The Community Attraction & Retention Committee for Tofield, Ryley & Beaver County West recognized for its focus on community partnerships and collaboration
Following a review of the outstanding candidates nominated this year, the RhPAP Board of Directors has endorsed the Community Attraction & Retention Committee for Tofield, Ryley & Beaver County West as the 2021 recipient of the Rhapsody Community Award. The Rhapsody Community Award recognizes a rural Alberta community that has developed innovative and collaborative approaches to successfully attract and retain health-care providers in its area.
The Tofield Committee was selected as the 2021 Community Award recipient based on the variety of initiatives in which the committee is involved, their focus on community partnerships and collaboration, and their commitment to finding new and better ways to support local health professionals and promote local health.
The committee has been involved in several initiatives to attract health professionals to the community, including a 2019 health skills education event in which post-graduate health-care students came to Tofield to experience living and working in the community. They constantly find opportunities to appreciate local health professionals, distributing cards and gifts on work anniversaries, during International Nurses Week and the holidays, and organizing an appreciation parade during COVID-19. They also remind the broader community of the essential role that health-care providers play in the community through their booth at a local community market.
“The members of the selection committee all felt that your committee could serve as a model for others, and the letters of support that accompanied your nomination suggest that your community is as impressed as we are,” says Bernard C. Anderson, RhPAP Executive Director. “More than that, your efforts have contributed to the successful recruitment of several different health professionals to the area, and the retention of many more. That success, especially for a young committee, is a testament to the passion and commitment that you bring to your work.”
Congratulations to the Community Attraction & Retention Committee for Tofield, Ryley & Beaver County West: 2021 recipient of the Rhapsody Community Award!
About the Rhapsody Awards:
The RhPAP Rhapsody Awards continue a long tradition of celebrating rural Alberta’s health-care heroes and rural communities. Founded in 2002, the Rhapsody Awards are intended to recognize the individuals, teams, and communities that make significant civic and health-care contributions within rural Alberta. Nominations are evaluated by an Awards Selection Committee composed of a practising or recently retired rural Alberta-based physician, a member of an active rural community health professional attraction and retention committee, and one rural Alberta health professional, all from different zones. The selection committee provides recommendations to the RhPAP Board of Directors, who are responsible for endorsing the final recipients.
What’s next?
RhPAP celebrates Rhapsody Award recipients with a recognition event in their home community. Celebrations include the Rhapsody Award presentation, a donation by RhPAP to a local non-profit organization on behalf of the recipient, and the airing of a video profiling the recipient, or recipients, and their contributions to the health and well-being of their community. Details on the recognition event will be released as they become available.