Saint Andrews clinic expansion expected to eliminate doctor waitlist for area: N.B. government

New Brunswick opened the 14th collaborative care clinic in Saint Andrews.

The expansion of a health clinic in Saint Andrews, N.B., is expected to eliminate the waitlist of people in the community and surrounding areas looking for a primary care provider, the province said Monday.

The Saint Andrews Wellness Centre is being renovated to expand capacity, make room for additional services, including blood collection and laboratory services, and add more staff. The collaborative care project is expected to be finished by mid-April.

According to the New Brunswick government, all 603 people from Saint Andrews and neighbouring communities on the NB Health Link waitlist are expected to be attached to the Saint Andrews Wellness Centre in six-to-12 months.

The clinic, which is owned and operated by the Town of Saint Andrews, currently serves about 2,900 attached patients.

The province is giving the Horizon Health Network $1.7 million for the infrastructure upgrades and additional staffing.

“Collaborative care works best when health-care providers, partners and communities work together,” said Health Minister John Dornan in a news release. “With the support of the Town of Saint Andrews and local partners and providers, this clinic will serve as the medical home for residents and connect hundreds of more people to the primary care they deserve in their own community.”

Horizon Health has already hired a phlebotomist and plans to recruit a registered nurse, two licensed practical nurses, a licensed counselling therapist, a patient care attendant and two administrative support staff.

“The team will support the succession planning of one of the centre’s long-standing physicians, who will be transitioning to retirement over the next few years,” said the New Brunswick government.

Premier Susan Holt said improving timely access to primary care is her government’s No. 1 priority. The province has committed to establishing and supporting at least 30 local collaborative care teams across New Brunswick by 2028 and has earmarked $30 million to expand the model in the 2026-27 budget.

Saint Andrews is the 14^th collaborative care clinic announced for New Brunswick since April 2025 and the third this year, following Eastern Charlotte and Nackawic-Millville.

The government said the three collaborative care clinics announced this year will cover all patients within their catchment areas.

“I think it means peace of mind for the New Brunswickers in those regions,” said Holt when asked about the impact on full coverage in a region.

“That’s why we are working extremely hard and we have put our money where our mouth is, with the largest investment in health care, to do just this. Invest in the health-care professionals New Brunswickers deserve and invest in the spaces in community that will eventually see every New Brunswicker attached to a primary care home.”

Primary provider perspective

Dr. Julie Levesque-Taylor has been a practising physician since 2000. When she entered the field, the government at the time had provisions on where new physicians could practise in the province.

Not ready to move to rural New Brunswick to begin her career, Levesque-Taylor moved to Winnipeg, where she stayed for 20 years working in a primary care model.

Upon moving back to Saint Andrews to open a solo practice, she quickly realized how impactful working in a team model can be.

“Here’s the thing that nobody tells you when you go into this business, that you will feel responsible for the care of these people,” Levesque-Taylor said of her patients.

“Which means that when a CT scan comes in on your electronic medical records on a Friday at 4 p.m. and it says there’s a mass there, I don’t just shut down and say, ‘Oh, well, I’ll deal with it when I can.’ I pick up the phone, I call the patients, I talk to them, I bring them in, I do what’s necessary.”

With that comes paperwork for hundreds of patients a day, which results in what Levesque-Taylor calls “administrative burden” for family physicians.

But in the primary care model, the work is spread across physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, office managers, and more. It means physicians can take time away from work, without the worry of the patients.

“It allows you to step away,” she said. “The rest of society expects to work their nine-to-five jobs and then have their time off, their vacation time. I take my laptop everywhere.”

Dornan said, for people looking to move to New Brunswick, knowing they are moving to a community where primary care isn’t an issue can be a big weight off one’s shoulders.

The premier echoed that sentiment, saying the local school in Saint Andrews told her it will help them recruit teachers and other school support staff.

“If they can reassure that new hire that they’re going to be able to get access to primary care for their family, then they can fill that job and we can see the economic activity,” said Holt.

Budget reaction

Monday’s announcement in Saint Andrews comes almost a week after the province tabled a historic $1.4-billion deficit in its 2026-27 budget. The budget was highlighted by a $710-million increase in health spending.

When asked if the high price tag was enough to solve New Brunswick’s health issues, the premier said the province is aging, along with its health infrastructure.

“Sometimes it can be tricky to get the efficiencies that you want out of those systems because people deserve care close to home,” said Holt. “But we know that this is what New Brunswickers need and deserve. We know that to have a healthy economy, you have to have a healthy population, and our government is prepared to invest what it takes to make sure that every New Brunswicker has access to the care they need.”

In terms of reaction to her government’s budget, Holt pointed out positive feedback from the health-care field, but didn’t mention feedback in other areas.

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