Image from GNB.

Six new long-term care homes are coming to HRM, to provide living spaces for 720 seniors, scheduled to open in 2025.

“Seniors in our province deserve to have the peace of mind in knowing they will have a place to go to, if or when they need long-term care,” said Barbara Adams, Minister of Seniors and Long-Term Care. “These new living spaces will help shorten waitlists and, more importantly, they will give our seniors the opportunity to live in dignity and comfort.”

Negotiations underway for a seventh facility, which will add about 90 more living spaces.

The facilities include:
— a 96-room facility on Westwood Boulevard, Tantallon, operated by Gem Healthcare;
— a 144-room facility on Cole Harbour Road, Dartmouth, operated by Gem Healthcare;
— a 48-room facility on Gary Martin Drive, Bedford, operated by Northwoodcare;
— a 144-room facility on Cobequid Road, Lower Sackville, operated by Rosecrest Communities;
— a 144-room facility in Opal Ridge Subdivision, Dartmouth, operated by Shannex; and
— a 144-room facility on Starboard Drive, Bedford, operated by Shannex.

A replacement facility for Northwood in Fall River is also moving forward, with the site selection now complete. A replacement facility is also planned for the Birches in Musquodobit Harbour and is expected to open in 2025. Other replacement facilities in the Central Zone include Melville Lodge in Halifax and Dykeland Lodge in Windsor.

They are among the 34 new and replacement facilities planned across the province, all expected to open by 2027. Collectively, these builds will add about 1,200 new long-term care rooms and replace another 2,300 rooms.

Quick Facts:
— a request for qualified suppliers to build about 800 new long-term care rooms in Central Zone was awarded in January
— each new long-term care room will be for one person and includes a private bathroom
— operating costs for each new long-term care room will be about $140,000 annually
— about 8,000 Nova Scotians live in a long-term care facility
— almost 22 per cent of Nova Scotia’s population is 65 and older, the third-highest percentage in the country; this is expected to grow to about 25 per cent by 2032
— the new rooms will help meet the care needs of aging Nova Scotians and free up hospital beds for surgeries and other medical treatments. Currently, about 290 people are in hospital waiting for placement in long-term care