NEW $6 MILLION INITIATIVE TO KEEP HEALTH WORKERS IN SASKATCHEWAN

Saskatchewan residents can expect to see more health professionals choosing to stay and work in the province, making life better today for families and building a better future here for our youth.

Health Minister Len Taylor today unveiled an innovative retention initiative designed to help reduce health employee workload and burnout and to promote professional development opportunities. 

The $6 million Health Workforce Employee Retention Program supports creative, grassroots initiatives that will help keep health employees working in Saskatchewan’s health care system.

“In my conversations with health professionals, I consistently hear about two factors that affect our ability to keep workers: heavy workload with resulting burnout; and the need for more professional development opportunities,” Taylor said.  “The best retention innovations often come from health providers themselves -- they know what will work best in their workplaces -- and this program capitalizes on that valuable knowledge.” 

Projects may be initiated by health employees and other providers, employers, and provincial health sector organizations.  An example of the type of project which could be funded is the Workload Emergency Streamlining Project, being implemented in the Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region, which streams up to 80 per cent of patients who visit emergency departments into different care processes.  Having these patients seen more quickly improves both patient care and the work environment, thereby reducing employee stress and burnout – a major factor in retaining health workers.  Details on project funding applications are posted on the government website.

Funding for these retention initiatives flows from the $25 million retention and recruitment plan announced in September.  These initiatives have been designed and recommended by committees that were established to provide advice on how the retention and recruitment plan money should be directed, working within the framework of the nationally recognized strategy, the Health Workforce Action Plan.

They build on recently announced new programs aimed at recruiting valuable health providers, including the creation of a provincial recruitment agency - HealthCareersInSask.ca, the Saskatchewan Relocation Program and the Saskatchewan Rural, Northern and Hard-to-Recruit Program.  Since these grant programs were introduced in October, 71 grants have been approved with 27 per cent of applicants from Alberta.

The next initiative being explored is a mentorship program.  The mentorship program will help pass along the knowledge of our experienced workforce and help support new graduates in the workplace.

Beginning mid-February, the government will run a campaign consisting of TV, billboard and transit advertising in Saskatchewan and Alberta designed to retain and recruit health care providers, and to make all aware of the benefits and incentives of working in Saskatchewan.

-30-

For more information, contact:

Joan Petrie
Health
Regina
Phone: 306-787-4083
Email: jpetrie@health.gov.sk.ca