CITYnews halifax : Modern long-term care home opens in Lower Sackville

CITYnews halifax / By Natasha O’Neil

Older Nova Scotians needing a place to live have another option after a long-term care home with a modern look opened in Lower Sackville.

Rosecrest The Meadows, operated by Rosecrest Communities, is a 144-bed home where all the people living there will have a single bedroom and washroom. It is the seventh type of home under the province’s plan to build 5,700 new and replacement beds in places across Nova Scotia.

So far, 100 people have moved into the building, with the rest coming in the next several weeks after the grand opening on July 16.

The first resident to ever move in was Maddie White’s grandfather, who needs continuing care.

“Since being the first resident to move into The Meadows, my grandfather has had such a good experience. The new home is bright and busy, and he is well cared for by the staff,” White said in the press release. “It has given our family such peace of mind knowing how loved and cared for my grandfather is.”

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The grand opening featured tours through the building that includes a physiotherapy space, hair salon, community room and a huge outdoor space for people to enjoy.

“After years of thoughtful planning and building an exceptional space and team, it is incredibly rewarding to see the vision for The Meadows come to life,” Laurie Parsons, Administrator, Rosecrest The Meadows, said. “In this beautiful, new home, we are creating a truly unique long-term care community where residents, families, volunteers, and team members all contribute to something very special.”

Rosecrest The Meadows long-term care home in Lower Sackville (Province of Nova Scotia)

Retirement seems like a pipe dream

The National Institute on Aging surveyed just over 6,000 adults aged 50 and older in June and July for its fourth annual report titled Perspectives on Growing Older in Canada, released earlier this year.

While the majority – 57 per cent of respondents – still said they had positive feelings about aging, that’s down from 62 per cent in 2024. The figure had previously been stable for years.

Talia Bronstein, director of policy at the National Institute on Aging, said the latest findings show that older adults increasingly can’t afford to retire and feel lonely and socially isolated. She also said many respondents don’t have primary care doctors, though that has modestly improved.

A growing number of people say they can’t afford to retire when they had hoped to — 43 per cent compared to 38 per cent in 2024.

Social isolation and loneliness remained “stubbornly high” and unchanged over the last four years, with 43 per cent saying they’re at risk of social isolation and 59 per cent experiencing loneliness.