2023: A turning point in the health care system transformation
Message from Dr. France Desrosisers, CEO of Vitalité Health Network
In 2022, the health sector was often the focal point of the news. Some will say that the health care system is in crisis, that it is itself sick: overcrowded emergency rooms and hospitals, labour shortages, and challenges related to primary health care access. The challenges are indeed real.
However, it is in times of turmoil that we see true heroes emerge. The health care professionals, staff and volunteers are certainly the heroes of the hour. Despite difficult conditions created by the labour shortage, these people continue to provide care and comfort to patients with heart and compassion.
While Vitalité Health Network is committed to improving its staff employee experience, we are encouraging the public to recognize our heroes, to show them respect, despite the difficulties that are occurring, and to value the health professions to ensure a next generation.
Let’s also use the momentum of the New Year to imagine a more effective health care system focused on excellence, collaboration, and community engagement.
This vision of integrated health care is already starting to take root in the Inkerman to Miscou region. Developed in the community, from the needs of its citizens, this collaborative approach fosters access to primary health care, from prevention to coordination of follow-up, and contributes to the improvement of chronic illness control, and by the same token, a reduction in the need for visits to the emergency department and hospitalizations.
While hospitals have traditionally occupied a central place in the health care system, the proposed model places greater emphasis on community services, both for referral and follow-ups. In the same way, physicians were often the only health care providers. This model relies on the collaboration of interdisciplinary teams (physicians, nurses, pharmacists, physiotherapists, psychologists, social workers, and other practitioners) to support people in their health journey and not solely on physicians.
Developed from evidence on populational health, this winning practice will be deployed in other parts of Vitalité Health Network in 2023. This is an initiative full of hope for the future of health care. Moreover, I am convinced that this collaborative model, which engages communities, can mark the start of the transformation of a system in crisis that barely meets the needs of an ageing population into an innovative health care system that is the pride of all New Brunswick.
In this effective health care system, patients and families always remain the priority, health care professionals are recognized and valued, communities are engaged in the prevention and delivery of health care and services, and, when acute care is necessary, hospitals are ready to provide it by meeting the highest quality standards.
This is to what we need to aspire. May 2023 be a decisive turning point in the transformation of the health care system!
Happy New Year everyone. Here’s to good health!
Dr. France Desrosiers
CEO, Vitalité Health Network
