A long-awaited nursing-home expansion in Cheticamp is getting closer to reality.

It’s expected a construction tender will be issued this spring for Foyer Pere Fiset, with work scheduled to begin in the fall.

Residents have been waiting years for private rooms, so they will no longer have to share bathrooms.

In Monday’s announcement, Inverness MLA and Deputy Premier Allan MacMaster said, “The effort to build 2500 new private rooms in nursing homes across the province continues. While money has been approved for the expansion in Cheticamp, we must give the local community time to complete their plans.”

The new design will also fix the challenges of the older layout which makes it difficult for caregivers to move patients and equipment.

According to the release, “As a bonus, the Foyer Pere Fiset and Sacred Heart Hospital now have dialysis treatment to eliminate travel to Inverness and Sydney for that service. Dialysis treatment is physically exhausting, and the travel required before this service was brought to Cheticamp made it difficult for the patient and the person getting them there.”