Participants in the three phases of this initiative provided rich feedback to the New Brunswick Health Council. While a great variety of perspectives were provided, the degree of consistency in participants' comments across dialogue sites and across Phases I, II and III highlights a powerful province-wide consensus on a number of key elements which together lay the foundation for a common vision for health care in New Brunswick. Click on any of the following bullet points for greater detail.

• A firm belief in the importance of addressing barriers relating to distance, language, socio-economic status and cost to ensure equitable access to health care services province-wide.
  
  
• Strong endorsement of community health centres, clinics, home-based care (i.e., Extra-Mural Program), Tele-Care and tele-health as strategies for bringing health care closer to citizens and for ensuring that hospitals remain focused on their primary purpose: acute and supportive care, including emergency services.
  
  
• A call for a fundamental paradigm shift towards wellness, health promotion, health literacy and illness prevention (“health care” versus “sick care”) with a particular focus on reducing the incidence of chronic diseases and fostering a “culture of health” early on in childhood.
  
  
• The belief that more must be done to optimize the roles and responsibilities of health care professionals in order to ensure that all available health human resources are used to their full capacity within the framework of the province's public health system.
  
  
• Recognition that the rising costs of health care must be better communicated to citizens and reined in through improved systems and processes, promotion and prevention, more creative use of available public infrastructure and reducing the cost of drugs.
  
  
• A strong sentiment that health care is a valued public good in which citizens and communities alike have a high stake.
  
  
• Strong support for strategies that encourage and empower citizens to take responsibility for their own health.
  
  
• Deep appreciation for the commitment and generosity of the people who make the health system work - front-line health care workers.