Ontario is making the right choice to direct precious health dollars towards frontline patient care by creating over 900 new nursing positions this year.

These new nursing positions will help patients throughout the health care system - in home care and community care, primary health care, hospitals, long-term care homes and mental health care programs in schools.

Among the new nursing positions are:

• 126 rapid response nurses who visit patients with high-risk conditions in their home 24 hours after being discharged from hospital.
• 200 nurses to care for long-term care home residents with complex and challenging behaviours.
• 191 telemedicine nurses to support patients in remote areas while they receive care from specialists through video hook-up.
• â– 44 nurses working in schools to identify and help students with mental health or addiction issues.

Through its Nursing Strategy, the government is improving the recruitment, retention and distribution of nurses throughout the province.

The creation of more nursing positions to ensure the right care, at the right time, in the right place is part of the McGuinty government's Action Plan for Health Care and builds upon the gains made in health care since 2003.

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