casual staff who help when needed and two hospital physicians who cover the unit.
Dale Stewart had her first cancer treatment in the new centre on Tuesday and said not only does it save her a four-hour trip to Winnipeg for therapy, but the design is “what we need in the cancer world.”
Dale Stewart of Russell speaks during the grand opening ceremony. Stewart is receiving treatment for head and neck cancer at the Community Cancer Care Centre. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)
“It’s a breath of fresh air when it’s dark and dreary and not right — because we’re already there,” said Stewart. “We need something else in our mind, in our emotion, in our fight.
“In the one room,” added Stewart, “there’s a sliding window so that you have the option of talking to the man or lady next door or you can sit by yourself if you need privacy. And there’s room for a family member or a support person, which is needed by the people that are taking cancer treatment.”
Construction began in April 2023. A month later, the province announced it would contribute $700,000, taking the final price tag to $2.5 million.
Prairie Mountain Health stepped in to cover the operating costs, including supplies, housekeeping, utilities and maintenance as well as a clerk position, said PMH CEO Treena Slate.
“I was involved with the development of the unit from the beginning, because I was the previous manager for the cancer program,” Slate said. “So, to see it come full circle, seeing it open and how big it is, is tremendous.
“When we see the heart that goes into the communities doing their own fundraising and really getting behind a movement to support a specific need, it’s just so heart-warming to see that,” she said.
Members of the Expanding Community Cancer Care Committee, cancer patients and dignitaries cut the ribbon during the grand opening of the Community Cancer Care Centre in Russell on Wednesday. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)
The sign on the cancer centre includes the logo for CancerCare Manitoba, the provincially mandated cancer agency that sets the standards all facilities must follow, said Ken Borce, chief of clinical operations.
“From a clinical standpoint, we work closely with Prairie Mountain Health to make sure those cancer standards are met, so the brick and mortar is important but patient experience is as important, because cancer is more than just a physical disease,” Borce said.
“And this is a state-of-the-art facility. This is what we’d like to have in every corner of the province — dare I say, every corner of the country. Because it’s a really bright and very good space.”
The last phase of the project is to finish the 10-stall parking lot, which is also being paid for by the committee at a price tag of $800,000, Tibbatts said Wednesday.
“This may have been built in Russell, but this is not just Russell. We couldn’t have done this without our members from the 14 other communities,” she said.
— Brandon Sun