B.C. extends PRRI for healthcare workers until June 2025

FORT ST. JOHN. B.C. — A financial incentive program offering nurses up to $8,000 a year to work in rural communities like Fort St. John and Dawson Creek is being extended until the summer. 

The B.C. Ministry of Health is extending its Provincial Rural Retention Incentive (PRRI) until June 30th while staff assess the program’s effectiveness and determine the scope of the initiative for the coming year.

The province’s Rural and Remote Recruitment Initiative will also remain in effect unless the ministry gives two weeks’ notice of any change or cessation.

The PRRI program provides up to $2,000 per quarter — prorated to productive hours — to a maximum of $8,000 per year to eligible nurses working in any of the 80 rural communities across the province. 

“The province is investing up to $73.1 million in one-time funding to help with the unique staffing challenges faced in rural communities, as well as difficult-to-fill vacancies in urban and metro communities,” the ministry said in an emailed statement. 

“We expanded the PRRI program in spring 2024 to include 56 communities. We further expanded in the 2024/25 fiscal year to include 80 rural communities across the province.”

Ministry staff are currently evaluating the PRRI program and signing bonuses delivered by the provincial incentives program by examining criteria such as vacancy rates, worked hours, program uptake and the total cost of the program.

Communities eligible for the PRRI program in the Peace region include Fort St. John, Dawson Creek, Chetwynd, Hudson’s Hope, Tumbler Ridge and Fort Nelson

As of April 8th, 62 Northern Health employees have received signing bonuses in the northeast region of the health authority, with the incentive being offered to an additional 18 others. 

The province told Energeticcity.ca that those 18 have been sent offer letters, but either haven’t accepted the offer or started work. 

Because there are relatively small numbers of new hires per community, the ministry was unable to provide community-specific hiring statistics due to a risk of staff members being identified.

Find out more about the PRRI and other incentive programs here.

This comes after teachers, pharmacists, dentists and more could soon be eligible for student loan forgiveness if they come to work in Fort St. John.