HealthForceOntario Marketing andRecruitment Agency (HFO MRA)

Overview& Community Partnership ProgramPresentation to the Northwestern Ontario Municipal AssociationShannon Boulton, HFOMRA April 22, 2010

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Introduction

In May 2006, HealthForceOntario (HFO) is born as a strategy— viewed as a broad umbrella over a series of HHR strategies.

HealthForceOntario is the provincial government strategy to ensure that Ontarians have access to the right number and mix of qualified health care providers, when and where they are needed.

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HFO MRA: Introduction• As part of HFO, the provincial government created the

HealthForceOntario Marketing and Recruitment Agency (HFO MRA)• Our evolving mandate is to help increase the number of qualified

health care professionals practising in Ontario by:– Recruiting qualified health care professionals into Ontario – Assisting internationally educated health professionals living in

Ontario to become qualified to practice here– Retaining Ontario’s domestically trained health care professionals– Facilitating the delivery of clinical care through administration of

locum programs– Administering and managing interprofessional care grant

programs

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HFO MRA: Four core business units

HealthForce Ontario Marketing and Recruitment Agency consists of:

• Marketing and Recruitment

• Access Centre

• Ontario Physician Locum Program

• Corporate Affairs

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HFO MRA: Marketing and Recruitment

Areas of focus:

• Community Partnership Program

• Marketing and recruitment activity (inside and outside Ontario)

• Website and HFOJobs portal

• Media relations

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HFO MRA: Marketing and Recruitment

Community Partnership Program:

CPC are situated within each LHIN area• To work with communities on physician recruitment and retention • To support communities and employers to increase their

“recruitment readiness” by providing information and education on effective recruitment tools, strategies and resources

• To work as a provincial team to support HFO MRA physician recruitment efforts

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HFO MRA: Marketing and RecruitmentCommunity Partnership Coordinators

What we do:• Act as a conduit of information between local communities and

the province.• Assist in the development of recruitment and retention best

practices, policies, guidelines and materials that can be used across the province.

• Help physicians and residents learn about job opportunities and explore communities of interest.

• Work with Ontario’s medical schools to promote and support their community-based outreach activities.

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HFO MRA: Marketing and Recruitment

Community Partnership Coordinators

What we do (cont.):• Connect physicians, nurses, communities and health care

organizations to other programs and resources of the Agency.• Promote Ontario at provincial, national and international

conferences and career fairs.• Link health care organizations with provincial nursing recruitment

and retention initiatives.• Offer on-the-ground physician recruitment support to community

recruiters and health care organizations.

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HFO MRA: Marketing and RecruitmentIn the Northwest:

• I have worked with all community-based Recruitment and Retention Committees

• I have very strong linkages with NOSM and have presented to Learners including 3rd-year EM Residents, FM Residents and students

• I work closely with candidates, their spouses and families to find practice opportunities in the North. I have provided potential candidates to communities and worked with them throughout the recruitment process

• I continue to assist communities with posting vacancies for physicians and nurses on HFOJobs

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HFO MRA: Marketing and Recruitment

Community Partnership Program Successes to Date:• Building capacity in local recruitment efforts.• Resident Outreach Strategy taking root called “Practice

Ontario” • CPCs working one-on-one with physician candidates.

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HFO MRA: Marketing and Recruitment

Community Partnership Program

Successes to Date:• HFOJobs is becoming a better tool through greater community

participation– on the way to being the first stop for physicians and nurses searching for work.

• Stakeholders are pleased with having a point person to ask questions and receive information from on a regular basis.

• CPCs are able to ensure announcements affecting communities throughout the Province are provided in a timely fashion

Northern and Rural Recruitment and Retention Initiative (N3R)• Announced March 5th, The NRRR Initiative will provide grants to

physicians and new physician graduates who agree to practice in a northern or highly rural community or in one of the five major northern urban referral centres

• Communities are determined to be eligible based on their Rurality Index for Ontario (RIO) score – which will be used to ensure funding is specifically targeted to northern and highly rural communities.

• The RIO score is based on three factors: population (count and density), travel time to a centre offering physician care, and travel time to a centre that offers advanced specialty care.

Stronger Together – Collaboration in Health Human Resources• A one-day symposium being held June 17, 2010 at the

Toronto Marriott Downtown 8 a.m.– 4:30 p.m.• No registration fee, 1 night free accommodation for

communities with a RIO score of 40+• To register – www.healthforceontario.ca/symposium• Benefits of attending include, but are not limited to:

– To learn about Provincial Health HHR initiatives– Opportunity to network and ask questions of HHR leaders– Participate in the launch of a best practices tool-kit known as

Recruiter U

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Contact InformationHealthForceOntario Marketing and Recruitment AgencyCommunity Partnership Program

Shannon BoultonCommunity Partnership Coordinator, Northwest Tel: 1-807-627-2731E-mail: s.boulton@healthforceontario.ca