Pine Tree Park Care Home continues to provide loving care through provincial transition

A new progress report finds the Nova Scotia government is behind schedule on a provincial plan to transform disability support within five years. The plan, referred to as “the Remedy”, includes closing large institutions and moving their 870 residents into small homes or apartments in communities across the province.

In an interview with Scott Armstrong, Minister of Opportunities and Social Development, Information Morning Cape Breton host Steve Sutherland pointed out that staffing recruitment is behind schedule with only 52 percent of local area coordinator positions and 37 percent of planning and support coordinators having been filled according to the report.

“You have to keep in mind is that while we ramp up the new structure, the new program, we also have to maintain the previous one because we still have people living in institutions,” Armstrong said.

“If you pull an existing social worker out of an institution, or any service provider out of an institution, to be a local area coordinator or an intensive support specialist, you have to backfill them in the previous job, so you’re kind of running the old system as you transfer to the new system.”

Armstrong said the province has implemented a workforce strategy, providing tuition support for a hundred students in post-secondary social work programs who have committed to working in the disability support program as a way to address the demand for trained professionals. He is optimistic, adding that he’s “very confident” the five-year goals of the plan will be met by the 2028 deadline.

At Pine Tree Park Care Home, staff is focused on continuing to provide the highest level of loving care to its 29 long-term residents and developing new service delivery models that support our residents to transition into, and thrive within, the community.

“As we prepare for the significant shift brought about by the Human Rights Remedy, New Dawn and Breton Ability Centre have formed a strategic partnership to reimagine how we deliver services and operate moving forward,” says New Dawn’s Director of Community Care, Janine Hussey.

“Aligning our efforts helps us to build a service delivery framework that is responsive, sustainable, and truly reflective of the evolving needs of those we serve here in Cape Breton and we support a provincial approach that is strategic and ensures people are poised for success in the community.”

As of January 1, 2025, institutions such as Pine Tree Park Care Home are no longer receiving new residents and Minister Armstrong said he expects to see a significant number of people in care being transitioned into apartments, group homes, and “homeshare” accommodations in community by the end of the year. As part of the plan, all institutions are required to close by 2028.

Listen to the full conversation with Minister Scott Armstrong on CBC Radio’s Information Morning here.

Listen to the June 11 interview with Kim Long, the Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors for the Disability Rights Coalition of Nova Scotia here.

Learn more about the Human Rights Remedy in Nova Scotia here.