How to Arrange Elder Care in New Brunswick

You noticed your parent left the stove on again, or maybe they fell and spent two hours on the floor before anyone found them. Now you are trying to figure out who to call and what to do first in a province where the elder care system is split across two entirely separate government departments.

That split is the single most important thing to understand before you pick up the phone.

The Two-Department System

New Brunswick divides elder care between two departments, and they do not automatically share information or coordinate with each other.

Department of Health (Extra-Mural Program): Handles medically necessary clinical care delivered at home — nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, respiratory therapy, palliative care. Fully covered under New Brunswick Medicare at no cost to the patient.

Department of Social Development (Long Term Care Program): Handles everything else — personal support with bathing, dressing, meal preparation, housekeeping, and all residential placements including special care homes and nursing homes. These services are income-tested, meaning your parent may pay a co-payment based on their net household income.

If your parent needs both medical care and daily living help, you need to contact both departments separately.

Step 1: Call the Intake Line

The central entry point for non-medical elder care is the Department of Social Development's intake line: 1-833-733-7835. Select Option 1 for English, then Option 3 for seniors services.

Before calling, gather your parent's full legal name, date of birth, Medicare card number, current address, and a clear description of the specific daily activities where they need help. You must have your parent's explicit permission to apply on their behalf, unless you hold an active Enduring Power of Attorney.

For medical home care through the Extra-Mural Program, your parent's physician or nurse practitioner can make a direct referral, or the family can request services online through the Medavie Care Coordination Centre.

Step 2: The Assessments

Once Social Development opens a file, two assessments begin in parallel.

A regional social worker schedules an in-home functional assessment to evaluate your parent's physical mobility, cognitive status, home safety, and existing support network. This visit determines the level of care your parent needs — from subsidized home support to nursing home placement.

If the family is applying for subsidized care, a financial needs assessor conducts a separate financial assessment. The fastest route is to consent to the Canada Revenue Agency partnership program, which allows Social Development to retrieve your parent's tax data electronically within 24 hours. Otherwise, the family must manually submit two years of tax returns within a strict 30-day deadline.

Step 3: Care Plan and Provider Match

Based on the assessment results, the social worker establishes a formal care plan that determines which services your parent qualifies for and at what cost.

For home care, out-of-pocket costs are calculated under the Standard Family Contribution Policy. Single seniors with net incomes below $27,500 receive fully subsidized home support. Above that threshold, a sliding-scale contribution applies toward the standard contracted agency rate of $30.09 per hour.

For facility placement, the options range from special care homes (supervised residential care, subsidized at $77/day) to nursing homes (24-hour clinical care, co-payments capped at $113/day depending on income).

Step 4: Understanding Your Options

New Brunswick offers a spectrum of care settings, and the right choice depends on where your parent falls on the functional assessment:

• Home support services — personal care workers visit for scheduled shifts to help with bathing, dressing, meals, and light housekeeping
• Self-managed support — the family receives a monthly lump sum to hire their own caregivers, including trusted neighbours or non-resident family members
• Special care homes (Levels 1-2) — supervised residential facilities for seniors who need daily guidance but not 24-hour nursing
• Nursing homes (Levels 3-4) — regulated facilities providing continuous nursing care and clinical supervision

What to Do Right Now

If you are just starting this process, your immediate next steps are: call 1-833-733-7835 to begin the Social Development intake, ask your parent's doctor to refer them to the Extra-Mural Program if medical home care is needed, and start gathering two years of tax documents for the financial assessment.

The New Brunswick Care Decision Guide provides the complete step-by-step pathway through both departments, including assessment preparation checklists, financial worksheets, and a facility comparison matrix.

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