Ontario’s community health sector is coming together to voice concerns about staffing issues, caused by a growing pay gap.

“We want to close the gap. We want all community and team health workers to be paid a fair wage and, dare I say, a living wage,” said Marg Alfieri, registered dietitian and president of Grand Bend and Area Community Health. Center.

An open house was held Tuesday at Grand Bend and Area Community Health Center, where staff emphasized the importance of the work they do providing essential health care.

Primary Care Coordinator Paige Baltessen said she knows firsthand the importance of reducing the pay gap for employees working at the region’s primary health care center.

An open house was held at the Grand Bend Community Health Center on October 29, 2024 (Reta Ismail/CTV News London)

“My nursing staff has a pay gap of between 15 and 20 dollars (compared to) their colleagues in the hospital. Every day it is (more) difficult to ensure that they stay here,” Baltessen continued. “They often say they love living and working in their community, but it’s getting harder every day with the rising cost of inflation to be able to stay here.”

Baltessen said the pay gap causes employee turnover, burnout and major hiring challenges.

“Last year we lost two employees in the hospitals, so I have to cover front-line staff frequently. I work in reception and cover on weekends, so we work six days a week, sometimes in nine or 10 hour shifts. “My staff is trying to meet the needs of the community so that there are no barriers to access for our patients,” Baltessen explained.

Primary care coordinator Paige Baltessen said pay in other healthcare positions is competitive and they are on a tight budget (Reta Ismail/CTV News London)

Community health centers are subject to pay scales based on a provincial budget, which has limited pay increases in recent years.

The group says a whole-of-government approach is needed to address current challenges.

“Funding needs to be allocated for some type of parity. I think if you can do the same work here that you could do in an urban center, I think you should get the same amount of money,” explained Dan Sageman, Grand Vice President of the board of directors of the Bend and Area Community Health Center.

Sageman told CTV News he believes rural healthcare workers deserve competitive compensation (Reta Ismail/CTV News London)

“The worst case scenario is that if you can’t get the salaries you need, you’re probably going to try to cannibalize a position, right? “So you take a position and it’s not filled, and then you use those resources to distribute it,” warned Ralph Ganter, CEO of Grand Bend and Area Community Health Center.

If wages don’t increase, staff fear it will be harder to access essential healthcare services in Ontario’s growing communities.