The Ministry of Health has set an ambitious target of connecting all Ontarians to a primary healthcare provider by 2029.
To help reach that, the province has announced a $30 million investment intended to expand the primary care workforce.
The investment will create 170 primary care nurse practitioner education seats and as many as 150 physician assistant education seats.
The new $4.5 million program intends to help 1,400 registered nurses upgrade their skills and experience in primary care.
Conestoga College, along with Lakehead University, Trent University and Western University are tasked with administering the program in partnership with the province. It’s set to launch this year.
The program will focus on chronic disease management, cancer screening, maternal and child care, and immunizations and will allow participants to move immediately into a primary care setting.
The idea is that by providing more skilled nurses in primary care, it will free up physicians and nurse practitioners to focus on patients with more complex needs.
These aren’t the only investments the province is making. It is spending $8.5 million to add up to 170 new primary care nurse practitioner education seats this year at the nursing schools at Lakehead University, Laurentian University, McMaster University, the University of Ottawa, Queen’s University, Toronto Metropolitan University, the University of Toronto, the University of Windsor, Western University and York University.
Starting this year, the province has pledged $16 million to add up to 150 new physician assistant education seats at Ontario universities.
Ontario Investing an Additional $1,122,653 to Expand Primary Care Workforce in Waterloo Region.
Investment will add 350 health-care workers to local primary care teams as part of Ontario’s $2.1 billion Primary Care Action Plan