STRATFORD, ONTARIO — Ontario is extending a program that helps long-term care homes provide clinical placements for nursing and personal support worker students.

The government says the program has already helped 500 long-term care homes provide more than 17,000 placements since 2021, and with new funding of $94.5 million over three years, it aims to support 31,000 more placements by 2027.

Long-Term Care Minister Stan Cho says the program helps build a pipeline of talent for the future by giving students more hands-on clinical training.

The students work under the supervision of preceptors, staff who are trained for that role, and the program also aims to train more than 3,000 new preceptors.

Cho also announced that the government will spend almost $11 million over three years to expand a program that helps students train to become personal support workers on-site in long-term care homes. 

The government says so-called living classrooms allow students to learn and apply that knowledge at the same time.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 31, 2024.

The Canadian Press