Another N.B. hospital moves to ‘critical state’ status

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New BrunswickNewsNorthern N.B.The IssuesHealth care

Designation designed to quickly move as many ALC hospital patients into long-term care as possible

Published Jul 21, 2025  •  Last updated 11 hours ago  •  2 minute read

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Chaleur Regional Hospital in Bathurst is pictured in this file photo. BRUNSWICK NEWS ARCHIVEArticle content

Bathurst’s Chaleur Regional Hospital is moving to a “critical state” protocol for next 30 days, joining four Horizon Health Network facilities that were given the same designation last week.

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The move, which was approved by the Department of Social Development, means alternate level of care (ALC) patients in Bathurst’s hospital who are waiting to be placed in a long-term care facility will move to the top of the wait list for the next 30 days.

Vitalité Health Network, which runs the hospital, asked for the designation shortly after the province granted it for the Horizon Health Network hospitals in Saint John, Fredericton, Waterville and Miramichi. 

“This prioritization is a step toward easing the strain, but it’s not a full solution,” Social Development Minister Cindy Miles said in a government press release announcing the news.

“We recognize the urgent and pressing circumstances we’re facing. We know that seniors deserve better than long hospital stays. That’s why our government remains focused on delivering timely, appropriate care, ensuring people are supported when – and where – it matters most.”

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In her request to get the status for Chaleur Regional Hospital, president and CEO Dr. France Desrosiers said that 47 per cent of the facility’s beds are currently occupied by ALC patients waiting for placement in long-term care.

“This measure aims to prioritize patients who no longer require hospital care but are awaiting placement in a facility better suited to their condition,” Desrosiers wrote. “Our goal is to ensure that a bed is available quickly for each person requiring acute care. Prolonging a patient’s hospitalization beyond what is necessary can pose risks to their health and hinder their recovery.”

The press release listed a number of initiatives being taken to ease the strain on the hospital system, including speeding up the alternate-level-of-care assessment process, introducing “long-term care co-ordinators to improve service access and care navigation while ensuring social workers can focus on responsibilities aligned with their scope of practice,” and expanding the Nursing Home Without Walls program.

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Discussing the issue last week, Premier Susan Holt said that the “demographic storm” of an aging population and the former Higgs government’s failure to improve access to primary care has left New Brunswick “behind the eight ball” on the health file.

That prompted a stinging response from Interim Progressive Conservative Leader Glen Savoie, who said Holt is failing to live up to her election promises and has now become more focused on “spin doctors than actual doctors.”

Horizon president and CEO Margaret Melanson told reporters last week that the health authority recently hit a record-high number of 667 ALC patients in hospital waiting for placement. More than half could leave the hospital immediately if they had somewhere to go, she said.

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