Horizon Health Network

David Fischer, after a three-year wait, was matched with a primary care provider at the Saint John Uptown Health Centre, which opened in 2021 with six nurse practitioners. However, he was later re-added to the wait list when his provider left, reducing the clinic's nurse practitioners to two. Horizon Health Network confirmed the clinic now has a physician, pharmacist, and social worker to assist, but Fischer remains frustrated. The new Liberal government plans to expand primary care access by establishing 30 new collaborative care clinics, but concerns remain about staffing and the impact on existing services.

An Oct. 8 event at Lily Lake Pavilion in Saint John, modelled after Dragons' Den and Shark Tank, saw eight researchers pitch health care delivery projects to patient partners for funding from the Centre for Research in Integrated Care (CRIC) at UNB. The event aimed to foster patient-oriented research and engage patients as research partners, with four UNB master's students and four early career researchers presenting. The patient panellists, selected for their diverse backgrounds and experience, awarded grants to Veinot, Duffie, Demont, and Kent. The event highlighted the importance of integrating patient advisors into research.