CPHA and PHA-NBPEI Raise Alarm over Reassignment of Public Health Nurses in New Brunswick
The Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA) and the Public Health Association of New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island (PHA-NBPEI) are sounding the alarm over the Horizon Health Network’s plan to reassign 90% of public health nurses to hospital settings and replace them with licensed practical nurses (LPNs). The Associations warn that this decision will erode the province’s public health capacity and jeopardize the delivery of essential community-based services.
“Public health nurses are the first line of defense in our health system,” said Ian Culbert, CPHA’s Executive Director. “They prevent illness, contain outbreaks, support families, and reach people who are often left behind. Reassigning them to acute care settings may ease short-term staffing pressures, but it will compromise the province’s ability to respond to long-term health needs.”
Public health nurses are specially trained in population health, immunization, communicable disease control, harm reduction, school health, and health promotion. Their community-based expertise is distinct from the clinical work performed in hospitals—important though both are.
“We value the essential contributions of licensed practical nurses and recognize the importance of a balanced nursing workforce,” said Culbert. “But public health nurses bring specialized skills and experience that cannot be replaced overnight. Just as you wouldn’t substitute a family practice nurse for a surgical nurse without consequence, reassigning public health nurses without a plan to preserve their expertise risks undermining core public health services. This isn’t about choosing one role over another—it’s about protecting the knowledge and experience that New Brunswick communities rely on.”
While hospitals are critical to treating illness, a strong public health system is what prevents illness in the first place. Weakening public health in order to support hospitals is a false solution that ultimately puts more strain on the entire system.
CPHA and PHA-NBPEI welcome Premier Susan Holt’s decision to pause the reassignment of public health nurses and her call for meaningful consultations. We urge the Horizon Health Network to fully engage public health experts, frontline workers, and community stakeholders in shaping any future changes. Strengthening the public health workforce is not only essential to health equity and system sustainability—it is vital to ensuring that communities remain safe, healthy, and resilient.