More Long-Term Care Rooms for Kings County

Seniors in Kings County will have more access to long-term care with a new, 144-room home expected to open in 2028. A service provider to build and operate the facility will be selected through a competitive process.

As well, Evergreen Home for Special Care in Kentville is being replaced with a new, modern facility, also with about 144 rooms, expected to open in 2031.

John Lohr, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing and MLA for Kings North, announced the new nursing home and the replacement facility on behalf of Seniors and Long-Term Care Minister Barbara Adams today, November 22.

“Seniors needing long-term care in Kings County will benefit greatly from this investment in modern facilities that will allow them to live in comfort,” said Minister Lohr. “For years to come, these spaces will mean better care for our seniors and, because everything in our healthcare system is interrelated, better care for everyone in our communities.”

The new Kings County facilities are part of the recent addition of 2,200 rooms to the Province’s long-term care infrastructure plan. This plan expansion includes new long-term care homes that will add about 800 rooms to the long-term care system and the replacement of older homes with new, modern facilities that will have about 1,400 rooms. All of these new homes are expected to be ready by 2032. The original plan included homes with about 3,500 rooms expected to be ready by 2027. Together, these new spaces will help to meet the care needs of the province’s aging population.

All new living spaces will be single rooms, each with its own private washroom. The government is contracting with several long-term care providers for new facilities and to replace existing ones.

More announcements about locations of new and replacement rooms will take place in the coming weeks. Information and progress updates on all 5,700 rooms are available at: https://novascotia.ca/long-term-care-rooms-progress-updates/

Building and improving more long-term care rooms is part of Action for Health, the Province’s strategic plan to improve healthcare. Building and renovating facilities with single-bed rooms, and ensuring seniors live with dignity and can age well are also commitments in the Seniors and Long-Term Care Minister’s mandate.

Quotes:

“We at Evergreen Home for Special Care are pleased to hear the significant funding announcement today from the Department of Seniors and Long-Term Care. These investments in infrastructure will greatly enhance the lives of our residents, staff, families and volunteers through the modernization of our Evergreen community. The support from the government will ensure that we continue to provide excellent quality care to our residents using state-of-the-art facility design, equipment and models of care.”

– Amanda Kelly, Director of Nursing, Senior Centre, Evergreen Home for Special Care

Quick Facts:

• the long-term care infrastructure plan was announced in January
• current wait lists for long-term care spots vary across the province; as of November 15, there were just over 1,700 people waiting at home for placement in long-term care
• of those waiting at home, more than 70 per cent receive home care
• seniors make up close to 22 per cent of Nova Scotia’s population; this is expected to climb to more than 25 per cent by 2032
• the Office of Healthcare Professionals Recruitment, Department of Seniors and Long-Term Care and the continuing care sector are working together to recruit the staff needed to support the delivery of care that will be required for these new rooms

Additional Resources:

News release: Province Adding, Replacing More Long-Term Care Rooms: https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20231120001

News release – First Long-Term Care Replacement Home Opens: https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20230929006

News release – Construction Beginning on Long-Term Care Homes in Central Zone: https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20230517001

News release – Province Building More Long-Term Care Rooms: https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20230111001

Action for Health, the government’s plan for transforming the healthcare system: https://novascotia.ca/actionforhealth

Mandate letter for the Minister of Seniors and Long-Term Care: https://novascotia.ca/exec_council/letters-2021/ministerial-mandate-letter-2021-SLTC.pdf