A total of 108 beds initially meant for patients with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia in New Brunswick will be transformed into nursing home beds instead.
Of those beds, 36 will be located in Fredericton and 72 at Shannex facilities in Saint John.
Social Development Minister Cathy Rogers says there was a greater demand for nursing home beds and that the conversions will allow seniors to move out of hospitals and into nursing homes.
“This move helps us to ease the burden on our hospitals, but more importantly than that, it improves the quality of life for our seniors,” says Rogers.
She also says the beds were already under construction by Shannex and met the higher standard required for nursing homes.
Shannex says it will hire 20 new staff members in Fredericton and up to 100 in Saint John as a result of the conversions.
Seniors are expected to move into the Saint John facility in June, while residents moved into the Fredericton nursing home earlier this year.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Nick Moore and The Canadian Press
