Andrew Heighton News Today

Nova Scotia Health is hosting a rural career fair for its Eastern Zone. Director of Integrated Rural Health, A...

Nova Scotia Health says more medical staff are needed in Cape Breton Regional Municipality's hospitals to take the pressure off the emergency department in neighbouring Victoria County.

A new urgent treatment centre will open soon to replace the emergency department at the hospital in Baddeck, N.S., where scheduling of doctors and nurses has been difficult.

Andrew Heighton, the Nova Scotia Health Director of Integrated Rural Health Services for the eastern zone, said it's accurate to say we're seeing an increase in unscheduled emergency department closures in rural communities across Nova Scotia over the past few years. Overall, he said, the goal is to keep the departments open but the scheduling for

Visitor restrictions will slowly be eased starting Monday, with more people allowed inside. But most of those who are unvaccinated will be turned away for the foreseeable future.

When possible, technology will be used to virtually connect patients with their families or other support people. 

Rules for COVID-19 testing in Nova Scotia are changing. The Nova Scotia Health Authority has developed a new screening system for booking an appointment for a PCR test or to pick up a take home rapid test at COVID testing centres in the province. The NSHA’s COVID-19 Director for Eastern Zone, Andrew Heighton, says priority for […]

There are 68 cases in the eastern zone, 42 cases in the central zone, 11 cases in the northern zone and six cases in the western zone.

  GLACE BAY, N.S. -- It didnt take long to get tested for COVID-19 in Glace Bay, N.S., on Wednesday. A stark contrast to the long line-ups and wait times across the province a month ago. "Provincially, we would like to see around 5,000 or 6,000 tests a day," Andrew Heighton, the COVID response director in Nova Scotias Eastern health zone. Thats a number the province aims for in polymerase chain reaction (PCR) swabs in the lab. Heighton says testing burnout, fewer COVID-19 cases being rep...

Thursday was the first time the Eastern Zone has outpaced the rest of the province with the highest number of COVID-19 cases; 18 were announced Thursday.