Recruitment Incentives Announced for Nurse Practitioners to Work Within Family Care Teams and Rural Emergency Departments

  • Health and Community Services

May 26, 2023

The Honourable Tom Osborne, Minister of Health and Community Services, today announced recruitment incentives for Nurse Practitioners who commit to work within a Family Care Team in the province, with the option of an additional incentive to provide coverage for select rural emergency departments, also known as Category B emergency departments.

The incentives are based on geographic location and range from $20,000 to $40,000 for Nurse Practitioners (including new graduates, existing employees and retired employees) who commit to work within a Family Care Team for a one-year return in service with an option to extend the incentive for a second year.

With this new incentive, Nurse Practitioners who accept employment within a Family Care Team may be eligible for an additional incentive of $10,000 with a commitment to complete advanced airway management training and provide coverage in a Category B emergency department. This incentive is also renewable after one year.

Family Care Teams are multi-disciplinary teams that include Family Physicians, Nurse Practitioners, Registered Nurses, Social Workers, Pharmacists and other allied health professionals. More than 29,700 residents are currently receiving care from one of the existing teams.

There are nine Family Care Teams in various stages of implementation throughout the province, with five fully operational in:

  • Southeast Avalon;
  • St. John’s West;
  • St. John’s Centre;
  • St. John’s East; and
  • Stephenville.

The teams currently under development are located in:

  • Coast of Bays;
  • Conception Bay North
  • Happy Valley Goose Bay; and
  • Northern Peninsula;

Based on a needs assessment and available resources to support the team model, 10 more teams have been announced for development in 2023-24 in the following areas:

  • Bonavista;
  • Brookfield/Centreville area;
  • Clarenville;
  • Conception Bay North;
  • Deer Lake-White Bay;
  • Gander;
  • Grand Falls-Windsor;
  • Labrador West;
  • Port aux Basques; and
  • St. John’s.

Upon full implementation, these new Family Care Teams will provide access to primary care for up to 80,000 people.

Health Accord NL included consideration of how physicians and other health care professionals work together to meet the province’s health care needs, both in hospital and community settings. It recommended the creation of 35 multi-disciplinary teams over five years that work collaboratively to best meet the varied needs of patients and their families.

Budget 2023 includes the largest ever investment in health care, and these incentives build upon significant actions government is taking to address the current challenges facing the health care sector in the province.

Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services will communicate processes for these initiatives to employees in the coming days.

Quotes
“Nurse Practitioners are critical to the operations of both Family Care Teams and emergency departments in the province. We are focused on transforming the delivery of health care in our province, working collaboratively with our health professionals to meet the province’s health care needs, both in hospital and community settings. We remain committed to our recruitment and retention efforts as well, as we strive to ensure we have the workforce needed to ensure the delivery of these services.”
Honourable Tom Osborne
Minister of Health and Community Services

“Family Care Teams are a model of wellness, awareness and sustainability for both patients and health care providers.  It is a rewarding area in health care that positively impacts health care accessibility and outcomes for our patients and clients. These incentives for Nurse Practitioners are a positive step forward to encourage more health care workers to enter into this collaborative area of health care. The goal is to assist in recruiting nurse practitioners to provide primary health care services in difficult-to-recruit areas across the province, as well as provide increased and timely access to essential health care services for the residents of Newfoundland and Labrador.”
David Diamond
CEO of Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services

“We are pleased to see government demonstrating an acknowledgment of the vital role Nurse Practitioners play in our health care system. These incentives are much needed as part of a larger retention strategy, so we can foster an environment where Registered Nurses and Nurse Practitioners want to continue living and working in this province. We hope this incentive program will help address some of the challenges that our members are experiencing in areas where there is no primary health care, especially rural and remote regions. This could also help move forward the recommendations of the Health Accord. Initiatives like this are great first steps to retaining our invaluable health care professionals, as we continue to advocate for all Nurse Practitioners in Newfoundland and Labrador.”
Yvette Coffey
President of Registered Nurses’ Union Newfoundland and Labrador

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2023 05 26 12:15 pm