The expansion of Woodland Manor is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
The work is to add nine long-term care beds to the facility.
Erin Griffiths, the chief executive officer of the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority, said the nine new beds are for the residents currently located at the extended care unit at H.H. Williams Memorial Hospital.
"Those nine residents will be moving over to Woodland Manor into this new facility," she said.
Griffiths said, while the completion date continues to be Dec. 31, that does not mean the expanded Woodland Manor will be ready to accept the residents on that date.
"Even though we anticipate it to be done Dec. 31, the residents may not move in until early in the New Year because there is some work to be done prior to the residents moving in," she said.
Griffiths noted the health authority will be providing staff with time to implement work flows, to attend training sessions on the new systems in the facility and implement new staffing models prior to the residents moving in.
In addition, furniture and equipment will have to be moved.
Woodland Manor currently has 15 long-term care beds.
With the departure of long-term care patients from H.H. Williams Memorial Hospital, that facility will be closer to being empty.
Most of the health services have already moved to the new Hay River Regional Health Centre, which opened in 2016.
However, there are still 29 people working at H.H. Williams Memorial Hospital – Public Health, Homecare, Social Services, an environmental health officer, and the health authority's finance department and human resources department.
"I don't know the future of the building, but our services will be relocating out of that facility," said Griffiths.
She doesn't know where they will be relocating, noting that is up to the Department of Infrastructure, and the Department of Health and Social Services.
Speaking in the territorial legislature in late September, Health and Social Services Minister Glen Abernethy mentioned the site of H.H. Williams Memorial Hospital as a possible location for a proposed 48-bed long-term care facility.