Ontario Is Investing $4.6M To Help Nurses Upgrade Their Skills & Here's What That Means

The Ontario government announced on Thursday that it would invest over $4.6 million in the Michener Institute to ensure that nurses looking to work in critical care units of hospitals get the training they need.

The multimillion-dollar investment will provide free training for registered nurses to upgrade their skills and cover hospital costs, including refilling their current roles to ensure care services aren't disrupted.

"As we train, retain and hire more nurses, we also want to ensure we take full advantage of their amazing skills and knowledge. That means providing new opportunities to learn and grow in their job," Premier Doug Ford said during a press conference.

"So today, we're providing $4.6 million to upskill nurses who want to work in critical care. These funds will provide nurses with free tuition to study here at Mitchener Institute and will cover all college and hospital costs including backfilling to ensure continuity of care," Ford added.

The government estimates that by spring 2023, nearly 600 registered nurses will have upgraded their education and prepared themselves to work in critical care areas in hospitals across Ontario.

"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," a statement by the premier reads.

"With a record number of new nurses registering in Ontario this year, our plan to bolster our health care work force 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.

Additionally, Ontario will be investing over $9.4 million to fast-track critical care nursing programs at Centennial College, Conestoga College, George Brown College, Laurentian University, Mohawk College and St. Lawrence College.

"This funding will help registered nurses who want to work in critical care upskill in areas like respiratory, palliative and cardiac care," Jones added.