The Vancouver Island Health Authority has hired 119 nurses, six of them for Port Alberni’s West Coast Hospital.
Of the six new WCGH nurses, five were hired to work in medical surgery and one hired to work in community and mental health.
“We hired them as casual nurses,” said Joanne Maclaren, VIHA director of practice services. “It’s a nine-month, temporary full-time rotation.”
Maclaren said the health authority normally hires this many new graduates around this time each year. During the nine-month contract, nurses can apply for permanent positions as they become available.