Ford government giving $57M to recruit and retain 225 nurse practitioners
Posted October 5, 2022 11:38 am.
Last Updated October 5, 2022 11:49 am.
Against the backdrop of an Etobicoke long-term care home, the Ford government has announced millions of dollars to hire more nurses for the long-term care sector.
“We are investing $57 million over the next three years to recruit and retain up to 225 additional nurse practitioners for the long-term care sector,” said Paul Calandra, Minister of Long-Term Care.
As part of the program, long-term care homes can request funding for eligible employment expenses – including salary, benefits, and overhead costs – for newly hired nurse practitioners. The funding also provides up to $5,000 in relocation support for nurse practitioners who are hired to work full-time in rural communities and who have agreed to provide a minimum of 12 months of service.
Nurse practitioners are registered nurses who have an advanced university education and who may work in the long-term care sector as part of a health-care team that develops, implements, and evaluates residents’ care plans.
Many nurses have left the sector because of the Ford government’s Bill 124, which limits annual salary increases to one per cent for many parts of the public sector in the province.
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Calandra didn’t address those concerns, nor did he directly address questions about Bill 7, which allows the government to move patients from a hospital bed to a long-term care home not of their choosing.
When asked how many hospital beds that has freed up, Calandra said they were continuing to monitor the situation.
There are reports that some hospitals have decided against using the practice outlined in the controversial bill.
