A program offering nursing home-style support to seniors who live at home has expanded to rural New Brunswick, with about 45 people taking part at the River Road Hub in the Fundy Rural District’s Brown Flat area.

The site has been operating since September and is backed by Rocmaura Nursing Home in Saint John, according to reporting by Global News’ Reeti Rohilla. It provides daytime exercise, shared meals, social support and medical assistance through the province’s Nursing Home Without Walls program.

Five staff members support the facility, including a kinesiologist and a staff member with a nursing degree.

For participant Sandy MacKinnon, 76, the activities serve both a practical and a social purpose.

“I want to be fit, but most of all, we want to be in our homes,” she told Global News.

MacKinnon said the program brings friendship and gives her a reason to get out. Its value also carries over into the time she spends at home.

“Then when we go home, the emptiness is not nearly as bad, because we know we’re going to come here again,” she said.

Christina Harvey, executive sponsor of Greenwich Community Centre Nursing Homes Without Walls, said reducing social isolation and helping with needs such as meals are among the program’s goals.

New Brunswick Health Minister John Dornan said assistance with everyday barriers could also help some seniors avoid hospital or nursing home admission. He pointed to difficulties driving, getting a fresh meal and finding opportunities to socialize as factors that can stand between seniors and remaining at home.

The River Road Hub is the program’s 38th site in New Brunswick. The provincial program’s annual budget has grown to $12 million, including $4 million in new funding.

Seniors Minister Lyne Chantal Boudreau said services are tailored to the needs of each community. More than 7,700 seniors have used the program since its 2019 launch, and organizers say the newest site could eventually serve as many as 200 participants.

Sources