Learn And Stay Grant Announcement (Photo provided by Liz Tuomi)
The Learn and Stay Grant is now open for applications, a provincial program expected to help retain more professionally-trained nurses in Grey Bruce.
The announcement was made today at the Georgian College campus in Owen Sound. Minister of Health Sylvia Jones and Minister of Colleges and Universities Jill Dunlop were on hand, as was Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound MPP Rick Byers and several Georgian College executives.
The grant provides up front funding for tuition, books and other costs for students who enroll in an eligible nursing, paramedic and medical laboratory technologist programs and agree to stay in the community they graduated in for two years following.
“The idea is that students who are going to learn here and work here are more likely to stay in the community after that time,” says Dunlop.
She adds the Ministry of Health identified the most underserved regions of the province which need health care professionals, which included Owen Sound.
“Having students complete four years of their program here in Owen Sound and have the opportunity to have all of their educational costs covered, is going to make it a great incentive for local students to become nurses and to stay and practice in the area,” says Dunlop.
This grant comes as Georgian launched its new nursing program last fall.
“This grant is a win-win for post secondary students and communities across Ontario, ensuring our future health care workers get the world-class training they need to give a much-needed boost to local health care facilities in the communities that need it most,” says Dunlop.
The provincial government has dedicated $61 million for the grant, which has 2,500 spots available. In Owen Sound, however, there are only 30 grant spots available to students.
Dunlop says she sees the grant as being fluid and can change overtime.
“We know there are local labour shortages across the province, so how can the government help with those,” says Dunlop.
Grant applications for the 2023-2024 academic school year are now open for post secondary students who enroll in their first year in nursing programs in northern, eastern, and southwestern Ontario, medical laboratory technologist and medical laboratory sciences programs in northern and southwestern Ontario, and paramedic programs in northern Ontario.
Georgian College President and CEO Kevin Weaver says when they launched their standalone nursing degree last fall, their research estimated the need to hire 4,300 new nurses over the next decade in Grey, Bruce and Simcoe counties, to accommodate regional growth and replace retiring nurses.
“Not only will the Learn and Stay Grant make nursing studies more accessible to local students, but it will also attract others from outside the area who want to launch rewarding nursing careers in underserved regions of our province like Grey Bruce. These future nurses are critical to our communities,” says Weaver.
More information on the grant can be found on the provincial government website here.