Ottawa hospitals offering financial incentives to attract nurses
The Queensway Carleton Hospital is hoping a financial incentive will attract retired, unemployed and out of province nurses to work in its emergency department, as it deals with a significant nursing shortage during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It's one of several hospitals in Ottawa looking to hire new staff as the pandemic continues. The Ottawa Hospital is also hoping financial incentives will attract nurses to work at its campuses.
There are currently over 60 full-time and part-time nursing jobs available at the Queensway Carleton Hospital, including close to 20 full-time positions in the emergency department.
In a statement on Twitter, the Queensway Carleton Hospital advertised it's hiring Registered Nurses for its emergency department.
"You may be eligible for a $10,000 signing bonus," said QCH on Twitter.
In an interview with CTVNewsOttawa.ca, QCH vice-president of people, performance improvement and diagnostic services Greg Hedgecoe said the hospital is taking advantage of new Ontario government incentives to reactivate retired or unemployed nurses, or recruit nurses from other provinces.
"We have a nursing workforce shortage in the province and our nurses have been providing essential support for quite some time, and so we need to support them with reactivating or recruiting from outside of province," said Hedgecoe.
Hedgecoe says the signing bonus is not available for new nurses out of schools, only for nurses with experience.
"There are several retired, but still highly competent nurses and it's an incentive to try and bring them back to the workforce, or attract nurses from other provinces to Ontario to help us with our critical staffing challenges," said Hedgecoe.
One of the programs launched by the Ontario government is the Community Commitment Program for Nurses, a temporary initiative to attract nurses.
"It's aiming to reactivate retired or unemployed nurses, and support out-of-province recruitment with a $10,000 incentive in exchange for a 12-month commitment," said Hedgecoe.
"The province also offers additional recruitment incentives to eligible hospitals who are funded to open new critical care beds in response to COVID, and that includes financial incentives similar to reactivate retired or unemployed nurses or recruit nurses from out of province."
The Queensway Carleton Hospital is hoping to have the new nurses in place by September.
"There is a significant nursing shortage at our hospital and regionally," said Hedgecoe.
"But thanks to the commitment and caring nature of all of our professionals they're doing everything that they can to maintain essential health care services to our community. But they're getting tired."
The Queensway Carleton Hospital serves more than 500,000 people each year. There are 2,500 people working at the hospital.
"The QCH has been named the number one hospital by Newsweek Magazine in 2021, and as a top employer in Canada by Forbes magazine," said Hedgecoe.
"It's a great culture, an amazing team of caring professionals. We provide exceptional care to our community, if you're looking for work we'd love to have you."
NURSING SHORTAGE ACROSS OTTAWA
The Queensway Carleton Hospital is not the only hospital dealing with a nursing shortage.
The Ottawa Hospital has 118 nursing positions listed on its website, while there are more than 40 openings at the Bruyere Hospital.
The Ottawa Hospital has been actively working to recruit nurses and other frontline positions throughout the pandemic, they are also participating in the cash incentive.
Ottawa's largest hospital also launched a program to train new resident support aids, to support long-term care homes and are launching another provincially funded program to bring in clinical extern nursing and other clinical students.
In March, there were as many as 1,000 job vacancies across 19 hospitals in the Ottawa region. Since November, nearly 1,900 nurses have been hired. More than 550 jobs have been filled at the Queensway Carleton Hospital since the start of the pandemic in March 2020.
Carolyn Inglis is a registered nurse. She has worked in the emergency department at the QCH for 11 years and says it’s a great work culture.
"We are happy to have more people join our team and get to experience what we experience here," says Inglis. "It’s wonderful we work as a team and everybody supports one another and we keep learning as a group and there’s lots of opportunities you can explore in the hospital."
There are more than 1,000 health care related jobs at www.ottawahealthcareers.ca.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Iran fires air defence batteries in provinces as explosions heard near Isfahan
Iran fired air defence batteries early Friday morning as explosions could be heard near a major air base near Isfahan, raising fears of a possible Israeli strike following Tehran's unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on the country.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
Nearly half of China's major cities are sinking, researchers say
Nearly half of China's major cities are suffering 'moderate to severe' levels of subsidence, putting millions at risk of flooding especially as sea levels rise.
Prince Harry formally confirms he is now a U.S. resident
Prince Harry, the son of King Charles III and fifth in line to the British throne, has formally confirmed he is now a U.S. resident.
Judge says 'no evidence fully supports' murder case against Umar Zameer as jury starts deliberations
The judge presiding over the trial of a man accused of fatally running over a Toronto police officer is telling jurors the possible verdicts they may reach based on the evidence in the case.
Health Canada to change sperm donor screening rules for men who have sex with men
Health Canada will change its longstanding policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned. The federal health agency has adopted a revised directive removing the ban on gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, effective May 8.
Colin Jost names one celebrity who is great at hosting 'Saturday Night Live'
Colin Jost, who co-anchors Saturday Night Live's 'Weekend Update,' revealed who he thinks is one of the best hosts on the show.
Sports columnist apologizes for 'oafish' comments directed at Caitlin Clark. The controversy isn't over
A male columnist has apologized for a cringeworthy moment during former University of Iowa superstar and college basketball's highest scorer Caitlin Clark's first news conference as an Indiana Fever player.
'Shopaholic' author Sophie Kinsella reveals brain cancer diagnosis
Sophie Kinsella, the best-selling author behind the 'Shopaholic' book series, has revealed that she is receiving treatment for brain cancer.