All residents in the Tantramar area should have access to primary care services within the next year.
Horizon Health says the family health team at the Tantramar Primary Health Care Centre is expanding.
It currently serves 1,650 patients and plans to add another 1,000 by the end of the year.
“We are thrilled to see the Tantramar Primary Health Care Centre evolve into a robust, interdisciplinary health-care team,” Margaret Melanson, president and CEO of Horizon Health, said in a news release.
“Through collaboration with the community, we have developed a team that is improving access, creating better health outcomes and providing high-quality patient-centred care for Sackville and the surrounding area.”
The clinic first opened in September 2023 following the departure of several physicians and a nurse practitioner in the area, which left 3,000 patients without a primary care provider.
The team has grown significantly over the past year and a half and now includes a physician, two nurse practitioners, two registered nurses, a licensed practical nurse and three administrative staff members.
A number of allied health professionals are also part of the team, including a dietician, pharmacist, social worker and respiratory therapist.
Health Minister John Dornan said the family health team model will help to reduce pressure on the province’s emergency rooms and result in long-term savings.
“The family health team model brings together a team of professionals to provide a health-care home for patients,” Dornan said in the release.
“This is the model that is needed for New Brunswick, not only to improve access to care for patients, but to allow health-care professionals to work to their scope of practice and have the right support to be able to deliver better care.”
Horizon will also be involved in succession planning to prevent any additional patients in the area from being added to the provincial patient waitlist in the event their primary care provider retires or leaves the community
The government has committed to creating at least 30 local collaborative family health teams across the province over four years.
