{"id":359860,"date":"2026-04-02T06:27:25","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T06:27:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/359860\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T06:27:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T06:27:25","slug":"2nd-wing-of-west-bedford-transitional-care-centre-opens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/359860\/","title":{"rendered":"2nd wing of West Bedford transitional care centre opens"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A day after the auditor general criticized how sole-source contracts are used in health-care spending, Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston and other government officials toured a facility that represents the most expensive example.<\/p>\n

Houston, Health Minister Michelle Thompson and others were on hand Wednesday to tour the second wing of the transitional care centre in West Bedford. The 110-bed addition will begin accepting patients next week, and brings the total number of beds in the facility to 178.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we have this whole facility open, we will save over 60,000 hospital bed days a year,\u201d Jason Shannon, president of Shannex, told reporters.<\/p>\n

Shannex has a 25-year contract to operate the site, with an option to renew for an additional 10 years. The company purchased the property from the province<\/a> and constructed the addition after making an unsolicited proposal.<\/p>\n

AG’s concerns about process<\/p>\n

The province\u2019s auditor general has raised concerns about the project,<\/a> which started as an unfinished hotel construction site the province bought from a private developer<\/a> in 2023 with the intention of converting it to a health-care facility itself.<\/p>\n

While the deal with Shannex could be worth as much as $2.7 billion over its lifetime,<\/a> Houston has stood by the process his government used. Shannex completed the work on schedule and on budget, and the site will provide a place for patients to continue to recover before returning home, while freeing up acute care hospital beds for patients who really need them.<\/p>\n

Acute care beds are more expensive to operate, but are often occupied by non-acute patients or people awaiting a nursing home placement.<\/p>\n

Houston said the addition of the West Bedford site to the health-care system allows for a better use of hospital beds.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a very efficient way to deliver really good care to people,\u201d he told reporters.<\/p>\n

Avoiding unnecessary ED visits<\/p>\n

The site includes rehabilitation gyms, four transition-to-home apartments that allow patients to test their independence, shared dining and common spaces, and dedicated space for classrooms and community programming.<\/p>\n

When the initial 68 beds opened at the end of 2024,<\/a> the focus was on receiving patients from hospitals. But as things have progressed, it\u2019s started accepting patients from the community when an acute care bed is not what they require.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to avoid unnecessary emergency department presentations,\u201d said Dr. Christy Bussey, chief medical officer at Shannex.<\/p>\n

Bussey said someone who doesn’t have a nursing home placement but needs more care than they can get at home might require a hospital bed. The transitional care centre creates another option.<\/p>\n

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