Community Navigator named by Yarmouth and Area Chamber of Commerce to boost physician recruitment

YARMOUTH, N.S. — Rebecca Rose will lead the charge to acquire and retain medical professionals for southwest Nova Scotia.
Rose, of Yarmouth, has been hired as Community Navigator, a position created by the Yarmouth and Area Chamber of Commerce and overseen by the Community Navigator Oversight Committee, which is comprised of stakeholders in the project. 
Rose, who has a degree in social statistics, worked in the psychiatric unit at the Yarmouth Regional Hospital for several years before taking time off to raise her children and do bookkeeping for a large company. A lifelong learner, she then went back to school for massage therapy. 
Given the fact that the Yarmouth area has lost family physicians and specialists in the past year or so, Rose acknowledges she faces a considerable challenge when she begins her new job Sept. 16.
“As community navigator, I will get to showcase our local communities and all we have to offer to medical professionals looking to set up or move their practice here,” she says. 
“It is an opportunity to connect newcomers with established members of our community, contributing to high levels of feeling connected and valued. And I will have opportunities to connect with our current medical professionals, making sure that they know they are valued and offering what assistance I can to promote a long, happy and healthy career here.” 
Among her duties, Rose will also support local students considering medical careers.
The process that led to her selection as Community Navigator began last spring when Angie Green and Kerry Muise, the new president and vice-president of the Chamber respectively, launched a task force with Muise as chair to focus on doctor recruitment. 
Ultimately, it resulted in a determination to hire a Community Navigator to work in conjunction with the Nova Scotia Health Authority’s physician recruiter for Western Nova Scotia and the establishment of Oversight Committee, which is funded by the Yarmouth Hospital Foundation, Town of Yarmouth, the Municipalities of Yarmouth and Argyle, the Province of Nova Scotia, the Chamber, and Doctors NS. The Oversight committee was charged with selecting the Community Navigator and with providing guidance and support.
The stakeholders together are contributing nearly $160,000 a year to fund the endeavour.
“The Chamber and our funding partners are really excited to be moving into the next phase of our doctor recruitment task force,” Muise says. “We're  thrilled to have recruited a stellar candidate who will be able to move this project forward. 
“Rebecca Cassidy Rose, with her skills, connections and work ethic, will be a huge asset and we look forward to working with her to get our community back to where we need to be in terms of physician staffing. I'm sure she'll have the respect and help of the public as we reach out to the community.”
Harold Cook, chair of the Yarmouth Hospital Foundation and a member of the Oversight Committee, is equally enthusiastic. “As a primary donor, we’ve been  directly involved in the recruitment of the Community Navigator and are extremely pleased with the selection,” he says.
“Physician recruitment is a new venture for the Foundation,” Cook says, “but I believe it’s within our scope to join in efforts to ensure that the residents of the Tri-Counties have the medical support that is required.”