Photo caption: The Halton Healthcare Laboratory team celebrates winning one of the Overall Retention Achievement awards.
Nearly 200 awards have been granted to healthcare teams across Canada that are making measurable progress on supporting and retaining their workforces.
Delivered by Healthcare Excellence Canada (HEC) in collaboration with a pan-Canadian network of coaches, judges and supporting organizations, the Health Workforce Innovation Challenge provided financial awards, coaching, resources and a peer network to teams in diverse settings, helping them strengthen their workforces and provide safer, higher-quality care.
“The people who work in healthcare are its heart,” said Jennifer Zelmer, President and CEO of HEC. “This program showcased the excellent work happening nationwide to support and retain them and demonstrated how the right approaches and resources can amplify these efforts.”
Close to 150 teams from urban, rural and remote areas in every province took part in the challenge. Participants came from a diverse range of healthcare settings including long-term care, hospitals, primary care, and mental health, demonstrating that workforce solutions can be applied across the continuum of care.
Teams explored innovative approaches focused on flexible work structures, equitable and appropriate compensation models, inclusive workplaces and more, leading to measurable improvements in turnover rates, work-life balance and patient care.
Throughout the Health Workforce Innovation Challenge, 193 awards were distributed, totaling $961,500.
“Healthcare workers are the backbone of our health system, and we need to find more innovative ways to retain and support the incredible work they do,” said The Honourable Mark Holland, Minister of Health. “Congratulations to the award recipients and thank you to Healthcare Excellence Canada and all participating organizations that continue to advance this important work. Let’s continue working collaboratively to identify innovative solutions to address the needs of our health workforce.”
This initiative is part of a broader suite of HEC work aimed at strengthening health workforce retention and support. It also aligns with the federal, provincial and territorial government’s efforts to support the health workforce and reduce backlogs.
Launched in 2021, HEC brings together the Canadian Patient Safety Institute and Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement. We are an independent, not-for-profit charity funded primarily by Health Canada.
Learn more about the Health Workforce Innovation Challenge award winners.
For more information, contact Kristine Russell, Communications Manager, Healthcare Excellence Canada, Kristine.Russell@hec-esc.ca.
