The federal government has invested more than $10 million to solve the provincial nursing shortage while creating job opportunities for aboriginals at the same time.

The funding, which was announced earlier this month by Selkirk-Interlake MP James Bezan on behalf of Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development Diane Finley, will go towards bringing Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN) training to cities like Selkirk and Dauphin, as well as several First Nations communities.

"Hopefully this program will not only help to address the nursing shortage that communities are experiencing across Manitoba, but also give those who want to take the initiative to further their education and gain career skill the opportunity to do so in their own communities," said Bezan.

The government's LPN program is an 18-month course which, in Selkirk, is administered through the Selkirk Community Learning Centre.

The program began across Manitoba in November of 2009 and Bezan says the government's goal is to graduate 150 students as Licensed Practical Nurses when the course is completed in April 2011.

The funding will go towards covering administration and training costs for the program, and will help to offset costs caused by smaller class sizes.

With some of the most dire nursing needs coming from First Nations communities, Bezan adds that it's his governments hope that by providing the course closer to home, students will be more likely to stay and work in the area.

"The majority of the people who are studying for LPN are people who have already started their family lives, and are established within the community," said Bezan. "It's our hope that once they are finished with the program, they will want to stay in their communities and provide health services there instead of moving away.

"It's also much more successful to have these types of programs available in their communities, instead of them having to travel all the way to Winnipeg," added Bezan. "If you have a family, it's pretty tough to pack up and move to Winnipeg. This is way more desirable, and I think we'll see more success come out of this because of that."

The LPN program in Selkirk currently boasts 23 students and so far has been extremely successful, says SDCLC secretary treasurer and board member Alvin Keppler.

He and the rest of the board at SDCLC are happy about the funding announcement, as it opens the possibility of having the program continue on a regular basis.

"When they announced the program, there was a lot of demand for it here. We had 25 students sign up, and we had to turn away nearly that many as well because there was only a certain number of spots," said Keppler, adding that they have only had two students drop the course - an extremely high retention rate. "That shows that there is another class out there waiting to go, and we'd like to give them the opportunity to come and take the course here as well."

While SDCLC will see none of the $10 million-plus funding from the government themselves, Keppler explains both they as a centre as well as the community benefit from having a program like LPN available in Selkirk.

"The program is sponsored by the Manitoba Metis Federation and taught by the Assinaboine Community College, so those are our partners who may see some of those funding dollars," said Keppler. "But the benefit to us is basically the utilization of space that otherwise would have been empty. It brings in revenue for us but is also an excellent use of our facilities and technology, which is what the (SDCLC) is designed to do."

If the LPN program is successful, the federal government has indicated that there is interest in continuing the course for another term if there is enough demand.

Selkirk Journal