New Nursing Guarantee Builds On Successful Hospital Recruitment Efforts OHA
Ontario Hospital Association
200 Front Street West, Suite 2800
Toronto, Ontario, M5V 3L1
Tel: (416) 205-1345 Fax: (416) 205-1360
Visit our Web Site: http://www.oha.com
Monday, May 8, 2006
New Nursing Guarantee Builds On Successful Hospital Recruitment Efforts: OHA
Toronto – The Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) welcomes the Government of Ontario’s announcement that, beginning in 2007, every new Ontario nursing graduate will be offered a full-time job somewhere in the province, said OHA President and CEO Hilary Short.
“Ontario’s hospitals have led the efforts to make our province the best place anywhere for skilled health professionals to practice,” said Short. “Today’s announcement reinforces and builds on these efforts.”
Attracting and retaining nurses in today’s very competitive, worldwide labour market is a top priority for Ontario’s hospitals. Since 1998, the number of nurses employed full-time by Ontario’s hospitals has increased by 9,642 (from 15,482 to 25,124). Measures to make Ontario’s hospitals even more attractive places for nurses to practice include:
- Competitive Compensation: At $36.52 per hour, Ontario’s senior full-time nurses are the best-compensated in Canada. In addition, the benefits offered to Ontario’s nurses are comparable with, and in many cases superior to, those offered in other provinces.
- Safe Workplaces: Hospitals are among the safest places to work in Ontario. In fact, a recent study conducted by the Ontario Safety Association for Community and Healthcare (OSACH) found that the frequency of lost-time injury in Ontario’s hospitals (1.87) was lower than the provincial average (1.88).
- Professional Development: Through the Nursing Education Initiative (NEI), each Registered Nurses and Registered Practical Nurse in Ontario is eligible to receive a $1,500 annual educational grant to support professional development, including attending courses, conferences, and workshops.
- Career Support: Ontario’s hospitals sponsor a number of career support initiatives for nurses, including mentorship pilot projects, strategies to create full-time positions for new nursing graduates, and programs designed to retain our most experienced nurses.
“Ontario’s patients value the skill and commitment that nurses bring to their jobs, and our hospitals offer nurses great opportunities to meet their personal and professional goals,” said Short. “The OHA is a member of the task force announced today, and we plan to work closely with Tom Closson and our partners to address concerns about the potential impact of this initiative in terms of collective bargaining and incremental costs to hospitals.”
For further information:
OHA Public Affairs
416-205-1305