Ontario is making it possible for internationally trained nurses to work in health-care settings that are strained by staffing shortages, Health Minister Christine Elliott says. Elliott announced at a press conference on Tuesday that the province is deploying internationally educated nurses to hospitals and long-term care homes that are short-staffed, part of a collaboration between Ontario Health and the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO). “Through this initiative, these nurses who have applied for registration with the CNO to practice in Ontario will have the opportunity to meet their application requirements by working in health-care settings under the supervision of a regulated health-care provider,” Elliott said. “More than 1,200 applicants have already expressed interest in participating and the matching process with hospitals is expected to begin later this week.” The minister also said COVID-19 patients’ length of stay in intensive care units (ICU) has decreased slightly, with the median stay currently at …