Quebec, a hot spot for the novel coronavirus, is hoping to bolster staffing in its hard-hit nursing homes by hiring 550 orderlies from abroad.
Immigration Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette announced the pilot project on Thursday as the province’s COVID-19 caseload rose to 49,702. “With this pilot program, we want to pick 550 orderlies because the needs are urgent,” he said. [ Sign up for our Health IQ newsletter for the latest coronavirus updates ] The announcement comes one day after Premier François Legault announced the province is launching a recruitment campaign to hire 10,000 orderlies in response to critical staffing shortages in long-term care homes.