Designation designed to quickly move as many ALC hospital patients into long-term care as possible<\/p>\n
Published Jul 21, 2025 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 Last updated 11\u00a0hours ago \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 2 minute read<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n You can save this article by registering for free here<\/a>. Or sign-in<\/a> if you have an account.<\/p>\n Bathurst\u2019s Chaleur Regional Hospital is moving to a \u201ccritical state\u201d protocol for next 30 days, joining four Horizon Health Network facilities that were given the same designation last week.<\/p>\n Advertisement 2<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.Get exclusive access to the e-Edition, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.Support local journalism and the next generation of journalists.<\/p>\n SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.Get exclusive access to the e-Edition, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.Support local journalism and the next generation of journalists.<\/p>\n REGISTER \/ SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to keep reading.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one account.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite journalists.<\/p>\n THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authors<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n The move, which was approved by the Department of Social Development, means alternate level of care (ALC) patients in Bathurst\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Vitalit\u00e9 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis prioritization is a step toward easing the strain, but it\u2019s not a full solution,\u201d Social Development Minister Cindy Miles said in a government press release announcing the news. <\/p>\n \u201cWe recognize the urgent and pressing circumstances we\u2019re facing. We know that seniors deserve better than long hospital stays. That\u2019s why our government remains focused on delivering timely, appropriate care, ensuring people are supported when \u2013 and where \u2013 it matters most.\u201d<\/p>\n Morning Email Telegraph-Journal<\/p>\n Thanks for signing up!<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Advertisement 3<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n 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\u2019s beds are currently occupied by ALC patients waiting for placement in long-term care.<\/p>\n \u201cThis measure aims to prioritize patients who no longer require hospital care but are awaiting placement in a facility better suited to their condition,\u201d Desrosiers wrote. \u201cOur goal is to ensure that a bed is available quickly for each person requiring acute care. Prolonging a patient\u2019s hospitalization beyond what is necessary can pose risks to their health and hinder their recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n 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 \u201clong-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,\u201d and expanding the Nursing Home Without Walls program.<\/p>\n Advertisement 4<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Discussing the issue last week, Premier Susan Holt said that the \u201cdemographic storm\u201d of an aging population and the former Higgs government\u2019s failure to improve access to primary care has left New Brunswick \u201cbehind the eight ball\u201d on the health file.<\/p>\n 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 \u201cspin doctors than actual doctors.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Share this article in your social network<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Breadcrumb Trail Links New BrunswickNewsNorthern N.B.The IssuesHealth care Designation designed to quickly move as many ALC hospital patients…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16972,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[49,48,84,392],"class_list":["post-16971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-health","tag-healthcare"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16971","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16971"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16971\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"hospital\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0721-lb-hospital.jpg\")
Chaleur Regional Hospital in Bathurst is pictured in this file photo. BRUNSWICK NEWS ARCHIVEArticle content<\/p>\n![\"Telegraph-Journal\"](\"https:\/\/dcs-static.gprod.postmedia.digital\/19.1.5\/websites\/images\/identity\/logo-identity-tj.svg\"){kind=logo}
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