Personal Support Worker Program Offering at The Perley and Rideau Veterans’ Health Centre

Algonquin College will be offering their Personal Support Worker (PSW) program at The Perley and Rideau Veterans’ Health Centre (PRVHC/Perley).

It is a normal practice of the college to offer two PSW program intakes per year at the Ottawa campus of the college however, this unique opportunity has been created to offer a third intake at the new Perley Rideau site.

The two organizations are combining efforts to address the growing shortage of qualified PSWs in our province. Statistics show that in Ottawa in 2012 approximately 57 000 Personal Support Workers worked in long term care facilities, 26 000 worked for agencies providing home and community care and 7 000 worked in hospital settings. The number of educated health care workers required in the community will significantly increase with the impact of the growing aging population. The Canadian Research Network for Care in the Community estimates that 45% of PSWs are over the age of 50 and may retire within the next 15 years. In a recent report the Ontario Long Term Care Association shared “the need for community care workers is expected to double in the next decade.”

Algonquin College is offering a unique experience in a shared learning environment for the spring 2017 intake of the Personal Support Worker program in partnership with The Perley and Rideau Veterans’ Health Centre. This partnership was formed as an early intervention initiative to address this future shortage of PSWs in the community.

Algonquin College will be delivering its current Personal Support Worker program in the learning centre that’s located on the Perley Rideau campus. As a student you will be exposed to theory classes on site and you will then be able to immediately practice these skills in a real working environment, with an active health care team, supporting older adults while being exposed to diverse clinical and community settings.

The Perley Rideau site provides easy access to public transportation, a central location serving all part of the city, smaller theory and lab class sizes (up to 30) and a weekday, daytime schedule for theory and lab classes.

You will find more information on program availability and how to apply here

For more detailed information please contact:

Jennifer Munoz
Program Coordinator
613-727-4723 ext. 3504
munozj@algonquincollege.com