New Nordin Family Health Team to serve an additional 1,000 patients in Miramichi over the next two years

(MIRAMICHI) – Horizon Health Network (Horizon) has announced a new Family Health Team will officially open its doors in Miramichi this summer. Within the next two years, the Nordin Family Health Team will serve an additional 1,000 patients who do not currently have a primary care provider.

The team will start by bringing together two physicians who already serve 3,000 patients with an additional two nurse practitioners, a licensed practical nurse (LPN), an office manager and an access coordinator to be added this summer. Plans are in development to add two registered nurses (RNs) and several additional allied health professionals to the team later this year, giving patients access to a physiotherapist, a respiratory therapist and a pharmacist.

“The Nordin Family Health Team will have a meaningful impact on the local community in Miramichi,” said Margaret Melanson, President and CEO of Horizon. “Teams like this one are central to our primary care strategy, as we continue to improve access, enhance patient experience and deliver better health outcomes across the province.”

Premier Susan Holt says this announcement is another positive step toward improving access to primary health care across New Brunswick and building a stronger, more responsive health care system.

“We are committed to improving access to health care for New Brunswickers and we’re proud to see physicians in Miramichi coming together to help care for an additional 1,000 patients,” said Premier Susan Holt. “This means more New Brunswickers in Miramichi can access the right health care service at the right time, close to home.”

Jennifer Curtis, Director, Primary Health Care for Miramichi, says that as the interdisciplinary team grows, it will benefit patients who are already connected to the physicians as well as those who are waiting to be matched with a provider.

“As we continue to build this team and add additional resources, we’ll be able to match more patients from the provincial waitlist,” she said. “This will strengthen access and help ensure that more people in the community can receive the care they need, when they need it.”

By June 2027, the Nordin Family Health Team expects to serve an additional 1,000 Miramichi residents who do not currently have a primary care provider and are registered on the provincial waitlist.

“We’re gaining momentum with creating family health teams to transform how we deliver primary care,” said Health Minister John Dornan. “We look forward to continuing to collaborate with our health care partners to fully embrace this team-based model of care and adding teams in communities across the province.”

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, four Family Health Teams are in various stages of implementation, including Fredericton North, Tantramar, Carleton North and Nordin. An additional five teams are in 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. 

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