If Cecile Cassista created a list of things she would like to see done for seniors in New Brunswick, two new nursing homes would certainly not be a top priority.
Instead, the executive director for the Coalition for Seniors and Nursing Home Residents’ Rights would like to see resources allocated to keeping residents in their homes.
“Many of us don’t want to go live in these facilities because we hear a lot of horror stories,” Cassista adds that her phone has been busy with New Brunswickers calling to tell her about their loved ones that have been evicted from a nursing home.
Nevertheless, on Friday Social Development Minister Bruce Fitch announced new sixty-bed nursing homes in Saint John and Moncton.
“I’m very disappointed, I was hoping the government would take a look at putting more resources into home care because that is where they want to be,” said Cassista.
She hopes that future decisions will account for the real problems facing the “broken system.”
One asset Cassista believes the province is incorrectly using is the New Brunswick Extra-Mural Program. Known by some as “hospital without walls’, a service that focuses on providing healthcare services to New Brunswickers in their homes.
Instead, the province has just added more fuel to the fire according to Cassista.
“Where are they going to get staffing for these homes because we’re running short as it is?”
Similar to many other aspects of New Brunswick’s healthcare system, nursing homes have encountered issues staffing their facilities, while the waitlist for patients waiting to move in grows increasingly concerned.
As of May 21, 2021 the waitlist for New Brunswickers attempting to move to a nursing home was approximately 705.
