N.S. announces new emergency department, dialysis unit for Cumberland County

Work is set to begin on an expanded emergency department and a new renal dialysis unit at the Cumberland Regional Health Care Centre near Amherst, N.S., that are expected to be completed by the end of 2027.

According to a news release from Communications Nova Scotia, the new emergency department will be almost double the size of the old one.

The new department will be able to handle more than 23,000 patients annually, the release said.

Bethany McCormick, Nova Scotia Health's vice-president of operations for the northern zone, said the demand for emergency care and services has been rising across the province. 

A new and modern space with a new layout will improve the experience for patients and staff, McCormick said.

"It'll allow us to move patients more efficiently through the department, provide more high-quality care, deal with more complex cases, and certainly expand our team to be able to serve more patients and families more quickly," she said.

The facility's current temporary five-station dialysis unit will be replaced by a permanent 12-station unit.

For dialysis patient Michele Maltby-LeBlanc, who lives in nearby Nappan, N.S., the announcement is welcome news.

After spending 10 years travelling to Moncton, N.B., for dialysis, she said she was delighted when the temporary unit was set up at the Cumberland centre and she was able to receive treatment in her home province. 

"That drive on snowy and stormy days was terrible," she said.

Maltby-LeBlanc said she has been receiving excellent care at the temporary unit for 2½ years and she's anxious for the permanent unit to be opened.

"It's exciting. It's long overdue and it's certainly needed in this area," she said.

Combined with a recently announced modular dialysis unit for All Saints Hospital in Springhill, N.S., the two units will collectively serve up to 64 patients, ensuring more comprehensive care closer to home, the release said.

"By being attached to the hospital, the unit also allows admitted patients to continue their dialysis," Dr. Steven Soroka, senior medical director for the Nova Scotia Health renal program, said in the release.

"This means more care, closer to home — keeping patients in their community and near the support of family and friends." 

The release said final design work will begin soon.

The first tenders will be issued in early 2025, it said, and construction is expected to begin in the spring.

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