Carleton North Family Health Team to serve an additional 800 patients by the end of 2026

(FLORENCEVILLE-BRISTOL) – Horizon Health Network (Horizon) is pleased to announce the launch of the Carleton North Family Health Team in Florenceville-Bristol as part of its transformative primary care strategy. Physicians at the existing Carleton North Medical Clinic have joined Horizon’s primary care model, enabling them to serve an additional 800 patients who do not currently have a primary care provider within the next 18 months.

The team plans to continue growing over the coming months with the addition of nursing and administrative support as well as several allied health professionals, giving the community access to the services of diabetes educators, social workers, physiotherapists and respiratory therapists. Once these additional resources and supports are in place, the Family Health Team will be equipped to serve all patients in the community who do not currently have a primary care provider and are registered on the provincial waitlist.

“Horizon is excited about this opportunity to partner with the Carleton North Family Health Team to support their continued growth and development,” said Margaret Melanson, President and CEO of Horizon. “This is a great example of our primary care strategy in action. We are collaborating closely with the team at this existing clinic to co-create a Family Health Team with access to administrative services and allied health professionals to better serve the local community.”

Dr. Stuart Lockhart, Physician Lead of the Carleton North Family Health Team, says that in this calendar year alone, the clinic has grown to serve an additional 250 patients who did not previously have a primary care provider and were on the provincial waitlist. By the end of 2026, Dr. Stuart Lockhart says his team will be able to add an additional 800 patients without a primary care provider living in the Carleton North community. By 2029, all New Brunswick residents who do not currently have a primary care provider will have access to primary care.

“I’m pleased to partner with Horizon and the Government of New Brunswick to increase our team’s capacity,” he said. “This will give us the opportunity to bring in the additional staff we need to deliver enhanced primary care in our area. Our vision is that every patient in our community will have access to primary care.” 

Premier Susan Holt says this announcement is an important step forward in the provincial government’s goal of improving timely access to primary care for New Brunswickers.

“This family health team has become a reality thanks to the determination and collaboration between the community, health professionals, and both local and provincial government,” said Premier Susan Holt. “Together, we are working hard to improve New Brunswickers timely access to healthcare where and when they need it through the expansion and creation of family health teams.”

“Team-based primary care provides better access and better care for patients, and it’s the model that works best for primary care providers,” said Health Minister John Dornan. “We’ve seen that physicians are on board with this approach, from new graduates entering our system to those who are at the end of their careers. In this case, the Family Health Team model is what helped recruit an additional physician here, and we’re pleased that family physicians in the area who wish to practise on a part-time basis will be part of this team. I’d like to recognize family physician Dr. Stuart Lockhart for his leadership and his vision for adopting the team-based model.”

About Family Health Teams

Horizon’s transformative primary care strategy will establish Family Health Teams across the province, aiming to match all New Brunswickers who live in areas served by Horizon with a local team of collaborative health care providers by 2029. This best practice approach will provide better access and an improved patient experience by bringing together different health care practitioners with a variety of competencies, skills, and experiences to address the needs of the patients they serve. Family Health Team members will include a range of physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, allied health professionals and medical office assistants.

Currently, nine Family Health Teams are in early stages of development. At the same time, Horizon’s 46 existing Community Health Centres are undergoing improvements and transformations to increase access and optimize capacity to serve patients within the Family Health Team model.

New Brunswickers who do not have a primary care provider should continue to register with the provincial patient waitlist (NB Health Link). As new local Family Health Teams are established, New Brunswickers registered on this list will be contacted and matched with a team in their community.   Horizon will share regular progress updates at www.horizonnb.ca/primary-care. 

– 30 –