Selfcare/Telecare service to expand to Corner Brook and Stephenville

Health and Community Services Minister Tom Osborne today announced that government will expand operations of the new Selfcare/Telecare Nurse Contact Centre to Corner Brook and Stephenville, with St. Anthony remaining as the anchor site. The new service, which is expected to be operational by September, will provide a toll-free health line, operated by registered nursing staff, available for all residents of the province to access 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

"Government remains committed to the Selfcare/Telecare initiative for the residents of our province, with St. Anthony serving as the base for this service," said Minister Osborne. "The St. Anthony site will be pivotal to the Selfcare/Telecare Service by serving as the home base for registered nurses, several key clinical nursing leadership positions and for administrative and support staff. Through the establishment of two new satellite sites in Corner Brook and Stephenville, we will provide economic opportunity to residents in those areas as well."

Approximately 21 non-clinical, administrative and support personnel will be recruited for the St. Anthony site. Clinidata will continue to recruit up to 10 nursing positions in St. Anthony, with four nurses recruited to date. An additional 19 nurses will be recruited to work on the West Coast, in either Corner Brook or Stephenville. The total nurse complement, including full and part-time positions, will be 29 nurses.

Minister Osborne said that while there have been some challenges with recruiting nurses to St. Anthony, government remains committed to the initiative and to providing economic opportunity for the residents of rural Newfoundland and Labrador.

"As a government, we recognized there could be some challenges with the recruitment of nurses to St. Anthony and Clinidata has carried out extensive recruitment efforts. We will continue our efforts to recruit as many nurses as possible for the St. Anthony site," said Minister Osborne. "Through the establishment of new satellite sites in Corner Brook and Stephenville, we are confident that we will be successful in recruiting the balance of the nurses needed to begin operating the service in September. I am pleased that we are able to provide these new economic opportunities for other rural areas of our province."

Government announced $771,000 in Budget 2005 to launch the Selfcare-Telecare service in conjunction with the Atlantic Provinces as part of the Primary Health Care Atlantic partnership. The Province of New Brunswick is the lead province for Selfcare/Telecare Atlantic, a $6.9 million initiative funded by Health Canada, through the Primary Health Care Transition Fund. Newfoundland and Labrador has signed an agreement with the Province of New Brunswick to establish the contact centre in the province.

As part of the agreement, New Brunswick�s service provider, Clinidata, will operate the Newfoundland and Labrador contact centre. Clinidata, the largest nursing telecare service in Canada and among the top five providers of telenursing in the world, currently provides telehealth services to populations in New Brunswick, Ontario, the Northwest Territories and the Canadian Armed Forces.

This initiative is part of government�s commitment to use information and communications technology to enhance the delivery of health care services to residents of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Media contact: Tansy Mundon, Communications, (709) 729-1377, 685-1741, tansymundon@gov.nl.ca.

2006 07 21                                                12:00 noon