Nova Scotia announces replacements for long-term care homes in Bridgewater, Caledonia

BRIDGEWATER, N.S. — The Nova Scotia government has announced plans to replace long-term care homes in Bridgewater and Caledonia, adding more beds in the process.

The new 96-room Hillside Pines Home for Special Care is expected to open by 2029, adding 46 new rooms on top of the previous 50 already occupied in the current building.

All new single rooms will feature private bathroom access.

“Christmas has arrived early this year,” Hillside Pines administrator Marisa Eisne noted in a release from government. “While Hillside Pines is a well-maintained building, we currently have many shared rooms and cramped spaces. The elders who live here deserve the privacy, autonomy and dignity of single rooms.”

“Our wonderful care partners also deserve to work in a building that supports the work they do every day in caring for our elders”

The province also announced a replacement for the North Queens Nursing Home in nearby Caledonia. The Queens County nursing home, set to open in 2032, should have rooms for 48 seniors. The current home’s website says it has capacity for 43 people.

“This will ensure even greater opportunities to provide the care our residents deserve in a modern facility designed at the current standards,” facility executive director Lisa Gallant said in a news release. 

The new spaces are part of the recently announced 2,200-room expansion of the government’s plan to increase the number of long-term care rooms in the province to 5,700 by 2032.

The senior population is expected to make up more than 25 per cent of the total provincial population by 2032. Currently, more than 1,700 seniors are waiting at their homes for long-term care assistance.