Press Releases

Prominent Canadian researcher discusses health sector recruitment challenges at Bayshore seminar

March 26, 2007, Mississauga – Dr. Linda Duxbury, one of Canada’s leading workplace health researchers, discussed how health care organizations can overcome the increasing shortage of qualified health care workers, at a seminar organized by Bayshore Home Health.

The seminar, entitled Managing a Changing Workforce, was held in Mississauga, Ontario on March 26 and co-sponsored by Aon Consulting and Pallet Valo LLP. It was open to Bayshore invited guests from the health care community and Bayshore’s management staff.

Dr. Duxbury is a professor at the Carleton University School of Business and the author of numerous papers and books about work-life balance. At the seminar, she spoke about the most effective human resource skills that health care organizations can use to support recruitment, retention, work place balance and career development. One of her key points was that companies need to train managers to be supportive of their staff, as employees in reality work for their manager and not their company.

“We invited Dr. Duxbury to speak because she is well-known in her field, has proven expertise and is a dynamic speaker,” says Holly Quinn, Bayshore’s Director of Clinical Programs. “We want to tap into her knowledge and research to help us develop thought provoking ideas and effective strategies to the workforce challenges the home care industry faces.”

As the supply of nurses and caregivers becomes more stretched in meeting the increasing demands of the aging Canadian population, the home care industry will need to become more effective in attracting and retaining health care professionals.

In order to meet this challenge, the industry will need to “innovate and do things differently,” says Kevin Webster, Bayshore’s Managing Director. “We have to market to a broader spectrum of health care professionals as well as develop the managerial skills and programs to meet their needs and maintain a satisfied workforce.”

Bayshore is focusing on two key human resources management strategies: better understanding of the key factors for recruiting and retaining a talented and satisfied workforce; and recognizing and more effectively managing generational differences in the workforce.

By seeking the expertise of people such as Dr. Duxbury, and helping to make her knowledge and research more widely available to the health care community, Bayshore is demonstrating leadership on an issue that is challenging to all health care organizations.

About Bayshore Home Health

Bayshore Home Health has been enhancing the quality of life, dignity and independence of Canadians in their homes since 1966. Canadian owned and operated, it is the country’s largest provider of home and community health care services, with more than 40 locations and 6,000 employees in eight provinces. Its specialties are in-home nursing, personal care and home support – offered directly to consumers and also delivered through government care programs, personal and group insurance plans, and workplace safety insurance. Its caregivers provide about 5 million hours of home care annually to 40,000 clients. The company’s other services include nurse and caregiver staffing, pharmaceutical support services, health education programs, infusion clinics and dialysis centres. Bayshore Home Health is a winner of Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies program for 2006.

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www.bayshore.ca