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By Michael Reeve

CLEARWATER ER

‘Need to maintain it’; Clearwater looking to quickly fill healthcare positions

Sep 19, 2023 | 11:59 AM

CLEARWATER, B.C. — Last year, the community of Clearwater faced repeated and lengthy emergency room closures at the local hospital. The longest closure occurred last summer, with the ER closed for 24 straight nights.

Since then, Clearwater has become a model for smaller communities to attempt to follow for recruitment and retention of healthcare professionals. However, with a few nurses moving on from Clearwater this fall, the community is back pushing to find staff to fill out the roster.

“Some of the thoughts a year ago or more were that nobody wants to walk into a crisis. That’s why we had to lobby Interior Health and get that cultural change within the system. But, now we have it we need to maintain it and let people know that this a really good place to do your time as a nurse, and to have a career and have a family,” said Blackwell.

Blackwell stated that the hospital is about one doctor away from being fully staffed. The mayor stated that with Trans Mountain moving out of the community, more houses are becoming available for nurses and doctors, helping to make Clearwater a more attractive destination for healthcare workers and their families.

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“There is vacancies like we haven’t seen in three or four years,” stated Blackwell. “If your kids play hockey, there is ice time. If your kids figure skate, there is ice time. If your kid wants to be on any team or do anything at the high school as a hobby, they’re in because there is room. We have a such a caring community that runs on the power of volunteers. I have absolutely no doubt that anybody coming in here is going to find it a great place to be.”