National Nursing Week kicked off with a sizable donation to the Dauphin Regional Health Centre.
The RBC Foundation put forward $10,000 dollars to support the retention and professional development of nurses at the Health Centre.
This support comes at an opportune time, as Statistics Canada notes many healthcare workers are feeling the strain of an overloaded system.
RBC Community Manager, Kent Nordin says RBC acknowledges the difficulties the Healthcare field has faced over the last several years and is glad the foundation can help.
"We're giving a lot to hospital foundations to support nurses, to help develop more and train more, and to get more ready. A lot of the shortages came during the pandemic, so that was recognized as a need and RBC stepped up."
This donation will be going towards the center's Delha Cort Education fund, which encourages existing staff to further their education, with a focus on facility-related education and personal development.
In July of last year, Statistics Canada reported 23,620 vacant nursing positions in the first quarter of 2022 and a shocking all-time high of 136,800 job vacancies within the health sector in that same period.
Nursing Week is held in honor of nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale and is designed to raise awareness of the massive contribution that nurses make to the well-being of Canadians.
Nation Nursing Week begins today, May 8th, and continues through to May 14th.