How does the PSW Education Fund for Long-Term Care work?
Step 1: Enroll for funding online
Assign a staff member as the lead contact who will enroll their LTC home to receive tuition and backfill funding for PSWs and other team members to participate in the Excellence in Resident-Centred Care (ERCC), LIVING the Dementia Journey (LDJ), or The Working Mind (TWM) Healthcare training. Learning Inter-Professionally Healthcare Accelerator (LIPHA) has a different enrollment process. Go to the LIPHA page on this website for specific details.
Homes are notified by email of their enrollment status. The number of PSWs and other team members eligible for backfill funding for this education is based on home size and communicated to the lead contact in each home. PSWs will be given priority for training. Depending on demand, additional opportunities to enroll for funding may occur.
Step 2: Get PSWs and other team members to register for training
For ERCC, LDJ, and TWM Healthcare team member training, PSWs and other team members participate in 5-8 hours of virtual training via computer. The courses are delivered online by one to two trainers and will have 10-25 team members participating from multiple locations. LIPHA is an online platform that is accessible 24/7 from any device.
Lead contacts will receive an email with a link to share with PSWs and team members for them to register for LDJ and TWM Healthcare training. For ERCC, participants will be directed to Conestoga College where they are required to register themselves. LIPHA has a different enrollment process. It is strongly recommended that PSWs and other team members register themselves for their training and not have someone else register them on their behalf.
Who can apply for funding?
Ontario long-term care homes are eligible to enroll in the training and to receive tuition and backfill pay for team member participation in the ERCC, LDJ, TWM Healthcare, and LIPHA training.
What team members are eligible to participate in the training?
The training is available to team members who work in long-term care and includes personal support workers (PSWs), resident support aides, nurses, recreational professionals, housekeeping, educators, and other staff who interact directly with residents.
Can my LTC home participate in ERCC, LDJ, TWM Healthcare, and LIPHA training?
Yes! LTC homes in Ontario can enroll for ERCC, LDJ, TWM Healthcare, and LIPHA training. Please note that lead contacts will have to complete an enrollment form for each program—except for LIPHA, which has a different enrollment process.
Additionally, PSWs and other team members who wish to participate in the training options will have to complete a registration form for each program since different institutions provide the training.
How does my LTC home receive funding?
Funding for tuition and backfill pay is only provided to LTC homes whose enrollments have been approved. Tuition and backfill reimbursement is only provided for the approved number of team members who successfully completed the course(s).
LTC homes do not need to submit expense forms. Tuition for these courses is covered directly by the fund at no up-front expense to the LTC home. Backfill pay is reimbursed at a standard rate of $25 per hour.
Therefore, for every PSW or team member participating in ERCC training, the LTC home will receive $175 of backfill pay ($25/hour x 7 hours).
For every PSW or team member participating in LDJ training, the LTC home will receive $200 of backfill pay ($25/hour x 8 hours).
For every leader or team member participating in TWM Healthcare training, LTC homes will receive $175 of backfill pay ($25/hour x 7 hours) for leaders and $125 ($25/hour x 5 hours) for team members.
For every new and recently hired PSW and nursing team member participating in LIPHA training, LTC homes will receive $350 of backfill pay ($25/hour x 14 hours) for PSWs and $400 of backfill pay ($25/hour x 16 hours) for nurses. Backfill pay is limited and will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis.
This backfill pay covers the time of those participating in training; LTC homes need to have other staff to cover the shifts of those participating in the ERCC, LDJ, TWM Healthcare, and LIPHA training.
Reimbursement for backfill is paid by ETF or by mailed cheque to approved LTC homes within 60 days of team members successfully completing the course(s).
Who can receive ERCC, LDJ, TWM Healthcare, and LIPHA education through the fund?
All long-term care homes in the province of Ontario can participate in the fund including those homes that participated previously.
There are limits to the number of team members within each approved LTC home who can receive tuition and backfill reimbursement with priority given to PSW training. The number of PSWs and other team members allotted to each LTC home will depend on the size of the home and is confirmed when an LTC home enrolls in the PSW Education Fund.
Other team members eligible for tuition and backfill reimbursement include RNs and RPNs and housekeeping, recreational, and other staff who interact directly with residents.
What does my LTC home need to do to participate?
LTC homes need to:
- Identify a staff member as the lead contact. Lead contacts will be responsible for:
- enrolling their LTC home to participate in ERCC, LDJ, and/or TWM Healthcare training.
- encouraging team members to register for, and participate in, the ERCC, LDJ, and TWM Healthcare team member courses and LIPHA.
- reporting information as requested to the fund.
- completing the fund and training evaluation surveys.
2. Provide support to team members who are completing training, which includes:
- providing space and a computer for PSWs or team members to complete the online training at their LTC home.
- allowing PSWs or team members to participate in training from home.
When are the training sessions offered?
See below for the schedule of training options for LDJ, ERCC, and TWM courses.
Please note that all these training options may not be available every week depending on holidays, staffing, and demand. Actual session availability is made available when registering for LDJ, ERCC, or TWM Healthcare training. If your home is interested in training on alternate dates or evenings, please contact the PSW Fund team.
ERCC Training Schedule
Excellence in Resident-Centred Care training is offered at the following times every week:
Tuesdays: 8:30 am – 3:30 pm
Wednesdays: 8:30 am – 3:30 pm
Thursdays: 8:30 am – 3:30 pm
LDJ Training Schedule
LIVING the Dementia Journey training of offered at the following times on most weeks:
Mondays: 8:30 am – 4:30 pm
Tuesdays: 8:30 am – 4:30 pm
Thursdays: 8:30 am – 4:30 pm
TWM Healthcare Training Schedule
TWM Health training opportunities are for team members and leaders. The training schedule runs until March 31, 2023.
Do team members from my LTC home have to attend the same session?
No, team members from the same LTC home do not have to attend the same training session. Lead contacts should consider when PSWs and other team members attend training to maintain staffing levels within their LTC home.
What if my home has certified ERCC or LDJ trainers from the past?
ERCC: Because of ongoing pandemic restrictions, in-house training by certified ERCC trainers will not take place this year as the “Train the Trainer” model of ERCC training has not taken place in more than a year. In the future, the plan is to return to this model of training and delivery of ERCC training.
LDJ: If you have recently certified LDJ trainers and want them to train PSWs and other team members in your LTC home, an RIA team member will contact you. Our team member will support your home in providing recertification training to your LDJ trainer and scheduling their training session.
For additional information about LDJ trainers, contact program staff at ldj@the-ria.ca.
How do I reschedule my training session?
We understand that someone may need to reschedule attending a training session. If this is the case, please contact the program staff at pswfund@the-ria.ca or 226-581-2369 as soon as possible. We will work with you to help you select a training session on another day.
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