Virtual care still being floated as solution for Stella-Maris ER<\/p>\n
Published Feb 26, 2026 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 Last updated 1\u00a0day ago \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 5 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 Horizon Health Network says it has extended its contract with Teladoc Health Canada until this fall, following the success of a pilot project in several rural New Brunswick communities.<\/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 In a statement to Brunswick News, Greg Doiron, Horizon\u2019s vice president of clinical operations, said in a statement Teladoc remains in place in emergency departments at the Grand Manan Hospital and Charlotte County Hospital, and the health authority\u2019s agreement with the company has been extended another six months, through to Sept. 30.<\/p>\n Last year, Horizon pulled the plug on a virtual care project at the Sussex Health Centre \u2013 one of two rural hospitals selected for the initiative launched under the former Blaine Higgs Progressive Conservative government.<\/p>\n Horizon moved the virtual care technology over to the Grand Manan Hospital, while maintaining the service in St. Stephen, for the rest of the one-year pilot project.<\/p>\n Doiron has previously called the initial results from the virtual emergency department pilot \u201cpromising.\u201d Grand Manan Mayor Bonnie Morse has also spoken highly of the project.<\/p>\n Advertisement 3<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n The New Brunswick Medical Society has previously come out strongly against virtual care for ERs, arguing it is a waste of government money and has lured some doctors already working in New Brunswick away to Teladoc.<\/p>\n Horizon says 100 per cent of Grand Manan Hospital patients were assessed by a physician after-hours thanks to virtual coverage, compared to 60 per cent when there wasn\u2019t virtual coverage.<\/p>\n The Teladoc service is distinct from the remote virtual care service currently being run by eVisitNB. For that program, the province is currently negotiating with Foundever, a Luxembourg-headquartered firm that beat out eVisitNB through a request-for-proposal process.<\/p>\n Brunswick News asked Horizon, as well as Health Minister John Dornan, if Foundever would ever replace Teladoc for hospital-based virtual care. Dornan said he hadn\u2019t considered it.<\/p>\n Morning Email Telegraph-Journal<\/p>\n Thanks for signing up!<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Advertisement 4<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s two different operations,\u201d Dornan told reporters at an unrelated announcement. He added questions relating to Foundever are \u201cpremature\u201d because a contract has not yet been signed.<\/p>\n Health Department spokesperson Sean Hatchard said in an email the province\u2019s RFP focused specifically on the delivery of virtual services for non-urgent health needs.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was not related to services provided in hospital emergency departments,\u201d said Hatchard.<\/p>\n Horizon gave a similar answer.<\/p>\n \u201cAt this time, there are no plans to adopt Foundever as a virtual care option for (Grand Manan) or (St. Stephen),\u201d Doiron said in his statement.<\/p>\n Virtual care still being floated as solution for Stella-Maris ER<\/p>\n Vitalit\u00e9 Health Network says virtual care is an option to restore ER hours at Stella-Maris-de-Kent Hospital. The health authority previously told Brunswick News it had \u201cinitiated discussions with our colleagues at Horizon Health Network to assess opportunities and potential collaborations\u201d to address the ER staffing issue at Stella Maris.<\/p>\n Advertisement 5<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Vitalit\u00e9 had announced in October that patients will be admitted to the ER until 5 p.m., and services would resume at 8 a.m. the following day, forcing patients to travel to Moncton or Miramichi for after-hours care. Staffing shortages were cited as the reason for the decision.<\/p>\n Brunswick News asked Horizon if Teladoc would be expanded to include Stella-Maris. It deferred the question to Vitalit\u00e9, which told the newspaper in a statement virtual care was \u201cone of the options\u201d being studied, but did not say if it would involve Teladoc.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are exploring different avenues in collaboration with our partners and various suppliers,\u201d said the health authority.<\/p>\n At a public accounts committee Feb. 12, Beausoleil-Grand-Bouctouche-Kent MLA Benoit Bourque asked Vitalit\u00e9 president and CEO Dr. France Desrosiers for an update on virtual care being implemented at Stella-Maris.<\/p>\n Advertisement 6<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re trying to look at different possible providers and we\u2019re trying to find out whether we can do it ourselves through our doctors throughout the network,\u201d said Desrosiers.<\/p>\n Desrosiers said the Stella-Maris team was working with the Dumont\u2019s ER department to \u201creinforce continuation\u201d of care, but did not give any deadline for when 24-hour ER service would resume.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a small team, so if one member leaves there\u2019s major consequences,\u201d she said of Stella Maris, noting ER physicians are highly sought after. \u201cWe have challenges everywhere, even at the Dumont, to fulfill these emergency doctors.\u201d<\/p>\n The hospital has also been without acute care for more than two years. Vitalit\u00e9 had said in January 2024 that acute care beds at the hospital would be gradually converted to palliative and long-term care beds, with acute care patients being transferred to the Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre in Moncton.<\/p>\n Advertisement 7<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Desrosiers said they have a new doctor, who is a recent graduate, coming in the summer.<\/p>\n Bourque asked if the acute care beds would be able to open in the summer if all went, and Desrosiers said \u201cyes,\u201d but did not give an exact timeline for the acute care beds re-opening.<\/p>\n \u201cWe cannot give a date for the moment. They\u2019re recruiting but they don\u2019t have a signed contract,\u201d she said in French.<\/p>\n Vitalit\u00e9 told Brunswick News in its statement that re-opening the acute care beds and restoring the 24 hour ER service continues to remain a \u201cpriority.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe full restoration of operating hours depends directly on our ability to recruit and stabilize a sufficient medical team to ensure safe and sustainable coverage,\u201d said the health authority. \u201cWe are actively working toward this goal, continuing our recruitment efforts at the provincial and national levels.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement 8<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Residents who have spoken out about the ER overnight closures say they have been left in the dark about when the department will return to full services.<\/p>\n Linda Renaud, who helped to organize a letter-writing campaign to elected officials, circulated a petition, and held a public protest held last October, said she has not been able to get a meeting with Vitalit\u00e9 officials or any information on when the ER would return to overnight hours.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s quite frustrating,\u201d she said. \u201cWhy aren\u2019t they telling us? What\u2019s the big deal?\u201d<\/p>\n Though Renaud is pleased that Premier Susan Holt\u2019s government is committed to opening collaborative care clinics to give people access to primary care, she noted there are still gaps in emergency services for Kent County residents because the primary care clinics are not open overnight.<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t solve our problems,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Her group will be getting together to see what other efforts can be done to keep the pressure on Vitalit\u00e9 to act on the need for overnight ER services and acute care.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not going to give up. We\u2019re going to try to figure out something else to let them know we\u2019re still here,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u2013 With files from Barbara Simpson, Andrew Bates\u00a0<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Share this article in your social network<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Breadcrumb Trail Links Moncton to MiramichiNew BrunswickSaint John & SouthThe IssuesHealth care Virtual care still being floated as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":503951,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[49,48,84,392],"class_list":["post-503950","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\/503950","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=503950"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503950\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/503951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=503950"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=503950"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=503950"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Charlotte](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/0223-tt-stella-maris-3.jpg\")
Horizon Health Network said it has extended its contract with Teladoc until the end of September for virtual care services at the ERs of Charlotte County Hospital in St. Stephen and Grand Manan Hospital. The Charlotte County Hospital in St. Stephen is pictured. Photo by ANDREW BATES\/BRUNSWICK NEWSArticle content<\/p>\n![\"Telegraph-Journal\"](\"https:\/\/dcs-static.gprod.postmedia.digital\/20.6.2\/websites\/images\/identity\/logo-identity-tj.svg\"){kind=logo}
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Dr. France Desrosiers, Vitalite Health Network\u2019s president and CEO was unable to provide many details about the re-opening of the acute care beds and overnight ER service at the Stella-Maris-de-Kent Hospital when asked at a public accounts committee meeting on Feb. 12. Photo by Sarah Seeley\/Brunswick News<\/p>\n![\"Linda](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/0223-tt-stella-maris-2.jpg\")
Linda Renaud, a Kent County resident who has helped to organize a petition, letter writing campaign and a protest about the overnight ER closures at the Stella-Maris-de-Kent Hospital said residents feel left in the dark about when the hospital will return to full time ER services and acute care. Photo by Sarah Seeley\/Brunswick News<\/p>\n