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Albert County residents will now have to travel further to access X-ray services after the only technologist position was left vacant
Published Dec 22, 2025 • Last updated 4 hours ago • 3 minute read
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Horizon Health Network confirmed its X-ray technologist position at the Albert County Community Health Centre is currently vacant, meaning residents will now have to travel outside of Albert County for services until the position is filled. BRUNSWICK NEWS ARCHiVESArticle content
Albert County residents will now have to travel for X-ray services after the local health centre lost its only technologist.
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Phillipa Munari, a Riverside-Albert resident, said she went to the Albert County Community Health Centre on Dec. 11 to get an X-ray for a dislocated clavicle and the technologist told her it was her last day.
The technologist had told Munari she was leaving because her contract had expired and the new contract had several changes, including not being compensated for mileage for traveling to the Albert County clinic 2-3 times a week.
Celina Bountalas, Horizon Health Network’s regional director of medical imaging, said in a statement “the X-ray technologist position that supports service delivery at Horizon’s Albert County Community Health Centre (ACCHC) is currently vacant, and we are actively recruiting to fill this position and restore access to these services in Albert County as soon as possible.”
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Bountalas said X-ray services in other communities have not been disrupted.
She noted that patients who usually use the Albert County centre can continue to access X-ray services at other locations in the region by self-booking an appointment at the facility and time that works best for them.
The closest locations that offer X-ray services are Moncton or Sussex, both of which are close to an hour away.
When asked about the changes to the contract, Bountalas said in a statement “There has been no change to the rate of pay for this position. Travel expenses are covered for this position under Horizon’s standard travel policy.”
Munari said she worries about Albert County residents losing the X-ray service, particularly seniors and others who are unable to get transportation into Moncton.
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Additionally, Munari said she and her family avoid traveling to Moncton for medical services because of the long wait times and she knows other residents who do the same.
She also fears about the health authority having trouble recruiting for the technologist position, given the rural location of the clinic.
“It’s going to be really hard to find somebody to come out here if they are not from the area,” she said, noting it could also be difficult to replace other health professionals in Albert County, like family doctors, as they grow older and retire in the coming years.
Munari said she has shared her concerns in emails to the premier’s office, the health minister, and Albert-Riverview MLA Sherry Wilson.
Wilson said she spoke to Horizon CEO Margaret Melanson, who told her she wasn’t aware of the technologist vacancy at the Albert County health centre, but had said she will look into it.
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“This is something I will certainly fight to bring back because my people in my riding need it,” Wilson said. “They spent quite a bit of money upgrading the facility in Riverside-Albert and they need to make sure it’s manned properly.”
The MLA said she also knows many seniors in her riding who would have trouble getting to Moncton and are wanting the service to stay in their community.
Wilson said she understands the difficulty recruiting personnel for a smaller rural health centre and hopes a new technologist is hired so the X-ray service can resume.
Health Minister John Dornan said in a statement the Department of Health is aware of a current vacancy for a diagnostic imaging technologist at the Albert County Community Health Centre.
Dornan said the province’s talent recruitment division is supporting Horizon to recruit for this position, so diagnostic imaging services can be restored for Albert County residents as soon as possible.
“The diagnostic imaging technology profession has been identified as a priority health-care occupation in New Brunswick. Various recruitment initiatives to attract and retain these highly skilled professionals are conducted year-round in collaboration between the regional health authorities and the Talent Recruitment Division,” he said.
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