A Quarter of Progress: A Look at the Latest Advancements at Vitalité Health Network
Vitalité Health Network is proud to release its latest quarterly report to the community, covering the period from January 1 to March 31, 2025.
The first part of the year was notably marked by positive recruitment outcomes and sustained efforts to improve access to primary health care and patient flow.
Tangible Progress in Family Health Teams
The Family Health Team model continues to take shape: 25 teams are now active across 13 communities, providing care to an additional 28,012 patients.
New teams have been established in Dieppe, Shippagan, and Campbellton. Thanks to collaborative practices such as shared electronic records, increased administrative support, and task delegation to other professionals, most teams have expanded their patient rosters.
Several teams are now meeting rapid access targets: 5 teams offer regular appointments in less than five days, and 15 teams manage minor emergencies within 48 hours.
In the Edmundston and Dieppe regions, initiatives are underway to strengthen collaboration with community pharmacists and physiotherapists.
Meanwhile, the co-development process continues for six upcoming teams in the Bathurst, Campbellton, Baie-des-Hérons, Grand-Bouctouche/Beaurivage, and Hautes-Terres regions.
Prioritizing Patient Flow for Community Care
The Network has also intensified actions to improve the pathway for hospitalized patients awaiting care or services in community settings.
The goal: to free up beds for acute care, reduce hospital occupancy rates, and shorten average lengths of stay. Targeted initiatives have been rolled out across all four zones, including team training and the implementation of best practices such as proactive discharge planning from admission and daily management reviews to swiftly identify barriers to safe community discharge.
Close collaboration continues with our partners to ensure patients transition smoothly to suitable short-term or long-term care settings.
Recruitment: Sustained Momentum to Better Serve Communities
In 2024, 45 new physicians joined the Network, and 13 additional physicians were recruited in the first three months of 2025.
A major milestone was reached with the success of the first cohort of internationally trained family physicians completing the Practice Readiness Assessment: four are now practicing in the Restigouche area and one in the Chaleur region.
The nursing sector also recorded strong results, with 309 hires compared to 171 departures in 2024, reflecting the positive impact of local and international recruitment strategies.
Other Report Highlights
• Launch of an innovative national telepathology project to train future pathologists in digital tools and new diagnostic interpretation technologies.
• The Northwest Zone hospitals received the first "Baby-Friendly" designation in New Brunswick.
• The collaborative nursing model increased direct patient care time from 5.1 hours to 7 hours per day in medicine, surgery, and long-term care units.
• A new partnership was signed with the Cataract Institute to improve access to surgeries in Southeast New Brunswick.
For more information, please consult our full quarterly report, available online.
The report will be presented at the public Board of Directors meeting on Tuesday, April 29 at 1:30 p.m. at Hyatt Place (1000 Main Street, Moncton) or virtually via Zoom.
A question period will follow the meeting. Those wishing to submit questions in advance can send them to:
Journalists seeking interviews can contact:
