{"id":626028,"date":"2026-04-24T17:52:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T17:52:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/626028\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T17:52:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T17:52:21","slug":"new-tool-kit-provides-tips-for-rural-manitoba-communities-looking-to-woo-health-care-recruits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/626028\/","title":{"rendered":"New ‘tool kit’ provides tips for rural Manitoba communities looking to woo health-care recruits"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Text<\/p>\n

Listen to this article<\/p>\n

Estimated 5 minutes<\/p>\n

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.<\/p>\n

A new “tool kit” is meant to help rural and remote parts of Manitoba identify gaps in their own amenities and services while helping better sell their communities to health-care workers contemplating a move.<\/p>\n

The province and the Association of Manitoba Municipalities released the 20-page guide Thursday. It pulls together a smattering of tips and anecdotal ways towns and cities already try to make their communities appealing to paramedics, nurses, doctors and other front-line staff looking to relocate.<\/p>\n

“We need to stay up to speed with the best ways to connect with these providers, and that’s what this tool kit is about,” Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said at the legislature Thursday . <\/p>\n

“It’s about giving municipalities, our partners, the latest and greatest tools so that they can be successful.<\/p>\n

A hard copy of the guide is replete with Tourism Manitoba photos showing off local lakes, landscapes and landmarks.<\/p>\n

It also includes images of health-care workers on the job. They include two front-line workers in scrubs fist-bumping in a hospital hallway, lab techs peering at a sample beneath a magnifying glass and a paramedic in reflective uniform looking out at a still lake at sunset.<\/p>\n

Nested among the photos are a variety of checklists, templates and strategies to help community leaders “showcase what makes your communities special,” the tool kit states. Asagwara suggested that could mean a community upping its social media game with splashy promotions.<\/p>\n

“Just two weeks ago, I was out for supper … and two mental health clinicians approached me to tell me that a psychiatrist from the United States … saw a social media post that I had made about a doctor choosing Manitoba,” the health minister said. “This psychiatrist is now practising here in our province.”<\/p>\n

The tool kit breaks down four different categories of recruits, including international workers arriving with a family who maybe hasn’t experienced a Prairie winter. Another category is the “Canadian relocator” coming from a larger urban area looking for a more affordable community with short commutes and a better work-life balance.<\/p>\n

There’s also “the learner,” usually a student finishing up clinical rotations and on the cusp of graduating from local post-secondary institutions. The other category is “the boomerang” recruit, someone who grew up in the country and wants to return to raise a family, the tool kit says.<\/p>\n

The guide highlights some of the basic criteria workers look for in a community before they seriously consider a move.<\/p>\n

\"AHealth Minister Uzoma Asagwara says the tool kit was designed with input from a variety of municipalities. (Bryce Hoye\/CBC)<\/p>\n

“Everything from making sure that there’s housing available, child care, you know, where is someone going to go if they need to get their car fixed, things that out-of-province health-care workers, doctors, nurses … they’re asking those questions,” Asagwara said.<\/p>\n

There are sections emphasizing faith, food, culture, social connection, schools and recommendations that areas courting recruits bring them in during annual festivals, parades, rodeos and community suppers.<\/p>\n

The tool kit tries to illustrate the importance of municipalities actively showcasing what makes their towns and cities desirable to live in by bringing together a list of strategies some communities are already employing.<\/p>\n

Under the banner “red carpet site visit,” the tool kit explains how Minnedosa provides quick tours of the community, local brochures and informal meet-and-greets when prospective workers visit the town to better “picture life beyond the workplace.”<\/p>\n

The Rural Municipality of Lac du Bonnet enlists local volunteers to “introduce recruits to the outdoor lifestyle.”<\/p>\n

“Designate a ‘first friend’: pair newcomers with a local volunteer to help them feel welcomed, connected and at home,” a blurb attributed to the RM in the tool kit states.<\/p>\n

Winkler “leverages their existing diversity” by connecting recruits from abroad with similar cultural backgrounds with staff and families already living in the city to “turn uncertainty into belonging.”<\/p>\n

In nearby Morden, officials organize airport pickups and guided tours. The southern Manitoba city also tries to lessen the stress of moving by offering short-term accommodations for recruits during exploratory visits or transitional housing options during the early days of relocation, the tool kit states.<\/p>\n

The document also underscores the importance of supports for entire families, including spousal employment opportunities. <\/p>\n

“Connect the spouse with the [local] chamber of commerce, local employers or business networkers early before they arrive to set up job interviews,” one section states.<\/p>\n

The Association of Manitoba Municipalities says the tool kit was the result of input from municipalities throughout the development stage. <\/p>\n

Association president Kathy Valentino said in a statement that “as local leaders know their communities best, this partnership is essential to ensure the tools reflect municipal priorities.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 5 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":626029,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[49,48,84,392],"class_list":["post-626028","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-health","tag-healthcare"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/626028","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=626028"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/626028\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/626029"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=626028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=626028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=626028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}