Premier cuts ribbon at Neepawa Training Centre

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This article was published 23/01/2024 (681 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

NEEPAWA — Premier Wab Kinew and other representatives from the province were in Neepawa yesterday to cut the ribbon for the grand opening of the new Neepawa Training Centre for nurses.

Twenty students are already taking classes at the refurbished building at 239 Mill St., which previously served as the community’s RCMP detachment.

The program will allow more potential nurses to enter the workforce and help alleviate the shortage of health-care professionals in Manitoba, Kinew said.

“You’re reaching potential nurses who might not otherwise be able to join the front line. You’re coming and delivering the training where people are, where they can still pursue that designation,” he said.

The Town of Neepawa partnered with Assiniboine Community College (ACC) to create the new centre as a rural training hub that will generate more skilled workers in the region. The two-year practical nursing diploma program is the first program hosted by the facility. Once the students graduate, they will be able to work as licensed practical nurses in Manitoba.

Neepawa Mayor Brian Hedley said he was motivated to get a nursing training program in Neepawa after work began on the town’s new hospital, scheduled to be completed next year.

“Due to the announcement of the new hospital and already growing shortage of medical staff across the province, the importance of training people became more important,” Hedley said.

The biggest hurdle, he went on to say, was finding a building to host the program. When the RCMP detachment moved to a new location, the Town of Neepawa made the decision to allocate funds from the municipal tax base to renovate the Mill Street building and make it acceptable for use as a nursing training program.

The renovation was completed in November, Hedley said. The town leased the building to ACC and the program began on Jan. 8.

“It is our hope that once the first group graduates, we can offer further sessions for the training of nurses and other post-secondary health-related education, whether it be health care, paramedics,” Hedley said. Health-related training is the town’s focus for the building, and its ultimate goal is to create partnerships with the Manitoba government and educational institutions to participate in reducing the impact of labour shortages across the province, he added.

Prairie Mountain Health enjoys a strong working relationship with ACC, said Treena Slate, the health authority’s regional lead acute care services and chief nursing officer. The new program in Neepawa will strengthen the workforce and bring training closer to home, she said.

“The training centre and ACC’s practical nursing program play important roles in supporting service delivery.”

Neepawa is a thriving community that is home to many young families and global businesses, Kinew said, adding the province is committed to working with post-secondary institutions like ACC to connect more rural Manitobans with careers in health care.

“Our mission is to fix health care,” the premier said. “Working together, we can achieve that goal by supporting the students here in Neepawa that are starting their journey towards fulfilling careers as future nursing professionals.”

Renée Cable, Manitoba’s advanced education and training minister, said she was “thrilled” to see the new centre in Neepawa poised to become a hub for workforce and economic development.

“I congratulate the Town of Neepawa on the opening of this facility,” she said.

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