To ease the growing number of New Brunwiskers looking for a spot in long-term care, the province helped open a new 60-bed nursing home on the north end of Saint John.
The privatized home is one of five that are set to open through 2023 and into 2024, with the province having no plans on building any of its own in the near future.
In an email statement to Global News, Social Development Minister Dorothy Sheppard’s office said that there were 811 people on the waitlist for nursing homes in the province last month, with 150 new residents accessing monthly.
The Coalition for Seniors and Nursing Home Residents’ Rights estimates that nearly 500 of those residents on the waiting list are staying in a New Brunswick hospital.
The Department of Social Development said the need “continues to grow,” while Sheppard said that the province would continue to look to its aging-in-place model to alleviate some of the pressure.
“There are currently 72 nursing homes in operation, with a total of 5,013 beds,” Told Sheppard in a news conference on Monday.
“Our plan is to get this number to 81 nursing homes and an addition of 521 beds to the nursing home network.”
She said that requests for proposals have already been set out for Bathurst, Moncton, Oromocto and Bouctouche in hopes of building the network.
Beds already spoken for
Shannex, the group running the nursing home, said that the first residents were set to move in not 24 hours after they cut the ribbon and noted that most, if not all, of the beds, were already spoken for.
Most of the beds went to those on a priority list, primarily drawn from people who were in a hospital in the province.
Many of the rooms in the new facility have one bed with an adjoined bathroom. The facility is connected to another “neighbourhood,” primarily units built with a kitchen and living area in each room. The group noted that in time, residents would eventually transition from the assisted living facility into the new units.
“We are confident that when the first resident walks through the doors to Cohen Hall, they’ll find a home where they’ll receive the support they need to live fully,” said Jason Shannon, Shannex president, in a release.
“They’ll be surrounded by compassionate and professional team members who care deeply for them.”
— with files from The Canadian Press