On behalf of the Policy Committee of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party, I am pleased to announce that the 2014 Policy Conference will take place on Saturday, January 18, 2014 at the Holiday Inn Harbourview in Dartmouth.
The topic of this fourth annual policy conference is:
“Transforming the Patient Experience – Innovative Solutions for the Recruitment and Retention of Health Care Professionals and Health Care Delivery”
Recruitment and Retention of Health Care Professionals
The Nova Scotia Physician Resource Plan clearly articulates Nova Scotia’s challenge. In the next seven years, 31% of the current physician workforce will retire. This fact, in combination with statistics that show that Nova Scotia has fewer family doctors and more specialists than the national average, requires a province-wide approach to the recruitment and retention of health care professionals.
- What role does the community at large play in the recruitment and retention of health care professionals? If prospective health care professionals come to your community, how will they be welcomed and the community promoted to them as part of the recruitment process?
- How can our municipal units support recruitment and retention initiatives?
- What do future health care professionals want and look for when they choose to practice in our province, and what can be done to support these interests?
Health Care Delivery
The pressure on emergency rooms remains unabated. Challenges remain in continuing care. The ability for Nova Scotians to access solid primary care in the community to mitigate these pressures and challenges is still elusive. In order for all three levels of care – emergency care, continuing care and primary care – in the community to function optimally, silos need to be broken and solutions which put the patient first need to be planned across the sectors.
- What needs to be done to address the challenges in emergency care in the short, medium and long term?
- How do we best address our aging demographic in emergency rooms and what are the crucial linkages needed outside of the emergency room to ensure patients are getting the best possible care in a timely manner?
The Program
9:30 am – Registration
10:00 am – Welcome – Jason Boudrot, VP Provincial, NSLP
10:15 am – Panel – Innovative Solutions for the Recruitment and Retention of Health Care Professionals
- Dr. John Gillis, Emergency and Chronic Pain Physician
- Gretchen McCurdy, Director, Our Health Centre Foundation, Chester
- Steve Sampson, Richmond Municipality
12:00 pm – Lunch with Guest Speaker the Honourable Leo Glavine, Minister of Health and Wellness
1:00 pm – Panel – Innovative Solutions for Health Care Delivery
- Dion Mouland, Executive Director of Oceanview Manor
- Dr. Ravi Parkash, Head of Emergency, Dartmouth General Hospital
- Dr. Margaret Casey, Board Chair, Northend Community Health Centre
3:00 pm – Closing
Our Premier Stephen McNeil and the Liberal Caucus are enthusiastic about this event and look forward to your input.
A fee of $10 will be collected at the door. Participants will need to REGISTER ONLINE by January 10.
The Policy Conference will be followed by a series of regional policy meetings. Check out the schedule HERE.
Yours sincerely,
Jason Boudrot
Vice President (Provincial)
Nova Scotia Liberal Party