Memramcook-Tantramar MLA Megan Mitton is hosting a town hall session with Horizon Health officials next week in Sackville. The Future of Our Healthcare meeting will take place on Tuesday, July 18, from 6:30-8:30pm at the Tantramar Veterans Memorial Civic Centre. Mitton will be joined by Margaret Melanson, CEO of Horizon Health Network, and possibly some other Horizon staffers.

There will be plenty to talk about. This summer, Sackville is losing two family doctors, further adding to the primary care crunch that’s happening across the region and the province. Horizon has promised to open a temporary primary care clinic in the town to help cover that gap. There are also changes afoot at the Sackville Memorial Hospital as they make room for a future class of nurses from the yet-to-be-accredited Beal University Canada nursing program. And the reduction in emergency room services at Sackville Memorial Hospital continues, with the ER open only 8 hours a day, from 8am to 4pm.

Mitton says the impetus for a healthcare-focused meeting came out of another community meeting she held in May, where healthcare was one of the key topics. “I do hope that this will be an opportunity for there to be really direct, transparent communication,” says Mitton, “to help people understand what exactly is happening right now, and to be able to ask questions.”

Mitton says she and Melanson will present briefly, and then move to a Q&A session. The meeting will be mostly in English with a portion in French, and people will be able to ask questions in the either official language.

Mitton says the focus of the meeting is primary care, but the hospital will also figure into the discussion. “It’s hard to narrow down because there are a lot of different healthcare issues,” says Mitton. “The focus will be on accessing primary care, but I have asked what’s happening with the hospital,” says Mitton. “What are the short, medium and long term plans around primary care but also these these clinics and hospitals where we receive our care?”

Mitton says she’s also asked Melanson to not focus solely on Sackville, but also to address what’s happening throughout the region, including Strait Shores, Tantramar and Memramcook.

For those who cannot attend in person, CHMA will broadcast audio from the meeting live on 106.9FM and chmafm.com.