Drayton Valley’s Clean Energy Technology Centre is a busy place this week as it plays host to a conference looking at ways to attract healthcare workers to rural Alberta.
The conference is organized by the Rural Health Professions Action Plan (RhPAP) in association with the local Pembina Physician Recruitment and Retention Committee.
“The conference provides an excellent opportunity for those involved in the attraction and retention of health providers in rural Alberta to learn from each other and to share best practices,” said Bobby Jones, Communications, Marketing and Research Specialist with RhPAP in an email to the Free Press.
Jones says 150 people will be attending the event, which runs from October 4-6. The theme is “Put on your Perspectacles: Looking through the rural lens.” It was originally set to be held in 2020 but was postponed due to Covid-19.
RhPAP was founded in 1991 and has a mission to support rural Alberta communities in their efforts to keep healthcare close to home. The group receives funding from Alberta Health. RhPAP normally holds a conference every two years. Drayton Valley was chosen as a venue in part because of the work of the local physician recruitment and retention committee, which Jones describes as “very vibrant.
In recent years many parts of the province have struggled to attract doctors and other trained medical professionals. According to Jones the conference is an opportunity for rural attraction and retention committee members, as well as interested community members and stakeholders from across Alberta, to come together and share experiences, learn about new rural health workforce attraction and retention initiatives, and network with other individuals and groups engaged in this work.
