Two years into her environmental studies program and $20,000 in debt, Telsa Mae Atkinson realized her dream to become a park ranger wasn’t working. So she made the leap into health care. On April 6, she and nearly two dozen of her peers celebrated their graduation from Capilano University’s kálax-ay, Sunshine Coast Campus Health Care Assistant Program.
“When students come into this program, they want to stay on the Coast,” said Julia Denholm, dean of the faculty of arts and sciences at Capilano University and kálax-ay, Sunshine Coast Campus, who said the local demand for health care assistant workers remains high. “I know we’ve heard a lot about the controversy around Trellis and the other long-term care facilities on the Sunshine Coast, but trust me – there’s lots of work and lots of demand for these students and these skills.”
She said the intensive two-semester program is now offered annually, capped at 20 students. Graduates work as caregivers in a variety of settings, including home support, acute care and long-term care facilities.
The Trellis deal, which is still being finalized, could see a new privately owned and operated long-term facility built on shíshálh Nation lands, while shuttering Shorncliffe and Totem Lodge, both of which are public.
“The beauty and the tragedy of working in post-secondary education is the world goes on without us and we have to adapt, so we can’t do much about what’s going to happen as the new facility gets built,” said Denholm. “What we’ve seen in response is a little reduction in demand, but what we’ve been able to do is go to our community partners, who are saying to us there’s lots of demand for these trained graduates. It might not be exactly in these locations, or that might not be exactly what they’re looking for, but we can help them find careers on the Coast in the community that are going to be well paying.”
Atkinson, who gave a speech with fellow graduate (and former Coast Reporter journalist) Christine Wood, is optimistic about her prospects. She plans to eventually return to school for nursing and wants to stay on the Coast long-term. Currently, she has a position with the Sunshine Coast Association for Community Living. “I absolutely love it and I want to work there for as long as possible,” she said.
And while she isn’t thinking about working at long-term care facilities, some of her fellow graduates are. “I do know for the people wanting to apply in VCH for homecare, it’s going to affect them… Private companies are moving in,” she said in reference to businesses like Nurse Next Door. “I guess we’ll just have to roll with the waves and see how it goes.”
Members of the Hopkins and Halfmoon Bay branches of the Sunshine Coast Healthcare Auxiliary also attended to provide surprise cheques to each graduate to assist them as they enter the job market.
