The Sarre, in the depths of Abitibi. It is in this town of 7,300 inhabitants that Sophie Blaise and her husband, French, decided to emigrate with their two teenage children. The family just spent their first holiday season there. And she doesn’t regret anything. “We are very happy with the beautiful natural landscapes, but what “shocked” us the most, in a good way, was the kindness of the people,” she says.
Sophie Blaise, 44 years old, is a nurse. Since September, she has worked at La Sarre hospital, a hospital center which is experiencing a serious staff shortage. “Arriving at the hospital was wonderful,” she says. I joined the operating room and I have a gang, as they say. I am always complimented. It warms my heart about the state [du système] health in France and why I left. »
The family moved to La Sarre after meeting, in France, a representative of the “Grande Séduction en Abitibi-Ouest”. Launched two years ago, this citizen movement’s mission is to attract caregivers to the region by leading recruitment tours and offering study grants, installation bonuses and support to new arrivals.
“When we arrived in La Sarre, the Grande Séduction had furnished the accommodation with the necessary: we had a sofa, an armchair, the kitchen was equipped so that we could cook and the beds were made,” says Sophie Blaise, at phone. The family found happiness in this isolated corner. “In France, the village where we lived in the Vosges had 90 inhabitants,” she says. So, Saarland for us is already a big city! »
Her husband — a landscaper-pruner and former hardware store manager — got a job at a renovation and tool center in Macamic, a town neighboring La Sarre. The teenagers made friends. They have gained autonomy. “They walk to school and can go to their activities, to the cinema and to the arena without us,” explains Sophie Blaise. In France, we had to take the taxi to extracurricular activities and find a rhythm of life that suited everyone. »
Around fifty nurses recruited
For two years, the “Grande Séduction en Abitibi-Ouest” claims to have managed to convince 16 nurses to settle in the region. To these are added 33 others from abroad, recruited by Recrutement santé Québec and the CISSS de l’Abitibi-Témiscamingue. All received help from La Grande Séduction to find accommodation or childcare. A “24-hour grocery store” awaited them upon their arrival.
“We have reached 49 nurses. We gave ourselves a goal of 100 by 2026,” says the president of the citizen movement, Sylvain Trudel. The organization has raised more than $1 million through a fundraising campaign that began two years ago. She also received donations of furniture, household appliances and bicycles from individuals. “It’s a collective effort,” he said. People see that we don’t do this for nothing. »
Health services depend on it. In October 2021, the CISSS de l’Abitibi-Témiscamingue announced the closure of half of the 44 beds at La Sarre hospital, due to a lack of staff. Three beds in the mental health unit have since been reopened thanks, among other things, to recruitment efforts, the rearrangement of working hours and the reorganization of services, indicates the CISSS.
The Cégep de l’Abitibi-Témiscamingue has also pushed the wheel by offering, in La Sarre itself, an attestation of college studies (AEC) program for integration into the nursing profession (additional training for qualified nurses). outside Quebec). During the winter session, it will launch a DEC in nursing intended for practical nurses. The five students from Abitibi-Ouest will be able to follow their general education remotely.
Cassava in La Sarre
A nurse in Cameroon, Laurence Carole Makouo obtained the AEC a few months ago. “I am very happy and very proud to have obtained my diploma,” she said. What’s stressing me more at the moment is my College exam, which will take place in March. » In September, 56% of graduates from outside Canada who took the test for the first time failed it. “It’s really worrying, but I’m not giving up,” she said.
The candidate for the practice of the nursing profession (CEPI) works in the mental health unit of La Sarre hospital. She arrived in Abitibi-Ouest in September 2022 with her husband and their five children, aged 3 to 12. “It’s going well,” says the 32-year-old mother. I like the city which is relaxed, which is not noisy. For me, Saarland is the ideal route for raising children. »
Doriane Aurelle Etemgoua, 33, also appreciates the calm of the city, where she has lived with her husband and two children since October 2022. The family previously lived in Douala, the economic capital of Cameroon. “I think it suits me better now,” says CEPI, “given that I lived in areas that were too noisy. »
Local businesses have adapted to the new clientele. Products appeared in La Sarre, such as cassava. “The only thing that I find really difficult for me is the climate,” observes Doriane Aurelle Etemgoua. I can’t adapt to that. I do not like winter. I’m never going to like him. » That doesn’t stop him from convincing friends to come and live in Abitibi-Ouest. “I attracted lots of people!” » she maintains.
And this is perhaps the key to retaining new nurses in the region: welcoming their loved ones and friends with open arms, according to Sylvain Trudel. “We’re not crazy. We know that if they rebuild their family unit here, we are sure to secure our initial investments,” says the partner of an accounting and tax consulting firm. So far, only one recruited nurse has left, according to him.
For Sophie Blaise, there is no question of “going backwards”. Living in Quebec is an old “dream” for her and her husband. And the family found their home. All that remains is to become owners.