Housing, childcare, transportation, patient ratios and retention of nurses continue to pose challenges for healthcare in the East Kootenay.
Those issues were brought forward by representatives from the B.C. Nurses Union during a presentation to the Kootenay East Regional Hospital District Board on June 13 in Cranbrook.
Housing and the high cost of living is a significant barrier, particularly in more rural areas or resort communities.
"Our cost of living is high, just like the rest of the province, so when we're trying to recruit people, they're unable to afford to purchase housing at this time, and with limited rentals, it's difficult," said Denise Nelson, with the BCNU, noting specifically that Golden can't retain licensed practical nurses because of housing unaffordability.
Nelson told the hospital board that a large majority of the nursing workforce in the East Kootenay is under 40 years old, and that a lack of childcare availability is impacting staffing levels.
"And with daycare, we're actually having nurses stepping back from their roles in order to look after their kids because they can't afford daycare or there's no option for daycare."
Director Norma Blissett, who serves as an elected councillor for the City of Cranbrook, encouraged the BCNU to send a letter to the Southeast Kootenay School District, which is under the umbrella of the Ministry of Education and Child Care, to advocate for more all-day childcare spaces and the impact it could have for the regional health care system.
Other issues included a rise in workplace violence, as Nelson described how a nurse at the F.W. Green Home in Cranbrook was recently assaulted by a patient and is now off work as incidents — and escalations in the types and severity of workplace violence — have dramatically increased since the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Our physical injuries heal, our psychological injuries — they don't heal," Nelson said. "They stick with us for the rest of our career and some nurses do not return to the bedside after being assaulted at work."
The BCNU representatives also delved into nurse-to-patient ratios, noting that updated ratios brought into practice by the provincial government allow for 100 additional positions in the East Kootenay.
However, that also dovetails into recruitment and retention, which remain a challenge.
The BCNU also raised the Provincial Rural Retention Incentive — a provincial program that provides up to $8,000 for health-care staff who practice in rural areas — is eligible for many rural East Kootenay communities, but not Cranbrook and Kimberley.
"The retention piece isn't working, it's not being done in a fair and equitable manner," said Nelson. "For example, there's a nurse who works from home. Her home base is Castlegar, she lives in Kimberley, she gets the retention incentive.
"I live in Kimberley, lived here for 17 years, I do not get it as a nurse working here in Cranbrook."
Nelson added that there have been cases where nurses are leaving Cranbrook and Kimberley to work in communities in the Elk Valley or Columbia Valley where they are eligible for the incentive.
In April, the province extended the PRRI until the end of June, while adding that it is currently reviewing it's recruitment and incentive programs.
Locally, nurses in Cranbrook and Kimberley have been raising the PRRI ineligibility issue for months, and submitted a petition to MLA Scott McInnis, who brought it to the B.C. Legislature in Victoria.
