HealthForceOntario Northern and Rural Recruitment and Retention Initiative (NRRR Initiative)
The NRRR Initiative will provide grants to physicians and new physician graduates who agree to practise in a northern or highly rural community or in one of the five major northern urban referral centres (Thunder Bay, Sudbury, North Bay, Sault Ste. Marie and Timmins).
Rurality Index for Ontario (RIO)
Communities are determined to be eligible based on their Rurality Index for Ontario (RIO) score – which will be used to ensure funding is specifically targeted to northern and highly rural communities. The RIO score (which is used for a range of programs in Ontario) is based on three factors: population (count and density), travel time to a centre offering physician care, and travel time to a centre that offers advanced specialty care.
Physicians who practise in communities with a RIO score of 40 or more will be eligible for this incentive fund. These communities face long-standing and complex challenges due to their geographic isolation and have difficulties recruiting and retaining health care providers.
The values of the grants provided to physicians are based on the community’s RIO score – the higher the RIO score, the larger the grant provided to physicians.
The physicians will be required to practise full-time comprehensive care for four years in the community, holding hospital privileges and working in a primary care model (i.e. Family Health Team) where available and appropriate.
The incentive grants will be available to family physicians and specialist physicians.
Northern Urban Referral Centres
Physicians can also receive grants to set up practise in the five northern urban referral centres (even though they have RIO scores below 40) because they play a vital role in providing health care services in northern Ontario and face significant recruitment and retention challenges. |
