The New Brunswick government has rolled out another piece of its five-year Nursing Home Plan — announcing $108 million will be invested in renovating facilities across the province.
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According to the province, 43 nursing homes will receive the funding over the next half decade.
Seniors and Long-Term Care Minister Lisa Harris made the announcement Thursday in Fredericton.
She said third-party appraisals led to the government’s decision to make the massive multi-year investment in its existing infrastructure.
“We had an outside agency come in and do an assessment of our nursing homes to see what we needed to do to them,” she explained.
“We certainly want these nursing homes to have the longest life possible so we need to make sure that we’re protecting our assets and these beautiful homes where our seniors live.”
Pine Grove Nursing Home located along the St. John River in Fredericton was the site of the announcement.
Staff say the $3.8 million in funding that is going toward that location will make an immediate impact.
“We do have leaks,” said Cheryl Wiggins, the home’s administrator.
“It would be nice not to have a leaky roof. That would make a huge difference and also because of the age of the building there are pipes and the inner workings of the building that do need updating.”
Previously, the government announced the upcoming creation of ten nursing homes around the province with 60 beds each, along with an additional 407 beds in special care homes for those living with dementia.
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New Brunswick Nursing Home Association Executive Director Jodi Hall said investing in new buildings as well as existing ones is key to success in caring for the province’s aging population.
“It’s critically important that we maintain the infrastructure that we have. And investing in the nursing homes, so it can be sustainable for a much longer period of time, is very important to the future of the province,” Hall said.
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