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Ontario announces funds to hire more than 4,000 long-term care workers

Click to play video: 'Protests across Ontario calling for improvements to long-term care'
Protests across Ontario calling for improvements to long-term care
Across Ontario, there were more than a dozen rallies by family members of current and former residents of long-term care, plus their advocates demanding immediate action to improve the system. Caryn Lieberman reports – Oct 4, 2021

TORONTO — Ontario is setting aside up to $270 million to hire more than 4,000 long-term care workers by the end of the fiscal year.

Long-Term Care Minister Rod Phillips announced details of the funding today.

It’s part of a plan to hire more workers in the sector so the province can meet a goal of getting long-term care residents an average of four hours of direct care per day by 2025.

Phillips says the government plans to introduce legislation that would enshrine the direct-care minimum standard in law.

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The province says the money announced today will increase the average of direct care to three hours per day by the end of the fiscal year in March 2022.

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The funding announcement comes after the province mandated COVID-19 vaccination for workers in the sector that has been hit hard by outbreaks and deaths during the pandemic.

In-home staff, support workers, students and volunteers must be vaccinated by Nov. 15 unless they have a valid medical exemption.

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