Eastern region: only one state nursing home operates — in Berovo
Despite having the oldest population, the Eastern region waits for homes in Shtip, Kochani and Probishtip; Kochani's cornerstone was recently laid.
The Eastern region of North Macedonia has the country's oldest population on paper, but only one state-run nursing home operates there — in Berovo. Hundreds of people across Berovo and the wider Bregalnica region remain on waiting lists, highlighting the scale of the need.
Local plans foresee additional facilities in Shtip, Kochani and Probishtip, but progress has been uneven. The only site where construction formally moved forward is in Kochani: "the cornerstone was recently laid" and the building is expected to be completed in three years.
Shtip has no nursing home today. The long-planned project for the town centre has stalled and, according to municipal sources, has been "stalled for more than ten years" without a finished facility.
Change of plans in Probishtip
Plans in Probishtip were revised: an earlier idea to adapt part of the Health Centre into a home with capacity for 54 users is no longer on the table. Authorities now propose a completely new project at a different site.
Experts and institutional representatives underline that care homes are no longer only a social service but essential infrastructure — particularly in areas where young people emigrate in large numbers. The demographic shift, they say, increases immediate demand for residential elder care.
Until new facilities open, the state home in Berovo remains the sole functioning institution in the eastern part of the country, bearing most of the regional demand for now.
Photo: press material from the event
