Personal Support Worker program receives funding for simulation equipment
Fleming College’s Personal Support Worker (PSW) program has received funding to purchase special simulation equipment, which will improve classroom training.
The college received $158,619.64 from the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care through the Ministry’s Seniors Care Strategy. The Ministry provided this funding for improved educational resources, with the goal of enabling more seniors to live independently at home.
Fleming’s PSW program will purchase two portable audio/video computer systems that can record students performing simulated activities. The equipment then gives the students a chance to review their own performance or it can be used to teach a class.
The funding will also be used for equipment in the simulated Home Lab. This helps students become familiar with assisting seniors in a home setting. Simulation mannequins, an oral hygiene demonstration set, nutrition and simulated food items for dietary education, walkers, a training staircase, bathtub, and exercise equipment are all items that will be purchased with the funding.
All of the simulation equipment is expected to be in place in time for the beginning of the summer semester in May.
“This funding will allow Fleming College to expand on our existing high quality health care simulation resources. It will expand and enhance valuable hands on learning experiences for our students in the utilization of home care equipment and allow them to practice senior’s care within a state of the art simulated home care environment,” said Carol Kelsey, Dean of Fleming College’s School of Community Development and Health.
As part of its Seniors Care Strategy, the Province has committed to funding three million additional personal support worker hours for seniors in need. Effective implementation of the Seniors Care Strategy relies on well-educated, skilled personal support workers who can support seniors aging at home and who can collaborate with other community based health care professionals supporting seniors aging at home.
The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care provided the Ontario Simulation Network (SIM-one) funding to expand and enhance personal support worker simulation-based training to support this initiative. Under the direction of the Ministry, SIM-one allocated the funding to enable more simulation equipment resources for PSW training across Ontario’s publicly funded community colleges.
Located in the heart of Central Ontario, Fleming College has campus locations in Peterborough, Lindsay, Cobourg and Haliburton. Named for famous Canadian inventor and engineer Sir Sandford Fleming, the college features more than 100 full-time programs in Community Development and Health, Continuing Education, Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences, Justice and Business, Skilled Trades and Technology, General Arts and Science and Visual Arts. Fleming College has more than 5,900 full-time and 10,000 part-time students, and more than 63,000 alumni.
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For more information:
Laura Copeland, Communications Officer, 705-749-5530 x 1370 or copeland@flemingc.on.ca