Discover the benefits of a health-care career in Merritt

Sarah Hoggard moved to Merritt this summer to work at Nicola Valley Hospital (NVH) as a lab technician. While affordability, family and lifestyle were drawing features, Sarah ultimately moved to Merritt for the position with NVH.

The hospital’s clinical operations manager Mark Bagabuyo says Nicola Valley Hospital’s size and location offers a unique opportunity to experience working in a wide variety of departments and roles.

“One of the allures of working in these rural communities is you have a broader scope of practice compared to some health-care facilities where you’re more specialized,” said Mark.

However, he says for health-care workers looking to build on and specialize in certain skills, there are opportunities as well.

“Our emergency room is our big draw to the hospital. It’s one of the more specialized units in Merritt. We have four in-patient beds and we have a two-bed trauma room,” noted Mark. “Being right along the Coquihalla Highway, we see a lot of emergencies come through Nicola Valley Hospital, giving nurses and others that first-hand experience dealing with trauma patients.”

There are staff like Deb Boone who has been a nursing unit clerk at NVH since 1990. She believes strongly in the hospital and puts her heart and soul into her work because of what it means to the community.

“This is my home, this is my family’s home, so we want to give it all we can,” said Deb, who says many of her colleagues, whether from Merritt or elsewhere, come to work with that same mentality.

There are many reasons to join the health-care team in Merritt, but one is the unique rural incentives offered by Interior Health and the province of B.C. 

• $10,000 signing bonus for eligible Registered Nurses
• Relocation allowance for eligible applicants
• Eligible employees can benefit from the B.C. Loan Forgiveness Program with up to 20 per cent of the loan paid per year over a five-year period

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