The Federal Government will provide a further $3.7 million to UniSA to create a training site in Port Lincoln, 649km from Adelaide, to encourage nursing and allied health students to pursue a career in aged care.
The grant is part of the Federal Government’s $18.4 million investment to establish up to seven health training sites in rural and remote aged care services.
UniSA said the announcement signals a collaboration between UniSA and the 69-bed high care residential facility Matthew Flinders Home where the training and simulation site will be built.
It will enable the university to support an additional 200 student placement weeks for the first two years, across nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, clinical exercise physiology, podiatry, pharmacy and nutrition and social work.
UniSA also offers a six-month Graduate Certificate in Ageing and Disability, and an online Undergraduate Certificate in Aged Care.
In October 2020, the Australian Government announced a $48.3 million investment to increase rural health training opportunities to deliver health, aged care, and disability services in regional, rural, and remote communities under the RHMT program. The program currently provides over $200 million in funding to 21 universities across Australia to improve the recruitment and retention of medical, nursing, dental and allied health professionals in rural and remote Australia.
