NL Health Services Announces Successful Recruitment of all Family Physician Positions in Happy Valley – Goose Bay
Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) Health Services is pleased to provide an update on family physician recruitment in the Labrador-Grenfell Zone. In Happy Valley-Goose Bay, all 16 family physician positions have been filled. Ten family physicians are currently practicing in the community, and we look forward to welcoming another six who have been confirmed to begin practice throughout the summer of 2024.
“This is very good news for the people of Labrador,” says Dr. Greg Manning, senior medical director with NL Health Services. “Having a full physician complement with zero vacancies will help increase access to primary care for residents in Happy Valley – Goose Bay, its surrounding and coastal communities, and will also help to reduce wait times for other services in the zone, including our emergency rooms.”
NL Health Services, including the physician team in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, successfully recruited these physicians with the support of various provincial government recruitment and incentive programs including:
• the Come Home Incentive,
• the Physician Signing Bonus,
• the Family Practice Start-up Program, and
• the physician recruitment incentive pilot for full-time commitment to primary care or emergency department coverage in select geographic locations including rural areas.
Physicians are employed with a return in service agreement that ensures that they provide full-time practice for five years to be eligible for incentives. NL Health Services recruits physicians from Memorial University of Newfoundland’s (MUN) Faculty of Medicine, other parts of Canada, and internationally through recruitment events held locally and outside the province as well as virtual career fairs geared towards recruitment of international physicians in participation with the provincial government.
Other sites across the Labrador-Grenfell Zone have also had success with recent recruitment efforts. There are currently five full-time family physicians working at the Labrador West Health Centre and an additional physician will be starting later in July, leaving one vacancy. There are eight full-time family physicians working at Curtis S. Memorial Hospital in St. Anthony, leaving three vacancies.
“We are continuously recruiting for other critical physician/provider roles, including additional specialists,” says Dr. Manning. “We remain committed to finding opportunities to enhance care in the zone and throughout the province through ongoing recruitment and retention efforts.”
The recruitment and retention of physicians throughout the province is a key focus for NL Health Services and is essential for the stability of the health-care system. Recruitment activities continue by a fully staffed provincial recruitment team with a mandate to proactively identify physicians and other hard-to-fill health-care positions for the province. The NL Health Services’ physician recruitment teams throughout the province proactively and strategically work to find physicians from within Canada as well as other countries that may allow for easier licensing to practice in this province such as the United States of America, Ireland, the United Kingdom and Australia.
NL Health Services is a desirable place to work and staff members are part of interdisciplinary teams, have access to state-of-the-art equipment and modern facilities. The provincial health authority is also committed to supporting its people and teams by providing collaborative, safe, respectful, inclusive, supportive work environments and respecting and encouraging work-life balance. For more information on working with NL Health Services, please visit https://workinhealthnl.ca/.
How to connect with a family physician in NL
Patient Connect NL is a provincial list of individuals who have identified as being without a primary care provider (family doctor or nurse practitioner) in Newfoundland and Labrador (NL). The information provided on Patient Connect NL is used to plan and improve access to primary health care in NL, with the goal of connecting individuals to a family care team or a primary care provider as soon as one becomes available in your area. Register online by clicking here. For those who do not have access to online registration, please call 1-833-913-4679. Video Relay Service (VRS) calls are welcome. For those who do not have access to online registration, please call 1-833-913-4679. Video Relay Service (VRS) calls are welcome.
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