Photo Credit: Rural Health Professions Action Plan Facebook page

By Shane Clausing

Community

Peace Regional Committee awarded 2020 RhPAP Rhapsody Community Award

May 27, 2020 | 7:07 AM

The Peace Regional Committee has been named the winner of the 2020 RhPAP (Rural Health Professions Action Plan) Rhapsody Community Award.

The annual award recognizes a rural Alberta community that has developed innovative and collaborative approaches to successfully attract and retain health-care providers in its area.

Dan Boisvert, a member of the Committee, says this includes making new health-care workers in the Peace Region feel comfortable about moving here.

“We try to be creative, they (the committee) creates gift baskets for new doctors and we’ve even been as creative as taking some medical students on a jet boat ride up Smokey River and the Peace River so they can fall in love with the place. That’s the goal.”

The Peace Regional Committee has only been operating for three years and Boisvert says winning the award caught the entire committee off guard.

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“It came as a big surprise because we’ve nominated other groups in the past and they were successful in winning the award, but we never thought we’d win it ourselves.”

Executive Director for RhPAP Bernard C. Anderson praised the group for their efforts throughout the year.

“Local health providers tell us the Peace Regional committee makes them feel welcome, and they go out of their way to find opportunities to show them that they care,” said Anderson. “The appreciation expressed in the letters of support that accompanied the nomination reflects that, while the committee has successfully achieved attraction and retention goals, they have also succeeded in engaging and empowering their community with this work.”

Boisvert adds that winning the award took a lot of dedication from his team.

“It is an honour to (win), especially since we’ve only been formed for three years. It’s an honour to make that kind of progress because it’s not easy to get to that level of commitment.”

Boisvert says that his team will continue to try and think outside of the box so new health care workers can keep feeling comfortable when relocating to the Peace.

“The trick I guess is to be creative and when health professionals come to town, we try to find out what they like. We try to appeal to the base, as to what it is that makes the Peace River and Peace Country area interesting for them and it’s surprising sometimes what it is they seek. We take it for granted, we live in a rural area, but some people are actually seeking that. Make it warm and friendly and maybe they’ll stay.”