Horizon Health Network is ramping up recruitment efforts as the shortage of nurses continues to affect their facilities.
The Network has hired 121 nurses just three months into their respective year, including 106 new graduates and 15 with previous experience.
They aim to reach 382 new hires by year’s end to address retirements, turnover, and the vacancy gap.
“We can’t fill the whole vacancy gap in one year it’s simply too large,” said Geri Geldart, Horizon’s Vice President Clinical and Chief Nursing Officer, during a recent Board of Directors meeting.
A news release issued by Horizon indicates that there are 650 nursing vacancies throughout their facilities, consisting of 529 RN positions and 121 LPN positions.
Horizon was forced to temporarily remove overnight weekend service from the Sackville Memorial Hospital due to staffing concerns.
Reminder: Weekend evening and nighttime hours of service in the Emergency Department at Horizon’s #Sackville Memorial Hospital have temporarily changed. If you require urgent care during closures, please call 911. Do not go to SMH. https://t.co/nw3qTwy3Y9 pic.twitter.com/orRkm6qfeE
— Horizon Health (@HorizonHealthNB) June 26, 2021
Recruitment efforts have seen some alterations after months of criticism. Geldart says this includes an increased focus on hiring international graduates, enhanced marketing strategies and incentives for “hard-to-recruit” positions.
The need for international grads comes as Horizon requests more nursing seats in New Brunswick universities.
“We have a significant issue with the number of nurses we are graduating every year, and the number of graduates does not even fill the demand at Horizon let alone at the other organizations that require nurses,” said Karen McGrath, Horizon’s President and CEO.
In a virtual scrum with media, McGrath remained hesitant on whether more ER closures could be in the cards. She noted that it can be difficult to predict, with closures dependent on the different situations in each hospital.
“Right now, as of today, there are no more plans to reduce services at any more of our E-R’s.”
