With over a thousand healthcare professionals currently under his wing, Bernard Joseph Garcia, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Premium Healthcare Providers, is definitely a leader in healthcare staffing in Canada’s Ontario province. He has been in the industry for nearly a decade now, bolstered by over 40 years of business experience that included helping manage his family enterprises which include a hospital, lodging inn with restaurant and general goods manufacturing for export.
He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in nursing. When his family migrated to Canada, he took up master’s in divinity at the University of Toronto and became a Christian pastor. He soon became involved in various businesses, including owning Black Blitz Airsoft in Waterloo, a sporting goods store.
In 2014, he tried his hand in healthcare one more time and became active in the ambulance business, working closely with Voyago Health, Ontario’s leading patient transfer service. From 2020 to the present, healthcare staffing shortages in Canada virtually crippled the healthcare system. This ignited Bernard’s growing passion in the industry, leading him to establish Premium Healthcare Providers (PHP), his rapidly growing healthcare staffing agency. With it, he aims to make an impact in the healthcare system by bridging the gap in workforce deployment and ease the general public’s access.
Premium Healthcare Providers (PHP) was recently awarded a multi-hospital contract which includes the Holland Bloorview Hospital in Toronto, the Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket, the Niagara Health hospitals, and all hospitals under Oak Valley Health, Mackenzie Health, Lakeridge Health, and Unity Health Toronto. It has also deployed healthcare professionals to Voyago Health, Switch Health and long-term care facilities and retirement homes such as Chartwell, Mon Sheong, Viva, and Sienna Living.
Bernard plans to expand PHP’s reach beyond London in the Southwest, Ottawa in the East, to Sudbury and Thunder Bay in the North. He also aims to go into personnel staffing outside the healthcare sector. As CEO of Premium Staffing Solutions and Taralets Canada Immigration and Consulting, he intends to branch out into the general labor market to help address Ontario’s looming labor shortage.
Bernard, whose forebears came from Pangasinan, hails from Ligao City in Albay and is a graduate of Ateneo de Naga High School. Prior to migrating to Canada with his family, he earned his chops helping his father, Louie Thomas Garcia, manage the family businesses for 30 plus years which then included Sofrocor Enterprises International (manufacturing and export company based in Ligao City and Manila), Dr. Sofronio B. Garcia Memorial Hospital (Ligao City) and Badjao Lodge and Restaurant (in Oas). The family also owned farmlands in Pangasinan province. He acquired his business acumen by accompanying his father in international trade fairs and watching him negotiate export deals with foreign buyers.
He got his big break during the pandemic. Taught by his father the importance of grit and determination, Bernard persevered despite the challenges by keeping his ambulance post and actively transporting patients including those who were terminally ill. He also accepted a contract with Pearson and Billy Bishop International Airports in Ontario providing vaccinations to arriving passengers and giving them assistance. The Canadian government generously rewarded his dedication and service by offering him with a contract to supply staffing for 22 tertiary hospitals all over Ontario province plus 10 retirement homes through year 2025.
Premium Healthcare Providers (PHP) currently seeks to be at the forefront of healthcare staffing in Ontario by integrating recruitment experience with a pool of qualified healthcare workers and professionals. This includes registered nurses, registered practical nurses, personal support workers, screeners, environmental cleaners, home service workers, kitchen aides, chefs and cooks, primary care paramedics and emergency first responders. Its offices are in 10 Four Seasons Place in Toronto, Ontario.
Bernard is also the owner and CEO of Taralets Canada Immigration and Consulting which provides consultancy services to people who aspire to study, travel, work and migrate to Canada.
