Advertisement 1

PSW shortage poses crisis in long-term care

Through this agreement, the Extendicare network in Timmins has committed to offering a job and a $1,000 bursary to four graduates upon completion of the PSW program.

Article content

With the shortage of personal support workers (PSWs) approaching a crisis, Extendicare and Collège Boréal have teamed up with the aim of creating an incentive for more people to enrol in that program.

Advertisement 2
Story continues below
Article content

Through this agreement, the Extendicare network in Timmins has committed to offering a job and a $1,000 bursary to four graduates upon completion of the PSW program.

“There is a shortage of PSWs throughout the province of Ontario right now and this has been a long-standing issue throughout long-term care hospitals … so we’re looking at ways to try to increase enrolment and try to help colleges to increase their enrolment in PSW programs,” said Kelly Roy, administrator of Timmins Extendicare.

Article content

Roy said there has been a steady decline in enrolment for PSW programs in the last 10 years. Combine that staff shortage with a steadily aging population and long-term care facilities foresee a crisis on the horizon.

“The shortage is not going to be fixed in one year. This is going to take several years and … the babyboomers are just starting to come into long-term care … There’s going to be shortages for a minimum of the next 20 years.”

Advertisement 3
Story continues below
Article content

While the opportunity to fill one of four positions at Extendicare may be enticing in itself, Roy said the $1,000 bursary provided as part of this agreement is intended to be an added incentive which can be used by the winning graduates to help offset their cost of tuition to become a PSW.

All students registered in Collège Boréal’s PSW program will have the opportunity to be interviewed by Extendicare during the winter of 2020. Extendicare will select the four winning candidates.

This agreement will come into effect for students registered at the start of the 2019 academic session.

Roy anticipates the incentive agreement between Extendicare and Collège Boréal will continue beyond the next term.

The jobs provided to the four winning graduates would be part-time positions, though Roy said that is standard starting point for anyone entering a career as a PSW.

Advertisement 4
Story continues below
Article content

“Like all of health care, you usually start out as casual part-time, build seniority and then apply for full-time positions as your seniority builds,” she explained.

“But even as a part-time worker, you still have the opportunity to work up to full-time hours with Extendicare as with other places in the community. We’re all in the same boat right now as far as shortages throughout the province with nursing — PSWs, RPNs (registered practical nurses) and RNs (registered nurses).”

Val Leonard-Jette, who teaches practical nursing and is coordinator of the PSW program at Collège Boréal in Timmins, said this is a 28-week program that trains people to become front-line workers at senior homes and long-term care facilities.

Leonard-Jette said 75% to 90% of these front-line workers are PSWs who “provide direct care to these patients, whether it’s hygiene, social interaction, bathing, assistance with feeding – any of those tasks are provided by personal support workers.”

Jean-Pierre Nadon, director of Collège Boréal’s Timmins campus, said the need to recruit PSWs is province-wide.

Nadon said by 2036, Timmins will be facing a shortfall of 275 PSWs.

“If you have a shortfall of 275 people in Timmins only, imagine the rest of the province,” he said. “Every community will be fighting to recruit those individuals.”

Article content
Comments
You must be logged in to join the discussion or read more comments.
Join the Conversation

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.

Latest National Stories
    News Near Timmins
      This Week in Flyers