Bridging program and personalized recruitment key to new nursing hire at Sackville Memorial Hospital
As local health care advocates launch a Sackville-focussed website to assist in recruiting nurses and doctors to the region, Horizon Health has also announced some success in fixing staffing issues at the Sackville Memorial Hospital.
In March, the health network announced it had recently recruited a nurse manager, two Registered Nurses (RNs), one licensed practical nurse (LPN), and four personal care attendants (PCAs) to the Brunswick inpatient unit at the Sackville Memorial Hospital. In addition, there are two RNs who will work in the hospital’s Emergency Department
That’s great news for all those pushing for the restoration of services at the hospital, including acute care beds and 24/7 Emergency Department. In the Horizon announcement, hospital director Christa Wheeler-Thorne said there is “still more work to be done before we are able to safely reintroduce these services.”
Justine Graham is one of the recently announced new recruits. The former LPN will start her role as an RN at the Sackville hospital in June, after graduating from UNB’s bridging program. Sackville wasn’t a hard sell for Graham, who worked here as an LPN before deciding to upgrade her skills at UNB in 2019.
CHMA spoke with Graham on March 24, 2022 about her decision, and also the challenge she now faces of finding a place to live in Sackville. Graham started off talking about her experience working at the Sackville Memorial Hospital as a licensed practical nurse:
Grahams says that for her, UNB’s bridging program was an “incredible opportunity,” and was key to securing her future as an RN.… Continue