New Long-Term Care Rooms for Pictou County

Seniors in Pictou County will have more access to long-term care with the construction of a new nursing home in Westville.

The new facility, expected to open in 2028, will be home to 48 seniors in need of long-term care, and each resident will have their own room and private washroom. Premier Tim Houston made the announcement today, November 24.

“Nova Scotia seniors have worked hard all their lives and deserve to have the peace of mind knowing they will be supported in the later stages of their lives,” said Premier Houston. “These new, modern single spaces will provide the support, privacy and dignity our loved ones deserve, right here at home in Pictou County. I look forward to seeing the positive impact this nursing home and others across the province will have on our communities and healthcare system.”

A service provider to build and operate the new Westville facility will be selected through a competitive process.

The new home is 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 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. Adding new 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.

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