Dale Shutt
Local Journalism Initiative
SHAWVILLE – The Pontiac Community Hospital Board (PCHB) announced the first recipients of the MacLachlan Family Bursary Program for nursing students, June 11.
The bursary program, revealed in April by PCHB Vice-President Alan Dean and Health Network Coordinator Nicole Boucher-Larivière, will provide $100,000 towards assisting nursing students in achieving their education goals. Accepted students will receive $5,000 per academic year in full-time studies and $2,500 for part-time.
Four nursing students – varying in current educational status and experience – qualified for the first year of the program. As each student graduates, a new recipient will be chosen to replace them.
Julie Soucie, who currently works in the long-term facility at the PCH, was encouraged by her supervisor to upgrade her qualifications. She has attended school three days per week for the past year and will finish her studies next year.
Marie-Pier Dufour has family in Pontiac but lives in Gatineau. She just finished her first year in nursing school and wants to settle in the Pontiac once she graduates. She currently works during the summer in reception at the CLSC Mansfield.
Sarah Jewell started her career as a PSW in the long-term facility and is currently working as a nursing student in the PCH emergency department. She graduated from nursing school this year and now wishes to pursue her BA at Université du Québec en L’Outaouais.
Kayla Legault from Fort-Coulonge is the youngest recipient. She will start nursing school next September.
Students will have guaranteed work at the PCH or Mansfield CLSC during their studies and summer vacations. After graduation, they must agree to work one year in the Pontiac for every year they receive a bursary.
PCH is in desperate need of full-time nurses. Currently, only 15% of its nursing staff are full-time. The rest of the nursing staff is outsourced to the private sector. Bill MacLachlan and his wife Inga Gusarova, sponsors of the bursary fund, said it’s a privilege to be part of the solution.
Photo – PCH Board members and nursing students: Natalie Romain, Amanda Gervais,
Nicole Boucher-Larivière, Julie Souci, Sarah Jewell, Marie-Pier Dufour, Bill MacLachlan,
Inga Gusarova, Alan Dean, and Dr. Tom O’Neill. (DS)