Christina Mercier
SDG COUNTIES, Ontario - A passion for helping people directly, and preventative medicine has led one nurse practitioner to move to our region and begin practising.
Christina Mercier has joined the Rideau-St. Lawrence Health Team as a nurse practitioner, and is looking forward to enhancing overall patient satisfaction and outcomes.
“In my role, I will support the clinic by managing a significant number of same-day appointments, ensuring that patients have timely access to health-care services. This approach allows us to promptly address their healthcare needs,” said Mercier. “Living in the SDG Counties, I have observed first-hand the challenges some community members face in accessing health care. This inspired me to contribute to improving local health-care services. I am driven by the desire to make a positive impact and help bridge the gap in health-care access, aiming to make a meaningful difference in the lives of my fellow community members.”
Mercier is a successful applicant to SDG Counties’ Great River Docs - Medical Recruitment Contest. The great River Docs campaign pays five qualifying medical professionals $5,000 each to sign employment contracts within the SDG Counties region. In order to be eligible, candidates must be licensed medical professionals qualified to work as physicians, physician assistants, nurses or nurse practitioners.
“After completing my degree, I began working in a hospital in a research capacity,” said Mercier. “This experience exposed me to the significant impact that health-care professionals have on people's lives and inspired me to further my education. I decided to go back to school and earn my Bachelor of Science in Nursing, with the goal of becoming a nurse practitioner.”
Earlier this year the Ontario government announced it would invest $4 million to connect more people to primary care teams in Cornwall and SDG Counties. The funding will be used to expand existing primary-care services offered by the Seaway Valley Community Health Centre, Centre de santé Communautaire de l’Estrie, Glengarry Nurse Practitioner Led Clinic, and the Rideau St. Lawrence Family Health Team.
“The program has been an unqualified success,” said Tara Kirkpatrick, SDG Counties manager of economic development. “Our goal of bringing quality health care to residents of SDG Counties is a pillar of the strategic priorities we have set for the future. By initiating that process, and seeing the benefits of having medical professionals move to our region, we are creating a solid foundation for ensuring that residents get the best care possible.”
For more information on the Great River Docs campaign, visit www.sdgcounties.ca/medical-recruitment-contest