HEALTH FORCE ONTARIO STRATEGY

     The McGuinty government's Health Force Ontario is an innovative health

human resources strategy to attract and retain the best health care

professionals to Ontario, improving access for patients to quality health

care. The strategy includes:

     HealthForceOntario.ca

     Health Force Ontario.ca is the most comprehensive health professional job

recruitment site in North America.

     A health care professional can use HealthForceOntario.ca to find job

information, assess his or her qualifications and learn more about the various

places to live and work in the province. The site:

     -   Lists career opportunities for doctors and nurses (through the

         HFOJobs portal) and also provides profiles on the communities where

         jobs are located (job opportunities for other health care

         professionals will be added soon)

     -   Showcases living in Ontario, highlighting the diversity of the

         province that includes big city excitement and open-country

         tranquility

     -   Offers video testimonials from health professionals already

         practising in the province

     -   Outlines educational requirements for students interested in a career

         in health

     -   Provides information to health care employers that promotes the

         advantages of using the website

     HealthForceOntario Recruitment Centre

     The work of the Centre includes:

     -   An extensive and comprehensive campaign to repatriate the estimated

         3,000 physicians who are registered to practice in Ontario but who

         currently reside out of the province

     -   Enhanced coordination of existing recruitment efforts across the

         province and creation of new community partnerships

     -   Active participation in strategically selected health professional

         conferences

     -   Strategic marketing and advertising to target groups of health

         professionals, e.g., surplus anaesthetists in the U.K., Lesbian Gay

         Bisexual Transgender physicians in the United States

     -   The creation of an individualized/personalized support service for

         prospective health professionals to help them navigate the systems

         associated with recruitment, e.g., registration with the regulatory

         college, job and community placement, spousal/partner support

     -   Development and implementation of an ethical recruitment framework

         that will guide the activities of the Centre

     Access Centre for Internationally Educated Health Professionals - Ryerson

     University, 285 Victoria Street, 7th Floor

     Internationally educated health professionals will have access to the

following services:

     -   Contact information and referrals to the regulatory body in the

         appropriate field of expertise

     -   Links to education and assessment programs to provide timely access

         to the best services available, as close to home as possible

     -   Information about standards for professional qualifications

     -   Information about licensing and registration processes

     -   Information and referrals for retraining

     -   Information about alternative professional avenues to complement

         skills

     -   Ongoing counselling and support, to assist them in finding the most

         effective path to professional practice

     Media Contacts:

     David Spencer                                                   A.G. Klei

     Minister's Office                   Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care

     416-327-4320                                                 416-314-6197

     Disponible en français.

                           www.HealthForceOntario.ca

                              www.health.gov.on.ca

For further information: Rick Byun, Minister's Office, Ministry of Citizenship

and Immigration, (416) 325-3460; David Spencer, Minister's Office, Ministry of

Health and Long-Term Care, (416) 327-4320; Michel Payen-Dumont, Communications

Branch, Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration, (416) 314-7010; A.G. Klei,

Communications & Information Branch, Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care,

(416) 314-6197