Northern Ontario hospital offers $2,000 referral bonus for hard-to-fill positions

KIRKLAND LAKE, Ont. — A northern Ontario hospital is revolutionizing recruiting by offering a $2,000 reward to anyone worldwide who successfully refers a new employee for hard-to-fill positions.

Jorge VanSlyke, president and CEO of Blanche River Health, announced July 11 that the new community incentive program is part of its efforts to recruit doctors, nurses and other health care professionals.

“Recruiting and retaining employees is no longer just an organization’s responsibility. It really takes the support of an entire community to do that. And that’s what we’re trying to do: make our business the community’s business, because we need everybody,” VanSlyke said.

Positions currently eligible for the $2,000 referral incentive include diagnostic imaging technologists, nurse practitioners, registered dietitians, registered nurses, pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, physicians and physiotherapists.

VanSlyke said people applying for jobs in eligible roles will be asked whether they were referred to the position and by whom.

“We also made it easier for people, instead of filling out a form or going through a long process. We did it this way: whoever is hired, we ask them who referred them to Blanche River Health, and then we offer a bonus to that person,” she said.

Once the successful candidate completes their probationary period or reaches the hourly threshold, the person who made the referral will receive a cheque for $1,000 from Blanche River Health. A second payment of $1,000 will be made on the employee’s first anniversary.

VanSlyke said when she joined Blanche River Health last year, they were racking their brains over how to expand their recruiting reach.

“One of the things we did was form a physician recruitment and retention committee. We focused on physicians because we went from 12 to five, and so we’re really struggling. One of the strategies we identified is why not increase incentives for the community,” she said.

“Initially we were talking about Kirkland Lake and Englehart, as in our area, but then we decided to go further. Does it really matter where the referral comes from? You know, you want everyone to talk about Blanche River Health as a place to go. So we expanded it so you can go anywhere in the world and refer us.”

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VanSlyke said she has heard of similar community referral incentives in other municipalities across the province, but she doesn’t think “it’s the same mechanism.”

“And I don’t know if the sponsorship incentive has actually been adopted by their own communities. I’m not sure. So it’s like taking a concept and making it our own, because, again, does it really matter if you’re in Jamaica or Hawaii?” she said.

The lack of health care professionals continues to impact the region, VanSlyke said.

“I will speak on behalf of Blanche River Health, but I know my feelings are shared across the region and even across the province. But especially in the north, the lack of all these positions is really difficult,” she said.

“We still have a lot of staff to support, which we need, but at the same time, it’s costing us three or four times more than the normal cost of staffing in our regions. And with all this temporary nature and transition, it’s hard to talk about improving quality, quality of care, when you’re still giving directions and people are struggling to find their place. That’s true. It’s a tough world, I would say especially after the pandemic.”

A list of roles eligible for the referral incentive can be found on the Blanche River Health website here.

Marissa Lentz-McGrath is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter for TimminsToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.