Practical Nursing in Canso

May 2, 2000 - Media Release

The Town of Canso is positioning itself as a centre for digital education with a groundbreaking project for training Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs). Through a partnership with the Virtual Campus of the Nova Scotia Community College, 16 students from Northeastern Nova Scotia are receiving their training over the Internet.

Their digital lessons are being supplemented by practical sessions offered twice a week at the new Enterprise Centre in Canso, which houses a hospital laboratory and a technology-enriched classroom.

The innovative program, which is the only one of its kind in Eastern Canada to combine distance education with practical instruction for the training of LPNs, was last week presented at an international conference in Mexico City that focussed on distance education and health.

"This project is a showpiece in Canso's efforts to develop and diversify its local economy," said Scott Conrod, Town Clerk for the Town of Canso. "The distance-education model provides a solution to nursing shortages throughout rural Nova Scotia and we are very confident that all of the students will find employment in their home communities following the course."

The Honourable Bernie Boudreau, Leader of the Government in the Senate and Minister responsible for Nova Scotia, today announced funding for the project on behalf of the Honourable George Baker, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Secretary of State for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), and on behalf of the Honourable Jane Stewart, Minister for Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC).

The federal contribution of $151,942 includes $85,592 from HRDC and $66,350 from the economic development component of the Fisheries Restructuring and Adjustment Measures (FRAM) program.

"This initiative by the Town of Canso, in partnership with the Nova Scotia Community College, will have immediate consequences for rural communities in Northeastern Nova Scotia," said Senator Boudreau. "It will improve the delivery of healthcare while creating well-paying, long-term careers in the nursing profession and the IT sector."

The Enterprise Centre also includes the digitization suite, where three newly hired employees are translating the core curriculum into a digital format. The staff are receiving technical training from the NSCC and entrepreneurship training from the Guysborough County Business Development Centre, which will prepare them to bid for future digitization contracts.

"This pilot program epitomizes how the College wants to address the needs of Nova Scotians - education anywhere, anyplace, anytime," says Ray Ivany, President, NSCC. Even though the College is operating in 13 communities in Nova Scotia, recognition that all Nova Scotians may not have access is foremost on Ivany's mind. "We are exploring the possibility of offering many more programs via our Virtual Campus. This will allow a greater number of Nova Scotians to access post-secondary education. The Town of Canso, ACOA and Community Services should be congratulated for their foresight in solving a local shortage of nurses through the retraining of local residents in their home community."

Nova Scotia Community Services is also contributing $15,000 to the training program.

The Town of Canso, which is contributing $14,630 to the project, has the long-term goal of becoming a remote delivery point for core NSCC programs. At present, residents of Guysborough and Antigonish Counties travel to Port Hawkesbury, Pictou, Sydney or Halifax to take courses at the College.

Funding was also announced today for a contribution of $18,600 from the FRAM program towards a study of aquaculture opportunities in Canso. "These two initiatives are just part of the determined effort by this community to create new opportunities for economic growth," said Senator Boudreau. The Town of Canso has also contributed $5,660 towards the aquaculture study.

The three-year FRAM program, launched in August 1999 and managed by ACOA, is contributing $21.3 million to strategic, long-term projects that will help diversify the economies of Nova Scotia communities affected by the downsizing of the groundfishery. Roughly $16 million is allocated to the mainland, where the program is managed by ACOA, and $5 million to Cape Breton, where the program is managed by Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation (ECBC).

For more information:

Stacey Baillie
Manager - Media & External Relations, NSCC
p: (902) 491-6781

Rhonda Brown
Communications Specialist - Media & External Relations, NSCC
p: (902) 491-4899

Natalie Kenrick
Communications Specialist - Media & External Relations, NSCC
p: (902) 491-2213

Scott Conrod
Town of Canso