Oxford Frozen Foods provides donation to physician recruitment

A local company with a longtime track record of being there for its community has reinforced that support with a $10,000 donation to an initiative to recruit and retain physicians across Cumberland County.

“Health care is a vital part of any community and we have a huge need here in Cumberland County,” Jordan Burkhardt, director of administration at Oxford Frozen Foods, said while recently presenting the cheque to members of the recruitment and retention committee.

“When we were made aware of this initiative, we were more than happy to participate and help any way we can. For business to survive and prosper, the community has to as well.”

The physician recruitment committee has been working since 2018 to attract new doctors to Cumberland County.

Its work was expanded with a physician retention and appreciation committee that works to assist those already in the community. Since then, another committee has been formed to recruit and retain health-care professionals such as nurses.

Recently, the Town of Amherst and the Municipality of Cumberland entered into a two-year agreement to cost share the appointment of a community navigator to establish a regional approach to attract and retain doctors and other health-care professionals.

Gwen Kerr, managing director of the Cumberland Health Care Foundation, said the contribution from Oxford Frozen Foods will bolster the work that’s being done to attract and retain doctors and other health-care professionals.

“It will go a long way in supporting initiatives such as attending job fairs, where we’ve had success in the past. It will also help the navigator in helping people to acclimatize themselves to our community,” Kerr said.

Municipality of Cumberland Mayor Murray Scott, who is a member of the recruitment and retention committee, said there is a lot of work behind the scenes that people aren’t aware of.

“The funding Oxford Frozen Foods is providing will help attract doctors to this area but also help retain them,” the mayor said. “We’re so appreciative of this contribution that will help us maintain the momentum.”

Dr. Janneke Gradstein, who helped start the recruitment committee five years ago, said committee volunteers work hard with Nova Scotia Health’s recruitment team to attract physicians and showcase the collaborative, vibrant and supportive workplaces and neighbourhoods that physicians want to move to.

“Oxford Frozen Foods recognizes that to have great health care for our communities, we need to have great communities to support health care,” she said. “They have done that contributing $10,000 to our efforts. This will help us send local delegations to recruitment fairs, organize events for learners who may some day work here and develop promotional materials unique to our area.”