Northumberland County is pushing to attract more nurse practitioners.
The change comes following council approvals around expanding the county’s physician recruitment program to include the recruitment and retention of nurse practitioners (NPs) – and a corresponding name change for the initiative to Northumberland primary care recruitment to reflect the change in scope.
“In recent years, the demand for primary care providers has increased significantly,” physician recruitment specialist Paula Mason told council prior to its approval. “Many local practices, family health teams and community health centres are seeking NPs to complement existing physician resources, expand same-day access and support team-based models of care.”
Mason – who previously long served at the helm of Docs by the Bay – noted neighbouring jurisdictions like Quinte West and Belleville have already integrated nurse practitioner recruitment into broader primary care strategies.
“Currently, the county’s recruitment program focuses exclusively on physicians, leaving a gap in co-ordinated county-level support for NP recruitment,” explained Mason, ahead of council’s decision.
According to county officials, this latest expansion reflects evolving primary care needs across area communities, while also aligning with local and provincial healthcare priorities aimed at ultimately improving access, strengthening interdisciplinary care and supporting sustainable primary care delivery.
In short, the change-up means the program previously solely focused on attracting physicians has expanded to now include NP recruitment in hopes of addressing gaps and helping municipalities with modern, collaborative approaches to care, explained officials.
What’s more, the shift also aligns with what has been described as a “substantial anonymous donation” designated for recruitment incentives around candidates who are recent medical grads, medical residents, NPs or international medical grads.
Officials said the ultimate goal is to connect more residents to primary care but also noted other benefits like helping with distribution of workloads across providers, tackling service pressures, and more.
(Written by: Sarah Hyatt)
