By summer, residents at the Pioneer Lodge and House will have a new air filtration system courtesy of a gift from the Lloydminster Region Health Foundation (LRHF) of $250,000.
On Tuesday, April 2, officials met at Pioneer Lodge for the cheque presentation, and LRHF CEO, Stephanie Munro credits the tremendous support of donors and the fundraising of the dodgeball tournament for making it possible.
“We are so excited for all the residents to be able to have this new air filtration system for the quality of life and the air that they are able to breathe. Last year, due to the wildfires, we saw that even in our own homes, the smoke could come in. Also, having this new system in place would allow for detection of outbreaks before there could be an issue and this is very innovative.”
The two facilities have 175 residents and 104 staff. Officials estimate that with the number of visitors the total catchment is more than 1,000 people.
Stephanie Miller, CEO with the Lloydminster Region Housing Group (LRHG), says the project will start in the next few weeks with work being done by C2 Pure and Novem Digital as the project manager.
“This is ultimately life-changing for the residents of Pioneer Lodge and House. We are very excited to provide them with an enhanced living environment for the residents and the staff. It’s an enhanced working environment,” says Miller.
The Pioneer facility is now in its 64th year. Miller sees the importance of the upgrades especially to monitor any outbreaks and allow visitors and volunteers to continue coming to the building and contributing to the community.
Miller, in expressing the organization’s gratitude for the community support, noted that the residents were touched to know they had such heartfelt support from the Lloydminster community.