Manitoba financial incentives for nurses show early signs of progress, says head of WRHA

The head of the Winnipeg's health authority says the health-care system is beginning to see the benefits of provincial financial incentives announced months ago to help address Manitoba nursing shortages.

The province announced $200-million last fall to hire 2,000 more health-care workers, provide a range of incentives to keep workers in Manitoba and to attract others to work in the province. Health Minister Audrey Gordon said on Friday $123 million in incentives is specifically devoted to staffing issues in nursing.

Mike Nader, president and chief executive officer of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, said it's still early days but some of those incentive programs announced in November already seem to be helping.

Nader said $6 million in premiums have already been paid out to nurses who are picking up weekend shifts.

"These retention incentives are important and well-deserved but equally, if not more important, is the need to get more nurses and other health-care professionals into our system sooner," Nader said at a Friday news conference at the Grace Hospital.

"These vacancies are taxing an already fatigued group of health-care professionals and their families."

The funds announced in November meant to shore up nursing resources are for nine initiatives focused on retaining and recruitment, including a new annual payment for nurses who work full-time and give nurses who left the field a financial incentive to return.

"They provide critical services under sometimes extraordinary pressures," Gordon said at the Friday news conference. "Supporting the health and wellness of nurses who are providing care to others is a priority."

The news conference was scheduled the same day Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson, Finance Minister Cliff Cullen and Gordon hosted federal Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos for a closed-door meeting to discuss federal health transfer funding.

Earlier this week, Canadian premiers agreed to accept a $46.2 billion, 10-year health deal for provinces and territories after months of negotiations.

Gordon's comments also come amid staffing shortages and continued complaints from nurses and the union that represents them about overworked nurses leaving the public sector in Manitoba to work elsewhere or in other professions.

When the province announced the $200 million in health funding last fall, Gordon said Manitoba plans to end the practice of requiring nurses to work overtime and offer a series of incentives instead.

Gordon didn't provide more specifics when asked Friday for more details about her pledge to end mandated overtime.

"We are anxious to develop and see the implementation of further effective measures to solve the many challenges of our nursing human resource crisis," Darlene Jackson, president of the Manitoba Nurses Union, said in a statement.

Incentives for nurses

The incentive programs include covering the costs of nurses' professional licensing fees, offering nurses eligible for retirement an annual bonus to stick around for two more years, and an hourly premium for nurses who agree to travel and work in remote parts of the province.

Manitoba is also creating a "wellness incentive" or top-up to the spending accounts of full- and part-time nurses. 

The province is also rolling out a "refer-a-nurse" program to encourage nurses in the public system to refer a prospective nurse, as well as a provincial float pool to help fill staffing gaps across the province. 

Like many jurisdictions across Canada, Manitoba has experienced labour shortages across the health-care system since the pandemic hit in 2020, with nursing hit particularly hard.

Nader said higher vacancies across Canada are a product of those in health-care working "flat out" through more than two and a half years of a public health emergency.

The province and WRHA have begun doling out some of the incentives as early as last month, including the premium for nurses who work weekends or commit to working full-time.

As of January, Nader said the WRHA had hired 27 full-time nurses fresh out of school. He was not able to provide a figure for how many nurses have left the public system so far this year.

Nader also plugged a pre-existing undergraduate nurse employee program. He said it has 205 positions that allow senior nursing students to gain clinical experience in a paid role while completing their studies, the goal being that they take jobs locally once they're out of school.

The province again shared details of a recruitment trip in the Philippines aimed at drawing more nurses to Manitoba.

Shelley Keast, former chief nursing officer at the Grace Hospital who retired this month after 41 years, joined a delegation of Manitoba health-care leaders on a the trip to the Philippines on Friday, Nader said.

The province announced the trip earlier this week on the heels of a report from its Immigration Advisory Council. It detailed 70 ways Manitoba could make the process of coming to and working in Manitoba smoother for internationally trained workers, including nurses.