Kamloops will be getting 100 new long-term care home beds to be funded by the B.C. government.

That’s part of 495 new long-term care beds announced today for Kamloops, Kelowna, Vernon, Penticton and Nelson.

Health Minister Adrian Dix says the requests for proposal for contractors to build those new spaces have gone out today.

“Those proposals would come forward in the fall, they’ll be assessed in the fall, and announcements on the successful proponents will be made in December. And in all of those communities, that will increase significantly, and then we’re going to start building in the beginning of 2021. So across those communities you’re going to see significant improvements in care,” Dix says.

“The location will be determined during the request for proposal process. It would be my expectation given the sizes and the economies of scale that those 100 beds will likely be located on one site. And the site that will be selected will be selected in the RFP process.”

This comes as Dix says there will be 28 per cent more people aged 75 and older across the southern Interior, within the next five years.

“That is a substantial, enormous increase in the number of people over 75. Not seniors over 65, but over 75. Which is obviously the largest group of people in terms of long-term care.”

The new 495 long-term care beds across the IHA is nearly a 10-per-cent increase from the number of publicly-funded beds available across the Interior; the new beds will bring the new total to 6,550.

A dollar figure for what the new beds will cost to build has not been determined.

495 new long term care beds, including 100 in #Kamloops, is good news. The changes needed to provide the dignified, culturally appropriate and unrushed care seniors deserve, attract more workers, and update public infrastructure must continue @BCGovNews #bcpoli #bcseniors pic.twitter.com/eBYcDLH3h8

— Barb Nederpel (@BNederpel) July 13, 2020