ARCH committee backers press for bylaw to launch

ARCH committee backers press for bylaw to launch health care recruitment effort

Two community advocates said they are ready to move from talk to action on health care recruitment in the Crowsnest Pass, but needed council to finalize a bylaw establishing the Attraction and Retention Committee for Health Care, known as ARCH.

Monica Zyla said her path into the file began in February 2024 when she joined others to nominate the local medical clinic for the Rhapsody Healthcare Heroes Award. 

“The manager of the clinic contacted me in March this year and said, ‘Hey, do you want to come to this Rural Healthcare Professionals Action Plan sort of dormant committee meeting and see what you can add,’” Zyla said. “I had no idea what I signed up for but went and that’s where I got to meet Barb and so many other interesting people on the issue … attracting and retaining [health care] professionals and their allied services.”

After that spring meeting, Zyla and fellow advocate Barb Huseby asked to appear before council. They made a delegation on June 25, 2025 with visible support from staff and doctors from both clinics, the health foundation and the ladies auxiliary. 

“Councillors and mayor were very excited and said that they supported the idea completely,” Zyla said.

Council support turned into a motion on July 15 when former Councillor Lisa Sygutek brought forward the proposal to create ARCH as a committee of council. Zyla said it passed unanimously with direction to draft the bylaw and begin forming the committee.

Since then, the pair said they had tried to harness volunteer energy without crossing procedural lines that apply to committees of council. 

“We have the volunteers, we have the interest, we have the drive and ambition, we’re just waiting on council,” Huseby said. “This is where we are, kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place right now.”

Zyla told the Pass Herald she asked council in early October to discuss the file at its Oct. 16 special budget meeting. She said the advice was to reintroduce ARCH to the incoming council. A delegation request for Nov. 25 had been submitted. 

“We will ask for that bylaw to be expedited so that we can actually go ahead and become a committee,” Zyla said, noting council must approve committee volunteers before formal meetings can occur.

The immediate goals were straightforward. 

“Have the bylaw in place, have the funding in place for next year, and to really have volunteers recruited for the committee and the subcommittees that we envision that will actually be doing the work,” Zyla said. 

With the holidays approaching, she added early gestures could include “dropping off cookies at the hospital thanking people for working over Christmas and at the clinics … and hopefully, with new recruits, greeting new recruits.”

Asked what success would look like over the next two years, Huseby said the markers were practical. 

“The Attraction and Retention Committee … looks for lower vacancies. It looks for more consistent access to healthcare,” she said. “We just want to make all of our healthcare providers in our community feel welcomed and appreciated and valued, and that people … in a teaching or a training capacity will want to stick around afterwards.”

Zyla said the aim was to make the Pass a destination for practitioners and families. 

“Have you heard about what they’re doing down in the Pass,” she said, imagining the word of mouth she hoped to build, adding she wanted to see grassroots buy in across the community from school science programs to church groups and recreation.

A soft call for volunteers remains on the table. Residents were encouraged to watch for the Nov. 25 council agenda. Email archcnp@gmail.com for more information.