It’s the end of another full day for Graham Pegg.  He’s just finished the first of three 12-hour shifts on the medical surgical unit at Yarmouth Regional Hospital.  He’s working as an Undergraduate Student Nurse (USN) while studying full time in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program at the Yarmouth Campus of Dalhousie University. 

A nurse is now part of the clinical team that prioritizes 911 calls for an ambulance in Nova Scotia. 

The Emergency Health Services (EHS) Medical Communications Centre is the first in the country to include a nurse, a physician, and a clinical support paramedic.   

* Some names have been changed to protect privacy

It was one day after her 23^rd birthday, and *Jenny knew something was different.  She had been struggling with anxiety since junior high, and lately that escalated to panic attacks.  But this day was different.

Nova Scotia’s ambulance system is trying something new to make sure ambulances staffed by two paramedics are available for the most urgent calls.  

Emergency Health Services (EHS) is testing a new model where a single paramedic responds to the least urgent 911 calls.  It’s called a SPEAR unit – that stands for Single Paramedic Emergency Advanced Life Support and Basic Life Support.  

Just beyond the foyer of the Halifax Infirmary site of the QEII Health Sciences Centre, there’s an unobtrusive room filled with technology and purpose. On the wall, a bank of monitors streams real time data on every patient and the myriad of tests and procedures they need before they leave hospital.  Watching it all is a team of health care workers who analyze the data and intervene to match patien

After 16 years as a pharmacist, Colleen MacInnis was ready to celebrate.  It was February 9, and she and her staff at the TLC Pharmasave in Shelburne were joined by the local MLA for a ribbon-cutting ceremony, marking the opening day as one of 12 Community Pharmacy Primary Clinics in Nova Scotia.

Dr. Robert Oliver never missed his kids’ basketball games because of work -- despite running a busy family practice out of the Woodlawn Medical Clinic in Dartmouth and offering his patients weekend appointments.  This was possible because he teamed up with other local physicians who care for each other’s patients in weekend clinics on a rotating basis. 

Do you know what keeps Nova Scotia Health facilities safe, clean, and able to consistently offer quality services?  In almost every case it can be traced directly back to the 2,400 team members who work in Facilities Support Services (FSS) at Nova Scotia Health.

This large, interconnected team of people work in the areas of environmental services, laundry services, porter services and security.

Creating the best conditions to enhance access to primary health care services is the goal behind a renewed community partnership in Yarmouth.

Harbour South Family Practice on Main Street, Yarmouth has been owned and operated by the Yarmouth Area Industrial Commission and under the medical direction of Dr. Roland Muise and the team since 2006. Starting in August 2023, a new agreement sees Nova Scotia Health support clinic operations while the Industrial Commission continues to maintain the property.

It’s been almost 30 years since Dr. Ken Rockwood and a colleague first proposed a strategy to make sure frail patients move while in the hospital. Now, it’s finally becoming a reality. 

Under Nova Scotia’s Action for Health plan, new staff will be hired to get frail patients out of bed and walking at least three times a day. Evidence shows this simple daily movement means many patients get out of the hospital sooner and can go home rather than to long-term care.