The Mayor of Prince Albert says part of the momentum behind a recently announced tax abatement plan to build more affordable housing is the amount of staff that will be needed in Prince Albert once the new Victoria Hospital is complete in 2028. The number of staff needed works out to 500 full time equivalent positions.

Bill Powalinsky says another complication is the expansion at Saskatoon’s City Hospital. The province announced in March of this year a 109 acute care bed expansion at Saskatoon City Hospital (SCH). In a news release the provincial government said to facilitate the expansion, SHA will be hiring more than 500 additional staff and physicians.

Mayor Powalinsky understands the complexity and challenges of staffing to that level and says it’s all hands-on deck including partnerships with post-secondary institutions. He says they met with senior staff with the Saskatchewan Health Authority to discuss how they were going to be able to staff the hospital when the expansion is complete in light of shortages in the health care system.

Powalinsky says, “It will take a “tremendous amount of effort and international recruitment to accommodate the requirements for Prince Albert and Saskatoon.”