Pulse brief · 3 cited sources · July 27, 2026
In four New Brunswick communities, long-term care facilities extended services beyond their walls
The Nursing Home Without Walls concept was tested in four communities in the Canadian province of New Brunswick.
A mixed-methods evaluation of the Nursing Home Without Walls program, published online July 22, 2026 by the Canadian Journal on Aging, reports that long-term care facilities in four New Brunswick communities extended services beyond their own residents to older adults living nearby, with the goal of supporting those adults and their caregivers to age in place. The authors conclude the approach "was successful in supporting older adults to age in place."
The program was announced in May 2019 as the first of 66 peer-reviewed studies funded by New Brunswick's Healthy Seniors Pilot Project, which a $75 million investment in the February 2018 Canadian federal budget underpinned through the Public Health Agency of Canada; the project was initially a 3-year endeavour, extended to March 2024 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The National Institute on Aging directs caregivers to the Eldercare Locator at 800-677-1116 and to Area Agencies on Aging to locate local services, and describes deciding whether an older adult should move from home as often difficult and emotional. The Commonwealth Fund, examining declining use of Medicare's home health benefit, attributes it primarily to misaligned payment and quality incentives, Medicare Advantage plan practices, and workforce shortages.
Evidence
Each statement shown below is a verified claim this source supports.
- The Nursing Home Without Walls concept was tested in four communities in the Canadian province of New Brunswick.
- Under the program, long-term care facilities extended services beyond their own residents to older adults in the surrounding community.
- The evaluation was published online 22 July 2026 in the Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement.
- The researchers used an explanatory sequential mixed-method design, collecting quantitative and qualitative data.
- The overall goal of the program was to support older adults and their caregivers to age in place.
- The authors conclude the approach "was successful in supporting older adults to age in place."
- The Nursing Home Without Walls project was announced in May 2019 as the first of 66 peer-reviewed studies funded by the Healthy Seniors Pilot Project.
- A $75 million investment in the February 2018 Canadian Federal Budget, provided through the Public Health Agency of Canada, underpinned New Brunswick's Healthy Seniors Pilot Project.
- The Healthy Seniors Pilot Project was initially a 3-year endeavour but was extended to March 2024 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The National Institute on Aging directs caregivers to find local long-term care services through the Eldercare Locator, local Area Agencies on Aging, local and state offices on aging or social services, tribal organizations, and health care providers.
- The National Institute on Aging gives the Eldercare Locator phone number as 800-677-1116.
- The National Institute on Aging describes deciding whether and when an older adult should move from their home as often difficult and emotional.
- The Commonwealth Fund reports that use of the Medicare home health benefit has declined in recent years and attributes beneficiaries' inability to access home health primarily to misaligned payment and quality incentives, Medicare Advantage plan practices, and workforce shortages.