The Saskatchewan Ministry of Health, Saskatchewan Union of Nurses and Regional Health Authorities have signed a renewal of their partnership agreement. This two-year renewal builds on the successes of a 2008 SUN/government partnership, which committed to work together to solve Saskatchewan's shortage of Registered Nurses (RNs), Registered Psychiatric Nurses (RPNs), and Registered Nurse (Nurse Practitioners) by supporting and maintaining an appropriate, experienced, educated and engaged registered nurse workforce for the provision of high-quality, safe patient care. The agreement recognizes the importance of a collaborative approach and the use of Lean principles to transform the health care system in a manner that supports the principles of Better Health, Better Care, Better Value and Better Teams. The agreement now formally includes health regions, vital partners in the delivery of high quality health care for Saskatchewan residents.

The first of its kind in Canada, the 2008 agreement set out a framework for SUN and the provincial government to work with health regions to hire 800 RNs, RPNs and and RN(NP)s with annual targets set out for achieving this goal over four years. Since then over 900 additional registered nurses are working in the province, more than exceeding the goal.