Sgt. Suzanne Adams is one of the first batch of Canadian Armed Forces members deployed to the Yukon to work in the territory’s health-care system.
Adams was sent to the medical imaging department at the Whitehorse General Hospital for four weeks.
Her deployment to the Yukon allowed her to freshen up skills she doesn’t regularly tap into. Adams was mostly there to refresh her skills related to the operating room, emergency x-rays and adaptive radiography, and going to different wards with the mobile unit.
“It keeps our skills up to date, and so that we are ready at any time,” Adams said.
She is one of several Canadian military members who have been deployed to Whitehorse, Dawson City and Watson Lake hospitals to refresh their skills since the Yukon government struck a deal with Canada’s Department of National Defence (DND).
The federal DND and Yukon government agree the mutually beneficial program allows military members to refresh their competencies while filling much-needed vacancies in the territory’s health-care system. Thirteen nurses, five medical radiologists and a physician from the Canadian military have come to serve in the Yukon, as of Jan. 20, 2025.
The agreement with the Yukon started in March 2024.
A Yukon government cabinet communications spokesperson indicated by email that the program is “paying dividends” for the territory, reducing local health workforce demands and providing important opportunities for military and Yukon health professionals to learn from each other while delivering care.
Cabinet communications director Jordan Owens said the partnership technically involves the Government of Yukon, Yukon Hospital Corporation and Canadian Forces Health Services.
“Our government is extremely proud of this partnership and we hope it will be able to continue,” Owens said.
Maj. Alex Beaton manages the Canadian Armed Forces program.
Beaton said the military health workers’ salaries are covered by DND while the Yukon government pays for travel and housing.
He indicated the armed forces has programs across the country. He said the territory-wide deal differs from the institution-based relationships in Ontario. The funding model is unique, per Beaton.
“We've had very good learning opportunities, from our perspective, and great practice experiences,” he said.
“It's certainly something we want to sustain into the future and then potentially expand to other care providers.”
Beaton said more qualified, regulated health professionals will be sent to the Yukon to maintain their clinical competence in the future.
When asked if the Yukon government making this deal with the military signals an emergency or health-care crisis, Beaton indicated the program is something the armed forces needs to support its members.
Adams currently works at a clinic with no operating room at a Canadian forces base in Nova Scotia.
“It's important for us to keep up those skills that we don't use every day,” she said.
“It's very useful to be there and be in the operating room and to put those skills to use. And the same with the mobile and the adaptive radiography, where you may have to change your thought process on how you position someone, or how, you know, is the best way to take an image for their situation.”
Adams felt rewarded and additionally gratified knowing she was helping to fill a vacancy in the Yukon health-care system as part of the clinical readiness maintenance program.
“It was nice to know that we're helping the community,” Adams said.
Contact Dana Hatherly at dana.hatherly@yukon-news.com
