KAWARTHA LAKES-The Ontario government says it is investing over $4.6 million in the Michener Institute to remove financial barriers for nurses wanting to upskill to work in critical care areas of hospitals.
“While there is still more work to do, our plan to expand Ontario’s health workforce is adding thousands of new nurses, with nearly 14,000 new nurses registered to work in the province so far this year,” said Premier Doug Ford. “We’re breaking down barriers for internationally educated nurses to work here in Ontario and are providing more opportunity for all nurses to grow in the job. It’s all hands on deck as we use every tool we have to get more nurses working in Ontario right now.”
The funding provides free tuition for students and all college and hospital costs, including backfilling their current roles to ensure continuity of care, and allows nurses to train to work in critical care areas of hospitals. Officials say by spring 2023, close to 600 registered nurses will have completed their upskilling education and will be ready to support critical care in hospitals across Ontario.
“With a record number of new nurses registering in Ontario this year, our plan to bolster our health care workforce and ensure high-quality health care is there for patients when they need it is working,” said Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “We will continue to invest in programs to recruit, retain, and train more nurses as we build a stronger, more resilient health care system for generations to come.”
In addition to the Michener Institute, the government says it is also investing more than $9.4 million to support accelerated critical care nursing at Centennial College, Conestoga College, George Brown College, Laurentian University, Mohawk College and St. Lawrence College.
