Provincial release:
More South Shore seniors who need long-term care will have access to local, modern rooms when the new 96-room Hillside Pines Home for Special Care opens in 2029.
Becky Druhan, Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development and MLA for Lunenburg West, made the announcement on behalf of Seniors and Long-Term Care Minister Barbara Adams today, November 28, at the Bridgewater facility.
“Seniors needing long-term care will benefit greatly from this investment in modern facilities that will allow them to live in comfort,” said Minister Druhan. “This investment will ensure that our loved ones are receiving the right care in the right setting, which will help relieve pressure across our entire healthcare system.”
The 50 replacement and 46 additional rooms at the new Hillside Pines are part of the recent addition of 2,200 rooms to the Province’s long-term care infrastructure plan. This plan expansion includes new long-term care homes that will add about 800 rooms to the long-term care system and the replacement of older homes with new, modern facilities that will have about 1,400 rooms. All of these new homes are expected to be ready by 2032. The original plan included homes with about 3,500 rooms expected to be ready by 2027. Together, these new spaces will help to meet the care needs of the province’s aging population.
All new living spaces will be single rooms, each with its own private washroom. The government is contracting with several long-term care providers for new facilities and to replace existing ones.
More announcements about locations of new and replacement rooms will take place in the coming weeks. Information and progress updates on all 5,700 rooms are available at: https://novascotia.ca/long-term-care-rooms-progress-updates/
Building and improving more long-term care rooms is part of Action for Health, the Province’s strategic plan to improve healthcare. Building and renovating new facilities with single-bed rooms and ensuring seniors live with dignity and can age well are also commitments in the Seniors and Long-Term Care Minister’s mandate.
Christmas has arrived early this year. While Hillside Pines is a well-maintained building, we currently have many shared rooms and cramped spaces. The elders who live here deserve the privacy, autonomy and dignity of single rooms. Our wonderful care partners also deserve to work in a building that supports the work they do every day in caring for our elders. We are thrilled with this announcement today, which helps Hillside Pines stay true to its vision of being a great place to live and work.
Marisa Eisner, Administrator, Hillside Pines
Quick Facts:
- the long-term care infrastructure plan was announced in January
- current wait lists for long-term care spots vary across the province; as of November 15, there were just over 1,700 people waiting at home for placement in long-term care
- of those waiting at home, more than 70 per cent receive home care
- seniors make up close to 22 per cent of Nova Scotia’s population; this is expected to climb to more than 25 per cent by 2032
- the Office of Healthcare Professionals Recruitment, Department of Seniors and Long-Term Care, and the continuing care sector are working together to recruit the staff needed to support the delivery of care that will be required for these new rooms
Additional Resources:
News release – Province Adding, Replacing More Long-Term Care Rooms: https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20231120001
News release – First Long-Term Care Replacement Home Opens: https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20230929006
News release – Construction Beginning on Long-Term Care Homes in Central Zone: https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20230517001
News release – Province Building More Long-Term Care Rooms: https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20230111001
Action for Health, the government’s plan for transforming the healthcare system: https://novascotia.ca/actionforhealth
Mandate letter for the Minister of Seniors and Long-Term Care: https://novascotia.ca/exec_council/letters-2021/ministerial-mandate-letter-2021-SLTC.pdf
