FREDERICTON – Green Party leader and MLA for Fredericton Lincoln David Coon is calling on the Holt government to reverse the decision to eliminate public health nurses in Horizon and offer them positions in hospitals.
Public health nurses in Horizon were informed on Wednesday that they were to be replaced by Licensed Practical Nurses, to make them available to work in hospitals, something many haven’t done since they were in training prior to graduation.
“This isn’t just a staffing change, it’s a dismantling of the public health infrastructure that supports primary and preventative care in our communities,” said Coon. “Their roles are not optional. They are foundational to keep people well before they get sick. To eliminate them is not only short-sighted, but dangerous and disrespectful. LPNs are very valuable and can do a lot of things, but they have neither the training nor experience to replace public health nurses.”
These Registered Nurses—many of whom have decades of experience and have earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, public health certification and a master’s in public health—are the public health nurses who have led immunization programs, responded to disease outbreaks, run sexual health and harm reduction clinics, supported families through well-baby clinics, and delivered essential public health education.
“This is not elbows up, this is blinders on,” said Coon. “Who is going to work on preventative health care when we have among the highest rates of chronic illness? We have a teenage pregnancy rate that is almost twice the national average. We have among the highest rates of obesity in the country. The Holt government should be increasing funding to the front-line services provided by public health nurses, not eliminating them.”