Bay Side to Meet Community's Long-term Care Needs
The Bay Side Home in Barrington, Shelburne Co., will become a long-term care facility on Friday, June 30.
In addition to the 20 beds already at Bay Side, 40 more long-term care beds will be opened by 2010 as part of the province's Continuing Care Strategy.
"Living well in a place they can call home, near family and friends who care, is important to Nova Scotians," said Health Minister Chris d'Entremont. "Residents of Barrington, and people across Nova Scotia, have shared their priorities and we're listening. We're committed to creating a system that allows Nova Scotians to stay in their homes and communities and experience a high quality of life and level of independence."
The province will begin seeking information from the community in the coming months as it creates a plan to install the new beds. The beds are among 826 new long-term care beds to be opened across the province by 2010. In total, 1,320 new long-term care beds will be opened in Nova Scotia over the next 10 years.
Bay Side is currently operated by the Department of Community Services as an Adult Residential Centre and is home to residents with an intellectual disability. On Friday, responsibility for the facility will transfer to the Department of Health and it will become a Level II, long-term care home that will provide a welcoming place for local residents to age in their own community.
Level II care patients are medically stable and typically require medical attention not more than once a week. Generally, residents of Level II homes require 2.5 hours, or less, of nursing, personal care, and daily living assistance within any 24-hour period.
Additional staff, able to administer a wider range of services, will be brought on to provide care to residents with greater needs.
As part of the province's commitment to the community, all current residents will continue to reside at Bay Side.
In anticipation of the upcoming change, Bay Side has already accepted one long-term care resident who is now able to return to the community.
More information on Nova Scotia's Continuing Care Strategy is available on the Department of Health website at: www.gov.ns.ca/health/ccs/default.htm .