Miramichi gets new 240-bed nursing home

A new nursing home will be built in Miramichi to replace two aging facilities, resulting in a net gain of 26 new nursing home beds.

Premier Brian Gallant announced Friday that a new 240-bed facility will be built.

It will replace the Mount St. Joseph Nursing Home and the Miramichi Senior Citizens Home. Those facilities have 214 beds between them.

"This infrastructure project will achieve our goals of creating jobs, growing our economy and supporting families," said Gallant in a statement.

"This new home will ensure the seniors in the Miramichi region receive the high quality care they need with the dignity and respect they deserve," said MiramichiMLA and cabinet minister Bill Fraser.

The new facility will be built through a public-private partnership where a private sector entity designs, builds, finances, owns and operates the facility,in accordance with the provincial government's nursing home standards.

No information about how much the project will cost the government was released.

It's unclear when the new home will open, but Fraserexpects it will take two or three years to build, once the tendering process is complete.

In the meantime, the existing homes will continue to operate.

Safety issues at the Mount St. Joseph Nursing Home arebeing addressed, said the release. It is receiving new windows and doors, exterior repairs, and upgrades to fire protection, plumbing and ventilation.

Marie Anne Hachey, one of the original administrators for Mount. St. Joseph, said the timing was unfortunate.

"If this announcement oftoday had been made at the time that they announced the renovations,we'd be much further ahead wouldn't we? And we wouldn't have expendedall that money on renovations that are now necessary, but at that timewouldn't have been necessary," she said.

"So, in many respects, we continue toshoot ourselves in the foot don't we? But I think this is a new day,and our sites are properly placed."

'Christmas present in May'

Dr. GerardLosier, who started apetition last year, gathering 11,000 signatures, calling for a single new nursing home, welcomed the announcement.

"We had asked for 300 beds and we're almost there. I just can't say enough, that's incredible," he said.

"We've had the worst year we've ever had atthe hospital with so many inpatients to go to nursing homes waiting togo. It's been a really difficult year to treat acute care at ourhospital and this is the best answer that theMiramichicould have.This is really a Christmas present in May."

Fraser was overcome with emotion for at least three or four minutes during Friday's announcement before he smiled and said, "I'm speechless. And that's not often."

MLA Lisa Harris put her arm around him and said, "He may be speechless but I'm certainlyhere to say a big thank you to him because, you know we had this homeonce, and lost it, And he didn't stop, and that was his mission."

Earlier this week, Fraser had pledged to not to rest until there was a solution towhat he calleda nursing home "crisis" in Miramichi.