The Bayers Lake Community Outpatient Centre has officially opened today.

It will provide a wide range of services and help reduce pressure on other facilities and is part of a multi-year redevelopment plan to replace aging healthcare buildings with modern facilities.

“Bayers Lake is just the start. We have a plan that includes a new hospital, emergency department and cancer centre,” said Premier Tim Houston. “We’re focused on more, better, and faster healthcare for Nova Scotians, and this facility is one of the ways we’re doing that.”

It offers a more convenient option for the thousands of Nova Scotians who travel to Halifax for outpatient care.

The new facility has more than 100 clinical spaces and 24 dialysis stations. It offers appointment-based services such as X-ray, blood work and ultrasound, as well as eye care, orthopedic assessment and rehabilitation, and more.

“This is a remarkable healing facility that incorporates the diverse needs of patients, healthcare workers and visitors in an environmentally responsible way. Completion of this project is a tremendous accomplishment, and I want to thank everyone who worked so very hard to make this vision a reality,” Colton LeBlanc, Minister responsible for healthcare redevelopment projects.

The facility can support around 280,000 patient visits annually, with the first patients seen Monday, November 20.