Province looks to lend support with wide range of options towards Health Care recruitment in Northern Health region

The BC Government and Northern Health are looking at a
range of options to try and attract health care professionals
to Prince Rupert and many other communities across North BC

Attracting health care professionals to the North will bet a boost from the Provincial Government, with a program announced on Tuesday that will see a range of incentives and initiatives put in place to make working in the Northern Health service areas more attractive for would be employees.

Health Minister Adrian Dix provided for the overview of what the province has in mind to address the staffing issues that are found in any Local health authorities in all regions of Northern Health.

"Every person living in the North deserves to have the best possible health care close to home, when and where they need it. We are helping more people choose the North by providing support for the unique challenges Northern health workers face every day. That includes assistance with travel, housing and childcare, plus real-time access to emergency medicine physicians 24/7.”

Tuesday's information update provided for six key initiatives that will be put in place with approximately 3 million dollars in funding towards the program, three of which specifically mentioned issues of concern for Prince Rupert.

$821,000 to continue the Travel Resource Program (TRP), which supports more than 40 registered nurses (RN) and licensed practical nurses (LPN). 

Offering a flexible community fund of $115,000 that supports patient care delivery to support interdisciplinary teams and the health authority to work together and create a unique approach to address rural obstetrics needs and support 24/7 care for their communities, and helps stabilize care in the northwest (Mills Memorial Hospital in Terrace). 

$225,000 in funding to develop a child care program to support expanded net new child care spots and expanded hours of operation to meet the needs of health-care workers who are often working 12-hour shifts. Anticipated regions for this include: Kitimat, Hazelton, Prince Rupert, Chetwynd, Dawson Creek and Ft. St. John. 

$750,000 to develop a housing program in communities where suitable market housing is barrier to permanent staffing and short-term deployments. Regions include Robson Valley, Kitimat, Hazelton, Prince Rupert, Chetwynd, Dawson Creek and Ft. St John. 

Launching the Rural Urgent Doctor in-aid (RUDi) 24/7 virtual support pathway for physicians and other health-care professionals in rural communities, with $825,000 in government funding. 

$645,000 is geared toward creating clinical management supports for Prince Rupert and the northeast that will build capacity to support new graduates, provides more resources for management competency development and improves management support systems.

Some background note on the funding plans can be found here.

To give you an idea of the scope of the need for more employees in the North, the Northern Health Careers listings currently features seventeen pages, or 325 job opportunities in the Northwest, 85 of them in the Prince Rupert area.

A sample of just one page of the Northern Health career opportunities
currently listed for the Prince Rupert area

The vast majority of those listings state that the positions are open until filled. There are close to 900 positions listed as available for all three sub-regions of North East, Northern Interior, Northwest that make up Northern Health.

For more notes on Northern Health in the Northwest see our archive pages below:

Prince Rupert Area

Remainder of Northwest