New Brunswickers with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other lung conditions now have better access to services that help them manage their health, improve their quality of life and reduce hospital visits.
The Department of Health is investing $1.47 million over three fiscal years (2025-26 to 2027-28) to support free, community-based pulmonary rehabilitation services. These are offered through clinics delivered in partnership with the New Brunswick Community College (NBCC) and Collège communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick (CCNB).
"Improving access to health care is the top priority for our government," said Health Minister John Dornan. "This partnership with NBCC and CCNB is bringing pulmonary rehabilitation closer to home, so more New Brunswickers can get the care they need. These clinics give people important tools and support to stay active and improve their health, while also providing students with valuable hands-on experience that prepares them for careers in health care."
Pulmonary rehabilitation is a best-practice intervention for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other lung conditions. It involves disease-management education and physical therapy to reduce patients' symptoms, improve physical function and support overall well-being. These services are known to prevent hospital admissions.
The clinics have respiratory therapy students and other health-care learners provide services under the supervision of registered clinicians. Participants receive education, personalized exercise plans and ongoing support to help manage their condition.
NBCC has been operating clinics at its Saint John campus, as well as in Sussex and St. Stephen. The school has delivered six nine-week clinics since April 2025, serving nearly 90 participants, with 92 students involved.
Clinics are offered year-round, with participants attending sessions two or three times per week.
"We are incredibly grateful to the government of New Brunswick for their investment in this program," said Ann Drennan, NBCC's vice-president of academic, innovation and student affairs. "What began as a proof of concept has grown into a scalable model that allows learners to gain valuable real-world experience while helping meet the growing demand for accessible health-care services."
Building on research led by its College Office of Research Enterprise and early program results, NBCC has developed a bilingual "how-to" guide to help other institutions establish such clinics. CCNB will be offering pulmonary rehabilitation clinics at its Dieppe campus, starting today, based on the NBCC model, improving access for francophones in the Moncton region.
"We are excited to bring this innovative clinic model to our college," said Diane Sénécal, CCNB's vice-president of academic and student success. "Partnering with NBCC and the government of New Brunswick allows us to build on their proven work while creating new opportunities for our students to learn in real clinical settings and serve the people of southeastern New Brunswick."
