People told them they wanted more medical care, and they listened.

The Saskatchewan Health Authority has recently posted more than 175 full-time healthcare jobs. These jobs are aimed at addressing rural and remote healthcare needs in Saskatchewan.

In the West Central part of the province, that means jobs in places like Biggar, Rosetown, Leader, and Kindersley have been opened.

Saskatchewan's Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, Seniors, and Rural and Remote Health, Everett Hindley, is happy to have taken all the feedback they received from people, and to have turned it into results.

"I often heard that there were cases where there were part-time positions where they had individuals, local individuals, who were perhaps interested in applying for those positions, but financially not able to do that if it's only a part-time position," recalled Hindley.

Hearing that, they worked to turn these into full-time positions that could help sustain local communities.

That's all part of a $60 million plan the Saskatchewan government has to build back the healthcare infrastructure after the pandemic.

"It's to deal with some of the shortages that we have right now," confirms Hindley. "But also, to build into the future."

By setting up more medical infrastructure and jobs now, while the economy is booming, they will be able to build up a level of provided care that will be able to cope with the growing demand as the population continues to climb in Saskatchewan. More readily available healthcare in smaller communities means more options for families that move into the area that depend on the care and more support for the members who have always been part of said communities.  

A list of those applicable communities is available on the Saskatchewan government's website.