Eastern Health has reported that it has been able to recruit a really high number of nurses this year. This has been the largest recruitment in the last three years.

The Eastern Regional Health Authority declared that it had recruited 126 nurses from Newfoundland and Labrador's 2010 graduating class.

Last year the organization had employed 200 experienced nurses, 98 graduate nurses and three international recruits. According to statistics, the health authority has gained a total of 185 nurses since April of 2009.

CEO of Eastern Health, Vickie Kaminski attributes the success of this gain to the fact that the health authority has become capable of offering enduring jobs at competitive salaries.

It has been reported that, last year itself the Government has made an agreement with Newfoundland and Labrador nurses. The agreement included salary hikes of 21.5 cent, which would be compounded over a span of four years. The deal comprises a boost in the opening wages and top of the salary scale.

At present the health authority has more than 300 open nursing posts.

Kaminski evinces that the fresh recruitments ease the pressure from most strained areas of the organization, such as the emergency division.