Horizon to create 5 centres of expertise under 5-year plan

The Horizon Health Network plans to create five new centres of expertise, resulting in more centralized clinical leadership, as one of four priorities outlined in its five-year strategic plan, released on Thursday.

John McGarry, the president and chief executive officer of the health authority, said the new centres will focus on aging and eldercare, neurosciences, maternal/child, oncology and nephrology and will be "designed to provide strong central clinical leadership in our major programs."

"The status quo isn’t working to provide the best care for our patients," said McGarry, who presented the plan to the board during its regularly scheduled meeting in Fredericton.

McGarry says one in four hospital beds is occupied by seniors needing long-term care — not acute care.

"If anything deserves a summit in the next 30 to 60 days, it's to have all the players come together and try to deal with that," he said. "I'm talking clinicians, administrators, nursing homes, long term care and special care homes, and government and social development, and all those people. Something needs to happen right now."

But the approved plan will improve overall health-care outcomes, increase recruitment of medical professionals and drive research and innovation, said McGarry.

He added that Horizon plans to more than triple its current research capacity and become a leader in medical research in Atlantic Canada.

The plan, which was called Horizon Health Network and Partners: A Healthier Future for New Brunswick, was developed over the past 13 months in consultation with patients and their families, staff, physicians, stakeholders and communities, said McGarry.

The new centres of expertise "will help us provide the best and safest quality care for patients in all settings by leveraging professionals who are highly trained and skilled to treat specific illnesses," he said.

The health authority president also reaffirmed Horizon's commitment to the New Brunswick Heart Centre in Saint John and the Stan Cassidy Centre for Rehabilitation in Fredericton.

Details about how exactly the centres will work were not immediately available, but despite the increased centralization, New Brunswickers will still have access to the services they need in their community, according to the statement.

Care models will also be changed

Part of the plan includes changing the current care models in order to enhance the care provided to patients and their families.

"Horizon is committed to advocate loudly to break down barriers and create models that meet those needs," said McGarry.

Improving access to community-based primary care and support complex tertiary services required by an aging population is another priority.

"Dealing with certain disease entities that you can deal with better in the community," McGarry said. "If you take your resources out of the hospital and put them out there. That always sounds like a good idea until people get the idea that, if you're taking people out of the hospital, if you're taking care out of the hospital, you're taking jobs out of the hospital."

"We need to take jobs out of the hospital and into the communities. Some people might not want to do that, but frankly, we're not here for the people who work in hospitals, we're here for the people we look after in our hospitals and our communities."

Horizon will reallocate resources to expand community-based primary care to ensure more quality care and services are available "close to home," which will provide better disease management and better care, according to the statement.

Tertiary care services — which are complex, high cost services — require reallocation of resources to support the infrastructure, highly skilled staff and physicians and technology, officials said.

In addition, Horizon will provide a patient- and family-centred care environment, where patients and their families will now be placed at the centre of all decisions relating to health care.

"By consulting with the public, our health care partners, staff, and physicians, we’re confident that the strategic priorities we identified provide real solutions to improve the overall patient experience and health outcomes for New Brunswickers," said McGarry.

"As part of the implementation of this plan, we look forward to regularly communicating with patients and communities to ensure they are receiving the quality care they need," he said.

Horizon will also collaborate with the Vitalité Health Network and other stakeholders to "better serve a common community," he added.