HEARTLAND HEALTH REGION AWARDED RETENTION GRANT

Heartland Health Region's health employees can look forward to improved workplaces, better work-life balance and more professional development opportunities, thanks to a project funded by retention grants offered by the provincial government.

The Heartland Health Region project involves supporting nursing staff to develop and implement quality improvement initiatives within their workplace. These initiatives will focus on patient care and safety. Project funding is $68,191.

Health Minister Don McMorris is announcing today approximately $1.9 million in funding for 37 innovative projects - recommended by health professionals - that will benefit a wide range of workers throughout the province. This funding is part of the Health Workforce Employee Retention Program, which supports creative, grassroots initiatives designed to help keep health employees working in Saskatchewan's health care system.

"I am pleased with the enthusiastic response to the retention grants. The best retention innovations often come from health providers themselves," Rosetown-Elrose MLA Jim Reiter said. "Obviously they know what will work best in their workplaces - and this program makes use of that valuable knowledge."

"The grant will allow long-term care nursing staff to focus on quality improvement initiatives without putting additional pressure on an already pressured workload," Heartland Health Region Interim president and CEO Lefa Sproxton said. "This funding will enable nurses to better meet the needs of their patients and to achieve their own personal goals for quality of work life."

Projects were initiated by health employees and other providers, employers and provincial health sector organizations. Details on the workforce retention program are posted on the Saskatchewan Ministry of Health website at www.health.gov.sk.ca. This completes the $25 million funding for the retention and recruitment plan previously announced.

The government has identified retention and recruitment of health care workers as a priority. The Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN) and the government of Saskatchewan signed a partnership agreement in 2008 committing to work together to solve Saskatchewan's shortage of registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses. Under the SUN/Government Partnership Agreement, any retention initiatives specific to nursing can be forwarded to the Joint SUN/Health Region Recruitment and Retention Committee for consideration. The government has committed $60 million to support this work.

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For more information, contact:

Karen Hill
Health
Regina
Phone: 306-787-4083

LeAnne Paproski
Health
Rosetown
Phone: 306-882-4111