Long-Term Care Beds Announced for New Waterford and Truro

Glenview Lodge in Truro and the New Waterford long-term care unit of the Cape Breton Health Care Complex will receive 41 of 170 new long-term care beds approved by the province in the spring.

"Long-term care is an important issue to the people and communities of Nova Scotia," Health Minister Jim Smith said today in making the announcement. "We will continue to work with residents and health care providers to ensure that we respond appropriately to Nova Scotians health care needs."

Twenty-one beds will stay open at the long-term care unit in New Waterford. The unit opened in 1997 to temporarily house residents of the Glace Bay Community Hospital during construction of a long-term care facility in Glace Bay. The residents will be transferred to the new facility when construction is completed in September 1998.

The New Waterford facility was chosen in response to the high demand for long-term care beds in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. A decision was needed at this point due to the imminent transfer of residents to the Glace Bay facility.

The additional 20 beds will go to a replacement facility for Glenview Lodge, which is to open in September 1999.

The Department of Health is gathering data from the Department of Community Services, regional health boards, and long-term care facilities to plan for the allocation of the remaining long-term care beds. A decision is expected this fall.