FROM CRISIS TO CAPACITY:
Rural Healthcare Access, Education & Workforce Pathways
From Crisis to Capacity is a Community Foundation of Southeastern Alberta (CFSEA)-funded project; a community-led, regional approach exploring how we can bring healthcare education and training opportunities to the residents of our communities of Consort, Hanna, Oyen, and in Special Areas #2, 3, & 4, and M.D. of Acadia Valley.
If you are a former resident of Consort, Hanna, Oyen, or the Special Areas, or M.D. of Acadia no. 34, and left the area for education or training or better career opportunities, we want to hear from you!
SURVEY OPEN UNTIL
OCTOBER 31, 2026
Your answers are confidential and anonymous.
If you are interested in doing more engagement around this topic, there will be a space so that you can share your contact information with us - it will not be tied to your survey responses.
Funded by the Community Foundation of Southeastern Alberta (CFSEA)’s 2026 Community Impact Award, in partnership with Special Areas, NAIT, and led by Consort & District Medical Centre Society.
About the project:
Rural healthcare runs on a thin line between stability and crisis. When one healthcare provider leaves our community, that can mean the closure of healthcare services like our ERs.
For years we have been trying to solve our problem by making our recruitment incentives bigger and better (… and more costly). We keep asking ourselves questions like:
“What incentive will make coming here attractive to someone?”
“How much money do we need to spend to stay competitive and convince someone to come live here?”
“How much more can we offer"?”
From Crisis to Capacity asks a different question:
“What if the people who could stabilize our rural healthcare system ALREADY live here?”
What if we stopped spending money on convincing people to come to rural, and instead, made healthcare careers accessible to the people who already live here?
Working with NAIT (Northern Alberta Institute of Technology), we’re exploring how we can use modern technology, like simualtion and virtual learning, to bring healthcare education and training opportunities to our local communities.
Your answers matter: This survey is the first step .
What you tell us will help decide which healthcare careers are most viable, what gets in the way of pursuing a healthcare career, and what training and financial supports would actually make a difference to you/your community.