The Rest Haven Nursing Home in Steinbach has been given the go ahead by Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen to begin planning for a huge expansion. Goertzen outlines what is in the works at Rest Haven in terms of more personal care home beds.

"Their proposal is to add up to 140 beds. It's an exciting project for them but there's more work to do. In terms of the funding, they'll have to get to work in planning and funding. They're aware of that. My experience in Steinbach, having lived here my whole life, is that, if there is a will, there is a way. I think there is a will for this project and I believe they'll find a way."

The government has committed to contributing about $133,000 per bed toward the construction of new PCH facilities.

Goertzen notes there is a huge need for these beds in Steinbach because, despite being the third-largest city in Manitoba, it has not had a net new Personal Care Home Bed since the early 1970's. He says, depending on how quickly the planning proceeds, and then construction, the expansion could open its doors as early as the year 2020.

"In the Personal Care Home world, that (planning and construction) sometimes can take up to four or five years. I've seen some go sooner than that. Certainly, in Niverville, I think they were able to go from design to construction and completion in about two-and-a-half years or so and we would like to see it sooner than later, but that's not always in our hands. That often has to do with the projects themselves."

The Health Minister has also announced planning can proceed for another 108 personal care home beds in Winnipeg and another ten new beds in Carman plus refurbishing of 70 existing PCH beds there.