Horizon’s latest Report to Our Communities highlights substantial progress made on critical action priorities

FREDERICTON – Horizon is continuing to achieve positive results from a number of strategic transformation projects that are helping to improve the way we deliver health care services to our patients. 

Our third Report to Our Communities, which was shared at today’s Board meeting, highlights work that has taken place in recent months to address ongoing challenges in the health care system.

Horizon’s four Critical Action Priorities provide the framework for these efforts, with 55 active transformation projects currently underway across 20 departments, five regional hospitals and 11 community sites.

“Guided by our steadfast commitment to our critical action priorities — access to services, patient flow, patient experience, and recruitment and retention — you will see we are building on our successes over the last year, while continuing to address our challenges in thoughtful and innovative ways, and we remain intently focused on improving the overall health care system,” said Margaret Melanson, Horizon’s interim President and CEO.

“I am confident this work will elevate the performance of our organization, with a goal to fully understand the constraints of any given situation, work with our frontline staff and physicians to make strategic choices to solve problems, and always prioritize situations with the highest impact first.”

The Report to Our Communities illustrates the action Horizon has taken – and continues to take each day – as it works to address ongoing challenges in the health care system driven by increased demands for services accelerated by a growing, aging population in New Brunswick and a global competition for physicians and health care workers.

Some highlights from our latest report include:

• Opening of the new Fredericton Urgent Treatment Centre
• Establishment of a formal partnership with a Fredericton-based ophthalmology clinic to increase access to services by performing thousands more cataract surgeries each year
• Renovations to Horizon’s Ridgewood Addiction and Mental Health Services
• A new Imaging Enhancement Centre at Saint John Regional Hospital
• Hiring nearly 2,000 physicians, nurses and allied health professionals since April 1, including net gains of hundreds of nurses
• Launch of a new self-booking pilot for X-ray appointments in Saint John
• Continuing with plans to modernize the role and function of our health centres
• Launch of a virtual reality simulation to help train OR nurses in Horizon hospitals
• Extension of self-scheduling option to all nursing units

Horizon’s Report to Our Communities includes many more examples of innovative initiatives and solutions which have been actioned to enhance access to emergency care, surgeries, addiction and mental health services, as well as improving patient flow in our facilities, providing a better experience for our patients and clients, and prioritizing the retention and recruitment of health care workers, and we encourage New Brunswickers to take the time to read through the report in full.

Horizon has a plan to improve health care in New Brunswick. Our plan is focused on retention and recruitment efforts and improving the overall patient experience by addressing patient flow and access to services. Further details about Horizon’s four priority areas are available at HorizonNB.ca.   This initiative also supports the Government of New Brunswick’s provincial health plan, Stabilizing Health Care: An Urgent Call to Action.

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