New wellness centre brightens school, neighbourhood
- Andréa Ledding | July 13, 2014
Earlier this year, St. Mary's Community School was bustling with Pleasant Hill Pow-wow preparation, but inside the newly built school, in the new wellness centre and pediatric clinic, another kind of celebration was going on as Cameco was thanked and honoured for the $500,000 donation, which helped fund the wellness centre.
"This is a bright, welcoming space in the Pleasant Hill neighbourhood," said St. Mary's principal Katrina Sawchuk of the clinic, thanking the donors and the amazing staff who provide care to not only the students but the entire inner city neighbourhood. "The benefits will be seen in years to come."
Dr. Maryam Mehtar sees patients three days a week, an average of two to four new patients and eight to ten follow-ups, each day, and has been doing so since 2007 when she was tucked into a classroom corner of the old school's cultural space. She now has real examination rooms, a reception and waiting area, and as Sawchuck noted, a bright welcoming space to work out of.
The clinic is a partnership between Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools (GSCS), the University of Saskatchewan Pediatrics, and the Saskatoon Tribal Council (STC). Representatives from all three partners spoke, including Diane Boyko, chair of the GSCS Board of Education, and Chief Felix Thomas of the STC, and school representatives Jacob Smith, Ryan Carratt, and Cody Rabbitskin helped unveil the new sign for the centre.
"At Cameco, we want to make a difference in our community," noted Cameco representative Jonathon Huntington, Camecos community investment manager.
Boyko joined in thanking Huntington and Cameco with a blanket ceremony, and a bison sculpture from the GSCS. Young Thunder also performed an honour song, featuring four-year-old Dayson Walkingbear, who drums and sings with his father, Desai, along with Colton Thunderchild.