July, 2004

The picture features seated Bruce Saunders, Chair of the Cumberland Health Authority, standing L-R Bob Spence, Chair of All Saints Community Health Care Foundation, Doris Soley, South Cumberland Community Care Centre Foundation and Phyllis Cameron, Chair of the Cumberland Health Care Foundation.

CHA announces new bursary
by Andrew Wagstaff, Amherst Daily News

AMHERST - The Cumberland Health Authority announced a new incentive to keep health care professionals in the area with the launch of a new bursary program yesterday.

Authority chairman Bruce Saunders described the program as an innovative partnership between the authority and health care foundation across the county, born out of the need to replace health care professionals who will be retiring in the next five to 10 years. The announcement came at a press conference at authority headquarters in Amherst on July 7.

"I don't know if a similar program has been established anywhere else in the Maritimes or in Canada," he said. "We are happy to celebrate another 'unique to Cumberland' idea."

Open to four students in the first year, the program will be available to a total of 16 students by year four, he explained. A total of $50,000 per year will be available - $4,000 per year for each recipient, with the authority providing $25,000 and the foundations matching it.

Participating foundations are the Cumberland Health Care Foundation in Amherst, Bayview Communities Health Foundation in Advocate Harbour, North Cumberland Memorial Hospital Foundation in Pugwash, South Cumberland Community Care Centre Foundation in Parrsboro and All Saints Community Health Care Foundation in Springhill.

Saunders said the authority has focused a lot of hard work during the past two years on recruiting doctors, and succeeded on that level, but admitted that the recruitment of other health care professionals such as nurses and laboratory technologists had been an area neglected. With 60-65 such employees expected to retire within the next five years, the bursary program aims to help fill that gap.

"When the CHA took a hard look at the statistics, it became clear that we had to formulate a plan to address our impending human resource needs," he said. "What better way to fill those vacancies than with bright young people from Cumberland County?

"Each year, the majority of those who graduate from our local high schools and go on to the post-secondary education choose to work and live in other areas - whether in the Maritimes, in Canada or elsewhere in the world," He continued. "What if we could encourage those young people to come back to Cumberland?"

The Bursary will be available to students seeking careers in a variety of health care fields, including laboratory services, respiratory therapy, cardiology tech, radiology technology, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, pharmacy services, licensed practical nurses, registered nurses, personal care workers, dietitians, mental health therapists, dental hygienists, family physicians, specialists, administrative managers, health record technicians and health record administrators.

Bursary recipients will be guaranteed a job after graduation, as well as during the off season between school years, according to authority CEO Bruce Quigley. The program is also available to current students already pursuing education in the eligible fields.

"We realize there is going to be a need for staff before the next four years is up," said Saunders. "So we're also looking at existing students. If we can identify students in their second or third year, we will consider their applications."

The Cumberland Health Authority is now accepting applications, while a selection committee has been set up to include members from each of the participating foundations and the authority.

Bursary recipients who complete their education and choose not to locate in Cumberland County will be required to repay the money, according to Saunders. "It's a legal agreement, and not unlike a student loan in some ways," he said. "But if they stay here in Cumberland County, they won't have to pay it back."

He emphasized that the program was to provide fair distribution across the county, and to offer financial assistance to those who need it. "If we could provide some financial assistance to local students who would in turn work for us upon graduation, it would be a 'win-win' for everyone," he said. "Students wouldn't need to go elsewhere for a good job, we would fill some of our vacancies and the bonus would be for the community as a whole when those young people returned rather than moving on to bigger centres."

Staff shortages, in some cases severe, exist in many of the employment categories applied to the bursary. For example, a net shortage of 17 percent of medical laboratory technologists is expected in Nova Scotia by 2008, while registered nurses will see a drop by more than 1,000 within the next five years.