AJAs 2024 Finalists
Have Nurses, Will Travel
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| Date Aired or Published | February 16, 2024 |
| Media outlet where first aired or published: | The Globe and Mail |
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| Location: | NB and NL |
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Short explanation of the story and how it developed: Dear judges, Journalists Kelly Grant, Tu Thanh Hà and Stephanie Chambers spent four months looking into the impact of travel nursing on the public healthcare system, focusing in particular on a little-known company, Canadian Health Labs (CHL), which had managed to clinch huge contracts in New Brunswick and in Newfoundland and Labrador. Everyone who worked for CHL had signed a contract with a non-disclosure clause but we convinced 35 people, including 26 nurses, to talk to us. We examined court records, corporate registries, land titles and filed 40 Freedom of Information requests, compiling 4,500 pages of invoices, contracts and emails. When New Brunswick’s Vitalité Health Network wouldn’t release any of its records, we obtained CHL’s New Brunswick contracts from a source within the company. (L'Acadie Nouvelle noted that in a Feb. 23, 2024, editorial: "As usual, Vitalité has wallowed in secrecy in order to prevent the publication of this information. The Globe's investigative journalists knew better and managed to obtain copies of these contracts.”) By the end of our reporting, we revealed that: * A single provider, CHL, stood to gain hundreds of millions of dollars from taxpayers in Atlantic Canada, by charging hourly rates twice or three times the rates of other companies, and six times what a regular nurse earned. * CHL had billed taxpayers in Newfoundland and New Brunswick for millions of dollars in meals, even though none of their nurses ever received those allowances. In addition, CHL claimed a raft of frivolous expenses associated with moving nurses, like an air fryer and pet transportation. * CHL extracted further revenues by charging health authorities for lodging and car rental via affiliated companies. The story dominated debate in legislatures. Auditors general in both provinces launched investigations – the New Brunswick audit already wrapped up and corroborated our findings that there were questionable billing practices and unreasonable costs. As a result, Newfoundland didn’t renew its staffing agreements with CHL and changed its procurement rules for travel nurses. In New Brunswick, the province tabled on March 19 legislation to cancel the CHL contract. We are proud to have been the catalyst behind this public debate and these changes. |
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Resources of the newsroom (money and time) available to complete the story: Two reporters and one news researcher working for four months. |
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