News/Canada/New Brunswick

Dyllan Taylor Humphrey spent most of a recent Saturday walking the streets of Moncton in search of her homeless younger brother.Eventually, she found him in the parking lot of a convenience store, digging through a garbage bag."It's a strange thing to love somebody with an addiction, but it's a crazier thing to walk a moment — not in their shoes —  but in their environment," she said.Her brother, whom CBC News has agreed not to name, has struggled with drug addiction for 12 years and been homeless since last fall. Taylor Humphrey lives in Belleisle, about 150 kilometres southwest of Moncton. When she heard from people who've been keeping an eye on her brother that he wasn't doing well, she drove to the city to make sure he was alive."I felt scared and just disbelief that this is how he's l...

Dr. Sophia Halassy couldn't be happier. The 32-year old bilingual obstetrician-gynecologist is settling into a new job at the Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre in Moncton, helping to tackle a years-long waiting list of patients. This is a homecoming for Halassy, her husband and their two young daughters. After more than a decade of medical school, residency and employment in the United States, she was eager to get her family back on Canadian soil.While Halassy had long harboured hopes of returning to her native New Brunswick, it was the swing to the political right in the U.S. that provided the final push, she said. The reversal of the landmark 1973 case Roe v. Wade, which established a constitutional right to abortion in the U.S., was a turning point for her."That was in 20...

Horizon Health has unveiled what the Holt government is calling the first of 30 promised collaborative care clinics that aim to transform the delivery of primary care in New Brunswick.Horizon's existing clinic on Fredericton's north side will expand this summer to take on 1,600 more patients using a "family health team" model developed by the health authority. It will give patients access to an even broader range of health professionals within the clinic, who will be able to treat more problems and steer more people away from expensive emergency care at the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital."If I take care of a patient well in my practice, the chance of them ending up in the emergency department for preventable issues is very, very small," said Dr. Ravneet Comstock, who is helping ove...

After sustaining a spinal cord injury in a motor vehicle accident, Josh Nevers is learning to walk again, even though he doesn't have much feeling in his legs.A patient at the Stan Cassidy Centre for Rehabilitation at the Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital in Fredericton, one aspect of his physiotherapy sessions has especially made a difference: a robotic suit  called an exoskeleton, or more fully, the EksoNR Robotic Exoskeleton."It feels pretty amazing to walk with it again because you're actually moving your legs like you are walking," Nevers said."I hope it gets me so I can use my leg braces again."Physiotherapist Erica de Passillé said the exoskeleton allows patients to get more steps in than they normally would be able to. (Michael Heenan/CBC)Physiotherapist Erica de Passillé said the exo...

When Susannah McKenzie-Sutter heard her cousin in Ontario needed a kidney transplant, the 28-year-old Saint John woman didn't hesitate to offer one of hers.She hasn't kept in close touch with McKenzie Smith in recent years but has fond childhood memories of spending summers with her "cool older cousin." Preliminary blood tests showed she's a good match.But McKenzie-Sutter quickly learned her plans could be thwarted because she's one of thousands of New Brunswickers without a family doctor.The hospital in London, Ont., where the transplant would be done, told her she cannot donate — or even get tested to confirm she's a good candidate — without having a family doctor or a nurse practitioner.WATCH | 'That was a big, big shock.' Cousin’s gift of life-changing kidney almost blocked by family d...

The New Brunswick government has begun the "data analysis phase" of its investigation into undiagnosed neurological symptoms affecting hundreds of people in seven provinces and whether environmental substances, such as heavy metals and pesticides, are a factor.Dr. Yves Léger, the chief medical officer of health, made the announcement during a briefing in Fredericton Thursday.His office has now received completed enhanced surveillance forms for 222 of nearly 400 patients from Dr. Alier Marrero, the Moncton neurologist who first sounded the alarm about a possible mystery disease several years ago, he said.Staff believe this is "enough complete and verified patient data" to begin the next phase of the investigation, he said. "I'm therefore glad to say that that activity is now underway with t...

Around 10:45 on the morning of Feb. 25, Lee Goguen asked her father if he had any last requests.The death that was coming to 70-year-old Gerald Goguen was the death he had chosen weeks in advance and his wife of 41 years had chosen to go with him.   Diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2008, Gerald's health had started to deteriorate sharply in the months leading up to Christmas. Coby Goguen, 62, also had cancer that had spread and eaten into her bones. Both were racked with pain and wanted out. Lee said she wanted to see her parents relieved of their suffering and was grateful they had the option to end their lives on their own terms.   Coby and Gerald were married 41 years. Their daughter chose this photo for their obituary notice. (Submitted by Lee Goguen)"I got a lot of closure from it,"...

An advocate for New Brunswickers suffering from unexplained neurological symptoms says a letter obtained by CBC News suggests Health Minister Dr. John Dornan wasn't truthful about his role in the removal of a Moncton neurologist from his post at the clinic treating many of the patients.The letter dated July 4, 2022, shows it was Dornan — then CEO of the Horizon Health Network — who informed Dr. Alier Marrero his participation in the Moncton Interdisciplinary Neurodegenerative Diseases Clinic would soon cease."Despite our repeated attempts to inform you of our expectations and the deficiencies in your performance, you have not demonstrated a sustained ability to meet our expectations," Dornan wrote.Dornan is now overseeing Premier Susan Holt's pre-election pledge as Opposition leader to lau...