The mayor of Grand Manan said a new virtual health care delivery system is working well for those living on the island as Horizon Health Network (HHN) confirms the pilot is being extended.
Teladoc Health Canada offers residents virtual access to physicians. It has been extended until June 2027.
“There is a specified number of nights through the week, I think it’s three, where there is service available,” Morse said.
Morse said the doctor is present virtually, but nurses will assist with testing and examination.
“For Grand Manan, it is particularly important because the doctors we have on the island are family doctors, not necessarily emergency doctors,” she said. “I have heard really positive feedback from the community.”
She said, anecdotally, people have told her the system works well. Before the extension was confirmed, Morse said she hoped the pilot would continue.
Grand Manan is isolated in the Bay of Fundy and is about 30 kilometres away from mainland New Brunswick.
“Where we don’t have a doctor on site all the time, it provides that extra level of comfort and security,” Morse said.
The island also recently built a permanent hangar for an air ambulance, following challenges with full-time service. Ambulance New Brunswick contracted with Voyageur Aviation. A King Air 200 is stationed on the island to transport patients in urgent medical need.
The program was originally launched at the Charlotte County Hospital (CCH) in St. Stephen and Sussex. Health Minister Dr. John Dornan said in June 2025, when answering questions in the Legislative Assembly that the pilot had been terminated early in Sussex and was moved to Grand Manan.
Back in August, The Courier contacted Horizon to confirm the extension. At the time, it did not provide confirmation. On Sept. 29, the health authority confirmed the pilot would be extended at both the Grand Manan Hospital (GMH) and the Charlotte County Hospital.
“This decision reflects our commitment to innovation and to ensuring that patients in rural communities are able to access safe, quality care and services close to home,” Greg Doiron, Horizon’s vice president of clinical operations, said in a release. “This pilot has shown us that virtual care, when used thoughtfully and as a complement to in-person coverage, can make a real difference in the lives of patients and the health care teams who serve them.”
According to Horizon, the virtual service will be available three nights a week. It will provide evening and overnight coverage at the GMH and afternoon service at the CCH.
The health authority said 2,200 patients have been seen by a virtual physician since June 2025.
“Ninety-six per cent of patients who were seen virtually at GMH, for example, were fully treated by the virtual physician, resulting in significantly fewer patients leaving the emergency department without being seen,” the release said.
