West Nipissing is taking steps to overcome a shortage it’s experiencing with Personal Support Workers.
It’s embarking on a campaign with a local Working Group to increase the number of PSWs.
Mayor Joanne Savage raised the issue at council saying the shortage of PSWs represents a crisis.
Savage says one of the main reasons for the shortage is people don’t see PSWs as attractive work.
The Mayor points out the shortage is being felt across the municipality in various health fields.
“At Au Chateau, if it had 20 people put in applications tomorrow, they’d probably all be hired,” said Savage.
The Mayor adds the starting salary for a PSW is in the $25 an hour range and rises from there.
She’s a firm believer in doing some kind of community campaign to attract more PSWs.
Councillor Dan Roveda says the shortage is also the result of very little training going in the PSW field.
“We should be doing a media campaign not only for people who are unemployed who are PSWs, but (also) for those that want to seek training to be a PSW,” he said.
Roveda adds the municipality has to convince people that this is a bona fide job and a good paying one at that.