Providence Health Care Again Named a Best Employer for New Canadians
Vancouver, April 6, 2009 — For the second year in a row Providence Health Care (PHC) has been selected as one of the 20 Best Employers for New Canadians for 2009, a designation that recognizes the nation's best employers for recent immigrants.
PHC was recognized in 2009 for its progressive work policies, educational and training opportunities and competitive compensation that assist new Canadians in making the transition to a new workplace and a new life in Canada.
“Providence Health Care’s recognition as a Best Employer for New Canadians for the second year running demonstrates that British Columbia is the destination of choice for many internationally educated health care professionals,” said Health Services Minister George Abbott. “Using the skills of new Canadians in the health system can ensure we continue to meet patient, resident, community and provincial needs.”
The 20 finalists in the Best Employers for New Canadians competition represent employers from across Canada that lead their peers in creating workplaces that welcome new Canadians and allow them to make the most of their skills, education and talents.
“It is a great honour for Providence to be recognized once again as an organization that leads the way in recruiting foreign workers, and offers a welcoming and productive environment for those employees who are recent immigrants,” said Dianne Doyle, PHC’s President and CEO. “We will continue to enhance our support programs and services to remain an employer of choice for leading health care professionals from around the world, by working with our health partners, Vancouver Coastal Health, Fraser Health, the Provincial Health Services Authority and the Ministry of Health.”
Every year, Mediacorp reviews information from thousands of Canadian organizations to identify what it takes to be one of Canada's best employers. The winners of the Best Employers for New Canadians competition will be profiled in special editorial features published Mediacorp’s media partners early in 2009. Employers selected for this list will also be featured in the paperback edition of Canada's Top 100 Employers in 2009.
About Providence Health Care
Providence Health Care (PHC) is one of Canada's largest faith-based health care organizations, operating 14 health care facilities in Greater Vancouver. Guided by the principle “How you want to be treated,” PHC's 1,200 physicians and 6,000 staff deliver compassionate care to patients and residents in British Columbia. Providence’s programs and services span the complete continuum of care and serve people throughout B.C. As a renowned academic health science leader, PHC operates one of two teaching hospitals in the province, performs cutting-edge research in more than 30 clinical specialties, and focuses its services on six “populations of emphasis”: cardio-pulmonary risks and illnesses, HIV/AIDS, mental health, renal risks and illness, specialized needs in aging and urban health. For more information, or to learn about career opportunities, please visit http://www.providencehealthcare.org
PHC’s mission, vision and values respect the diversity, dignity and interdependence of all persons, which are reflected in the organization’s initiatives and programs that assist employees who are transitioning to life in Canada.
Background on PHC’s Initiatives and Services for Foreign Staff and New Immigrants
PHC notifies new applicants of the steps required to have their foreign qualifications evaluated by a provincially recognized evaluation service.
PHC’s “onboarding” program consists of an organization-wide New Employee Orientation as well as unit-specific and job-specific orientation sessions (up to a week long). When training specifically for their roles, new employees are given “buddy” or “shadow” shifts, where they follow and are mentored by a senior staff member. If necessary, new employees who are recent immigrants are supported with extended shadow shifts and mentoring to gain confidence and better understand the Canadian workplace.
PHC offers settlement services to help ease the transition for internationally recruited staff coming to work at PHC. These staff receive a relocation allowance and are paired up with a relocation agent who will help them with housing, community services and schools upon their arrival to Canada.
PHC’s Diversity Services department facilitates and supports health care delivery in a diverse workplace and multicultural environment by providing education, developing resource and training materials and conducting workshops and lectures on cultural competence in health care. New Canadians coming to work in a multicultural environment for the first time especially benefit by learning about the needs of the diverse patient population that PHC serves.
PHC’s Mission Services department and Pastoral Care Services regularly organize special events around different cultural and religious holidays throughout PHC sites to create awareness and appreciation for the different cultures represented among PHC staff.
PHC participates in an International Nurse Recruitment Campaign branded under the title “Nurse Vancouver”. This campaign is a collaborative initiative with PHC and the three Health Authorities in Metro Vancouver and is supported by the Ministry of Health. The focus is to actively recruit foreign-trained nurses to help alleviate the nursing shortage in Metro Vancouver. Since its inception in 2006, more than 500 international nurses have been hired including 100 nurses to PHC.
PHC participates in the Internationally Educated (IEN) Registered Nurses (RN) Post-Licensure Program, a four-month, intensive orientation and training program that provides internationally educated registered nurses already living in Canada (for whom English is a second language) an opportunity to update their skills in order to work in Canada while earning full wages. The fully subsidized program is 16 weeks in length consisting of language and orientation courses, classroom work and preceptorship in a hospital unit at PHC. Following this, nurses assume permanent full-time positions on the unit where they completed their preceptorship.
About the Best Employers for New Canadians Award
The third annual Best Employers for New Canadians project is managed by Mediacorp Canada Inc., in partnership with the Maytree and J.W. McConnell Foundation. The Maytree Foundation is the main funding sponsor of TRIEC and is actively involved in projects across Canada that reduce poverty and build strong communities and the J.W. McConnell Family Foundation is one of Canada's oldest foundations dedicated to strengthening communities and building citizenship.
