Province announces $2 million for mother and child care unit at Edmundston Hospital

The New Brunswick government announced $2 million in funding Sunday to create a mother and child care unit at the Edmundston Regional Hospital.

The project will involve merging the pediatric unit with obstetrical services, on the second floor of the hospital.

The goal is to improve patients' access to services, according to a press release issued by the Department of Health.

Right now, the two units are on separate floors of the hospital, meaning that sometimes mothers have to take the elevators just to be with their babies, explained GisleBeaulieu, vice-president of performance, quality and corporate services forVitalitHealth Network.

"I think it's logical to integrate both units into one," she said.

She said the funding is an important step to making the changes to the hospital a reality so that mothers and their children can have access to services in one place.

Premier Brian Gallant, who attended Sunday's news conference at the hospital, said the funding will help Edmundston families "be as healthy as possible."