Serie 0011 - Radville Annals

In July 1946, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Pembroke, Ontario was requested by Archbishop Peter Monahan of Regina, and Father E. A. Yandeau of Radville to open a community hospital in Radville, Saskatchewan. Radville is on Treaty 4 territory, which is the traditional lands of the Nehiyaw/Cree, Saulteaux, Dakota, Lakota, Nakota and formerly Blackfoot. The formal opening of Radville Community Hospital was on October 6, 1948, with 27 beds and 6 bassinettes. In 1951, a third floor was added to provide a chapel and living quarters for the Sisters. In 1954, a wing was added to the Hospital to house Marian Home which provided nursing care for the elderly and the bedridden. Though physically attached, Marian Home continued to operate separately from the Hospital.

The official opening for the new Out-Patient Department, a new wing with a consolidated laboratory, x-ray department, emergency room, and waiting room, was on June 14, 1972. On March 27, 1975, the Hospital received full accreditation status, and Marian Home became one of the first five nursing homes in the province to be accredited. Early in 1976, negotiations began to construct an extension for Marian Home for Occupational Therapy, recreational activities, crafts, a chapel, and a lounge. The extension was completed by December 1976.

A new Governing Board was formed in 1979 with several Sisters serving as members, but due to the declining number of Sisters present to continue the administration of the Hospital, ownership of the Hospital and Marian Home was transferred from the Sisters to the Catholic Health Council of Saskatchewan on April 1, 1981. At this time, the Sisters initiated a “Meals on Wheels” delivery program to provide meals to elders. The Radville Community Hospital and Marian Home amalgamated to become the Radville Marian Health Centre in October 1993 and opened its doors to the new facility in July 2014.

In addition to the Radville Community Hospital and Marian Home, some Sisters served at Bosco Homes, a home for at-risk children. Sister Leona Colterman did social work with the Indigenous Peoples at Camp Tekawitha Wickiup. In 1965, the Sisters were approached by Archbishop M. C. O’Neill and his committee to operate a care facility for retired priests and the aged. On July 22, 1968, the Sisters welcomed the first thirteen residents to the Santa Maria Senior Citizens Home and by September all 106 beds were occupied under their care until 1998. Since the launch of the Saskatchewan Health Authority on December 4, 2017, Santa Maria Senior Citizens Home has been under their operation.