Ontario encourages health-care grads to work in underserved areas

Ontario is expanding a grant program to encourage students who enroll in some priority health-care programs to work in underserved areas.

The grant program aims to pays tuition costs, books, and other direct educational expenses for students who want to study in an eligible program.

In an announcement in London today, Premier Doug Ford said the grant expansion will help 2,500 post-secondary students.

WATCH: Ford, Jones provide remarks, media availability in London at 9:30 a.m.

The ‘Learn and Stay’ grant was first announced last March and allows the province to help respond to localized labour market needs in underserved communities in Ontario.

The catch is that graduates are required to work in the region where they studied for a minimum of six months for every year of study funded by this grant.

That means that a person who attended school for two years would be required to work for a year in the region where they studied.

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“This innovative program helps ensure that healthcare organizations in remote areas of the province have the health human resources needed to maintain access to the highest quality of care,” President and CEO of the Ontario Hospital Association, Anthony Dale said.

Students must be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or protected person and live in Ontario in order to be eligible for the grant.

Eligible programs include Practical Nursing, Paramedic, Medical Laboratory Technology/ Medical Laboratory Science, Bachelor or Bachelor of Science in Nursing, and Postgraduate Nursing Diploma programs at specific institutions.

The provincial government says the grant may be expanded in the future to include more programs and regions.

Applications for the ‘Learn and Stay’ grant will open this Spring.