With Come Home Year branding and money N.L. trying to lure health-care professionals back

The Newfoundland and Labrador government announced a new initiative Tuesday tobringhealth care professionals back to the province, by pulling on their heartstrings and putting money in their pockets.

The incentive, which is part of the government's Come Home 2022 campaign, offers return-in-service agreements to eligible physicians, nurses and paramedics who have been living outside the province for at least six months.

"This program now makes us the most competitive in Canada," said Health Minister Tom Osborne at a news conference Tuesday.

"This is a recruitment incentive. There are also retention issues that we're working on."

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The return-in-service agreements vary by profession, with eligible physicians offered $100,000 for a five year agreement, and primary care paramedics and registered nurses offered $50,000 for a three-year return-in-service agreement.

These agreements are offered on top of any other incentive offered by the provincial government.

To qualify for the incentive, health-care professionals must meet at least one of the program's criteria, which includes being born in or having previously studied in the province.

Although the program is aimed at expatriate Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, incentives are also available to those who do not have any connection tothe province.

The rates for those professionals include $50,000 for a five-year return-in-service agreement for physicians, half of what is being offered to physicians who have some sort of tie to the province.

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"Generally speaking, individuals who've got a connection to Newfoundland and Labrador generally stay longer after the return in service," said Osborne.

"[If] they've got a connection, they're more likely to stay."

Osborne says the government is also working to address retention challenges in the province's health-care system. He anticipates making an announcement in the coming days with the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees about retention incentives for employees who are already living and working in the province.

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