| Nursing Retention Fund |
| The Nursing Retention Fund (NRF) is a new initiative announced by the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care in the spring of 2006.
The purpose of this fund is to secure nursing jobs in Ontario Public Hospitals in circumstances where approved service change may otherwise trigger lay offs or reduction in nursing hours.
This fund which is managed by the Ontario Nurses Association (ONA), Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (RNAO), and the Registered Practical Nurses Association of Ontario (RPNAO) allows for the following:
- Reimbursement of education and/or training cost to provided for nurses.
- Reimbursement of training provided to nurses to bridge upcoming vacancies that require additional skills, training, or time provided by hospitals for nurses to assume vacant positions.
- Reimbursement for salary continuance (wages/salary, benefits, percentage in lieu) for a period of up to 6 months for nurses, while attending training and/or education programs.
For additional information on the Nursing Retention Fund initiative, follow the link to: www.nursingretentionfund.ca
Criteria for Funding
Background
The purpose of the Nursing Retention Fund (NRF) is to provide funds to Public Hospitals for education, training and other retention initiatives in circumstances where approved changes to hospital services may otherwise trigger the reduction of nursing positions or hours in Public Hospitals in the Province of Ontario.
The goal of this funding is to stabilize the nursing profession by improving access to full-time employment opportunities and to enhance working conditions for nurses in Ontario’s hospitals (Canada NewsWire, January 26, 2006).
“Approved Service Change” means any Approved Service Change in a Public Hospital, other than a Skill Mix Change, which is:
- Approved under a Hospital Accountability Agreement.
Hospitals applying for funding through NRF, will be assessed based on established funding eligibility criteria as set out in Ministry guidelines, and will be ranked according to these established priorities.
Funding may be accessed for the following:
- Assisting nurses to expand their knowledge and skills to work in other areas and roles within the hospital where there are vacancies or potential for vacancies.
- Orientation time provided by hospitals for those nurses moving to a different location/place of work to assume vacant positions (ibid). This fund is not intended to provide reimbursement for traditional orientation/training costs for positions”
- Education and/or training provided to nurses to bridge to upcoming positions that require additional skills and training (ibid);
- Salaries and benefits for nurses for up to six months for re-training to fill an upcoming position (ibid).
The Registered Practical Nurses Association of Ontario, the Ontario Nurses’ Association and the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario are joint managers of the Nursing Retention Fund through the Fund Management Committee on behalf of the Ministry of Health and Long Term-Care.
Eligibility for Payments to Public Hospitals
All applicants to the NRF will be assessed and evaluated based on established priorities and guidelines, which will be used to rank and rate applications received.
Payments to public hospitals are based on the following requirements as outlined in the Ministry agreement.
- Applications for funding must be received by February 15, 2010 before the termination date on March 31, 2010, applications received after that date will not be considered.
- Applications received after February 15, 2010 will not be considered.
- The Funding Application is based on “approved service change”, other than a Skill mix change which is approved under the Hospital Accountability Agreement.
- The applicant must submit a Hospital Nursing Health Human Resources Plan with its Funding Application outlining Approved Service Change and a succession plan.
- The Funding Application is for “eligible education costs” - cost of any training provided to a Nurse in accordance with funding eligibility criteria.
- Representatives of the Applicant’s front line RNs and RPNs must confirm they were consulted by the Applicant, to be evidenced in the following manner:
- If the Applicant’s frontline RNs and RPNs are represented by a union, the confirmation shall be signed by:
- the president of the applicable ONA bargaining unit.
- and a RPN who is a member of the RPN union executive; provided that no member of the RPN union executive is a RPN, a frontline RPN;
- If the Applicant’s RNs are not represented by an union, the confirmation shall be signed on behalf of the Applicant’s RNs by RNAO workplace liaison;
- If the Applicant’s RPNs are not represented by a union, the confirmation shall be signed on behalf of the Applicant’s RPNs by RPNAO representative; and
- If neither the Applicant’s RNs nor RPNs are represented by a Nursing Association, the confirmation shall be signed on behalf Applicant’s RNs and RPNs by a frontline representative of the Nursing Council on behalf of the Applicant’s RNs and the Applicant’s RPNs.
The Applicant must certify as of the date of the Applicant Funding Application, that:
- No Ministry funds are available to pay or reimburse the Applicant for the cost of any Approved Service Change set out in its Hospital Nursing Health Human Resource Plan; or
- if Ministry funds as described in the above are available, such funds are insufficient to pay or reimburse the applicant for cost of any Approved Service Change set out in its Hospital
Nursing Health Human Resources Plan.
The Applicant must certify that the applicant shall use any funding strictly in accordance with the Funding Application; as approved by the Management Committee, and must agree to provide documentation in support of funds use for intended purpose.
The Applicant must agree to grant the Management Committee, its representatives, and professional advisors the right to enter upon the Applicant’s property, on 24 hours of notice during normal office hours to audit the Applicant’s use of Funding.
The Applicant must acknowledge the right of the Management Committee to recover any Funding not used by the Applicant for the purpose(s) set forth in the Funding Application as approved by the Management Committee.
The Applicant shall provide all reports to the Management Committee, including reports relating to Funding, in such form, and at such times, as the Management Committee shall require.
The Applicant shall indemnify, in the form of indemnity set out in the Application, the Ministry, the Members of the Nursing Associations from any and all Claims made against the Ministry, the members and the Nursing Associations, or any of them, by any Person in a way to:
- the Applicant’s Funding Application
- the Applicant’s use of Funding; or
- the Applicant’s implementation of the provisions of its Funding Application, including its Hospital Nursing Health Human Resources Plan.
Applicants will be assessed on all the following mandatory criteria:
- Applications will be accepted up to February 15, 2010
- Applicant is a Public Hospital
- Completed application form with supporting documents
- Application is for an approved service change
- Represents a reduction/potential reduction in nursing hours
- Signed evidence of union rep. consultation (where applicable)
- Application is for eligible nurses
- Eligible education cost
- Eligible salary continuance
- Money is not being received from any other source
- Appropriate date for funding request
- Signed certification to use funding as per funding application
- Agreement for recovery of misused funds
- Agreement to audit use of funds
- Agreement to the indemnity clause.
Applicants will be assessed and rated relative to the total applicant pool; based on the following established priority criteria
- Application falls after January 8, 2006 for current fiscal year (April 01-March 31)
- Nursing shortage – current unfilled vacancies = 3months, evidence of over-time stats, documented sick time (FTE equivalent), evidence of agency use, evidence of projected vacancies.
- Application supports or enhances permanent full-time employment
- Supports enhancement of nursing care
- Supports a new expanded service (s)
- Represents an under-serviced area-MOHLTC classification
- Anticipated impact on performance indicators (focus on nursing performance indicators)
- Plan to measure and track impact
Request for funding for this fiscal year will be assessed on the lowest priority basis.
- Involves 2005/2006 fiscal year
Applicants will be notified as to the status of applications within a minimum 4-6 weeks of receiving their applications.
Successful applicants will be issued payment within 6 weeks of notification.
Management Committee shall not approve any Funding Application which provides for payments under the Applicant’s Hospital Nursing Health Human Resources Plan to or on behalf of any Nurse which exceed:
- an amount equal to 6 months Salary Continuance for the Nurse; and
- an amount equal to Eligible Education Costs for a nurse.
Definitions
- Eilgible Applicant – Any person who operates a public hospital within the meaning of the Public Hospitals Act.
- “Eligible Education Costs” means the cost of any training provided to a nurse in accordance with eligibility criteria established by the Management Committee and provided to Public Hospitals.
- Eligible Nurse – A member in good standing with the College of Nurses of Ontario.
- “Eligible Salary Continuance”
- the salary or wages and
- the benefits or the percentage paid in lieu of benefits;
paid by a Public Hospital to, in respect of, or for the benefit of, a nurse in accordance with eligibility criteria established by the Management Committee and provided to Public Hospitals. |
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