As the City of Grande Prairie continues to identify a means of combating the healthcare workforce shortages in the region, City Council has greenlit the city’s new Health Care Attraction and Retention Strategy.
According to the city, the strategy focuses on three key areas- information, incentive, and infrastructure and aims to support initiatives that raise awareness regarding careers in healthcare through a variety of incentives in hopes of attracting new healthcare workers such as physicians and specialists to the Peace Country.
Grande Prairie Mayor Jackie Clayton calls the strategy an “essential step” in addressing the dire need for healthcare in Grande Prairie to ensure the city remains a thriving, healthy community.
“This strategy highlights our commitment to support our local healthcare workforce and aligns with council’s priorities of economic readiness and quality of life,” she says.
When it comes to retention, the strategy will focus on keeping healthcare practitioners in the city by integrating them into the community and providing them with support to build their careers locally.
The city says now is a “crucial” time to move forward with the strategy as Grande Prairie is expected to grow faster than the provincial average of 1.5 per cent as the city’s median age is 34 and a higher number of residents are under 10 than over 60.
