Recruiters from an American medical facility land in Winnipeg searching for nurses wanting jobs

A job fair set up by an American health organization drew in dozens of Winnipeg nurses Wednesday.

Sanford Health is an American integrated health system headquartered in the Dakotas and is described as the largest, rural, not-for-profit health care system across the border.

Tyler Steinwand is with Sanford Health and said his team has never come to Canada, let alone Winnipeg, to hire nurses. But, after learning about the changes to Manitoba’s health care system decided to bring its career fair north. Steinwand said its looking to fill at least 300 jobs, including RN’s and clerks, as its American facilities grow.

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“We’ve heard there’s been some difficulties here with the nursing and we’re currently experiencing a nursing shortage,” Steinwand said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We've heard there's been some difficulties here with the nursing and we're currently experiencing a nursing shortage," Steinwand said.

Four Winnipeg Emergency rooms are currently being converted to Urgent Care facilities or closed.

Brianna Fay is an ER nurse at Concordia Hospital, which will undergo changes in 2018, and came to the job fair to hear what Sanford had to offer.

“It’s less than ideal. My family is here. I’m going to be far. It’s uprooting my life,” Fay said.

But with so much uncertainty surrounding her future at Concordia Fay said she feels she needs to plan her future now.

READ MORE: ‘We’re very concerned’: Health care workers in Manitoba shocked with changes to health care system

“I want to enjoy where I work, so if they’re going to replace me from an emergency department in to a personal care home, that’s not my area, that’s not what I’m passionate about,” Fay said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I want to enjoy where I work, so if they're going to replace me from an emergency department in to a personal care home, that's not my area, that's not what I'm passionate about," Fay said.

Sanford said they were happy with the candidates that came through and they intend to use their immigration lawyers connected to Sanford to help any nurse that wants to move to their team.

While a nurse may not be able to start working immediately for one of the Sanford facilities if they’re hired, Steinwand said they would receive anywhere from two to six months of paid training to get them ready and comfortable to work.