Nova Scotia’s first transitional care centre to open in 2024

Nova Scotia Health will launch a new transitional care centre in Bedford in 2024 with services provided by Shannex. The 68-bed centre will be a new setting to help hospital patients who might otherwise have required long term care successfully return to their homes.

"We believe this innovative new model will be a huge benefit to both patients and our system,” said Dr. Christine Short, Senior Medical Director QEII Redevelopment and head, Department of Medicine for Nova Scotia Health’s central zone. “By focusing on the specific needs of people as they recover from specialized care in a hospital, we expect to see more people able to return home successfully. And the addition of these beds to the system will make a significant difference to our day-to-day operations.”

The centre will improve patient experience with a more homelike environment and a focus on transitioning back to community. Adding this new service is also expected to reduce emergency wait times and capacity challenges faced by Nova Scotia's health care system by freeing up hospital beds.

“Our government has been focused on providing the care Nova Scotians need and deserve,” said Michelle Thompson, Minister of Health and Wellness. “By adapting an available building into a transitional care centre, we can make rapid improvements to support Nova Scotians with space and services tailored to their needs while, at the same time, making room in hospitals for patients who need that level of care.”

The transitional care centre will feature spacious private rooms, air conditioning, ergonomic beds, natural settings, and communal recreation and dining spaces to encourage movement, increase social engagement and lessen isolation.

“This transitional care centre will have a significant impact on health care in Nova Scotia, and we’re grateful for this opportunity to be at the forefront of innovation here at home,” said Shannex President, Jason Shannon. “Shannex has grown to be a trusted provider of health care services in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Ontario and we’re looking forward to supporting new patients on their journey back home, wherever that may be.”

Nova Scotia-founded and operated, Shannex has successfully provided community care for the last 35 years within its home care, long-term care and retirement living divisions, and will provide operations health care services at the transition care centre on behalf of Nova Scotia Health. The centre will also be the home to Nova Scotia Health community-based health care professionals who will work alongside Shannex, patients, and their care partners to prepare for transitions, facilitate access to Nova Scotia Health community-based programs and services, and follow patients on their transition to home. 

The centre will allow Nova Scotia to implement new health care approaches, technologies, and solutions to support patient transition to community settings and based on this work there is potential to expand the care model across different facilities and levels of care.

“This new transitional care centre will provide an opportunity to test new approaches to care of patients in need of support prior to discharge, such as wearable devices, smart bedside monitoring and wandering patient detection. These innovations will help us ensure there is timely and appropriate care and re-integration into community with a combination of technologies and models of care including community follow-up,” said Dr. Gail Tomblin-Murphy, vice-president, Research, Innovation and Discovery and Chief Nursing Officer. “We are very excited to work with Shannex, an established leader in workforce innovation.” 

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