Independent and Assisted Living Communities Are Having Few Applicants For Care Aide Jobs Despite Job Training Incentives
February 16, 2023 | By Park Place Seniors Living |
Mountain Lake Seniors Community in Nelson B.C is searching for people who are looking for a rewarding career in Seniors Care, and since launching the initiative with the BC government, to pay 44 people to be trained as health care aides, only 10 appliances have come in.
Site Leader at Mountain Lake Seniors Community, Tami Turner says the program should be attractive to locals, especially those who may not be able to afford to go to College. Approved applicants will take a 26-week health care assistant program at Selkirk College, where they would get a pay cheque while going to school.
Students who complete this training could also help staff the Nelson Health Campus, which is due to open next to Mountain Lake Seniors Community in 2024.
Director of sales and marketing, Lina Saba at Park Place Seniors Living, which operates Mountain Lake Seniors Community, says care aides are the backbone of the health care system.
Healthcare aides are the ones that have the most contact with your loved ones in a senior assisted living community. They provide direct support when it comes to daily grooming and personal needs. They are involved with residents day in and day out, starting with the morning and getting residents out of bed, which sometimes takes more than one care aide depending on how mobile the resident is. Care aides then help with washing, dressing, and feeding throughout the day as many residents are unable to do these things because of arthritis, dementia, and other reasons.
Care aides are also advocates for promoting and maintaining the health, safety, independence, comfort, and well-being of individuals and their families. They may also do other activities related to the planning of care for the residents including housekeeping duties or social activities with seniors.
As stated in the Kimberley Bulletin, the main roadblock to hiring care aids in Nelson is the lack of housing available to students, which is also a challenge all across Canada, while wages are also an issue the government has been addressing by topping up the wages for non-union care aide workers.
If you are interested in becoming a care aid in the Mountain Lake Seniors Community, please reach out to Tami Turner by email at tamiturner@ppsl.com or by phone at 250-352-2600.
