FREDERICTON, N.B. – New stats reveal that the number of New Brunswick seniors waiting for a spot in a nursing home is growing, and many of them are waiting in hospital beds.
According to data from the Horizon Health Network, the number of patients waiting in hospital for a spot in a nursing home has increased from 24 per cent to 28 per cent.
Many seniors have to wait months before getting a bed in a special care home.
Pine Grove Nursing Home in Fredericton has a waiting list of up to five months – a time that is reportedly an improvement. In the past residents were waiting for over a year to get into Pine Grove.
Pine Grove is a non-profit nursing home. Spaces are more available in private retirement residences, but the shorter wait-list comes at a price.
Some say the solution is for the government to start providing funding for seniors living in retirement residences, saying it would cut the cost of those same seniors continuously staying in a hospital.
A team of experts looking into future housing options for seniors has another solution. “We really don’t need to have people in nursing homes until nothing else will work,” says Dr. Kathleen Cruttenden.
Cruttenden says that policy makers need to consider options that would help seniors stay in their homes, such as co-housing, co-operative housing, or innovative building design.
The Atlantic Seniors Housing Research Alliance will present their findings at Fredericton City Hall on Thursday.
Comments
Want to discuss? Please read our Commenting Policy first.