RN staffing for Ontario employers
Registered Nurses supplied to long-term care homes, retirement residences, hospitals, clinics and community programs across Ontario — single shifts, block bookings, vacancy cover and permanent placement.
The RN and RPN difference is about autonomy, not a different list of tasks
This is the single most misunderstood thing in Ontario nurse staffing, and getting it wrong costs you either money or safety.
Under the Nursing Act, 1991, Registered Nurses and Registered Practical Nurses share the same scope of practice statement and are authorized to perform the same five controlled acts. There is no task list that belongs to RNs alone.
What differs is the depth of foundational education and, because of it, how much autonomy a nurse has as a client becomes more complex, less predictable, or higher risk. The College of Nurses of Ontario expects an RPN to consult when a client’s condition moves outside what they can manage independently. An RN is expected to be able to take that consultation, and to work with the less predictable client without one.
So the question to ask a staffing agency is not “can an RPN do this task.” It is “how predictable is this client population, and who is available on the floor to consult.” If nobody asks you that, they are filling a slot rather than staffing a unit.
RN, RPN and NP — what actually separates them
| RPN | RN | NP | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry to practice | Two-year practical nursing diploma | Four-year baccalaureate degree in nursing | Graduate-level NP education on top of RN registration |
| Controlled acts authorized | The same five | The same five | The same five, plus additional acts including diagnosing and prescribing |
| Client complexity | Works independently with more predictable clients; consults as complexity and risk rise | Works with clients whose conditions are less predictable or higher risk without requiring consultation | Diagnoses, orders and interprets tests, and manages care independently |
| Prescribing | No | Only where the RN has completed CNO-approved education and is prescribing within the limits set in regulation | Yes, within the NP scope |
| Typical use in a staffing plan | The volume of the schedule in stable populations | Charge shifts, admissions and assessments, IV and complex wound care, unstable or declining residents | Rare in agency staffing; usually a permanent recruitment brief |
Every nurse we place is verified as registered and in good standing directly with the College of Nurses of Ontario before a first shift. See RPN staffing
Where we place RNs
Long-term care homes
Charge shifts, medication administration, assessments, admissions and readmissions, and cover through outbreak and surge.
Retirement residences
Nursing oversight in assisted living and memory care, wound and catheter care, and coverage for a DOC on leave.
Hospitals
Unit cover for medicine, surgery and complex continuing care where an agency arrangement is in place.
Community and home care
Visit nursing, IV therapy, wound care and nursing oversight of a private care plan in a client’s home.
Clinics and infusion
Treatment rooms, infusion suites and specialty clinics needing scheduled or vacation coverage.
Occupational health and campaigns
Workplace health clinics, immunization and screening campaigns, and event medical coverage.
What happens before anyone reaches your floor
The same process runs for every worker, whether they are with you for one shift or six months.
Identity and eligibility
Government photo identification and proof of eligibility to work in Canada, checked against the person in front of us.
Registration verified at source
Where the role is regulated, we confirm current standing directly with the College of Nurses of Ontario — not from a photocopy the candidate supplies.
Police vulnerable sector check
Completed and reviewed before assignment, not after.
References
Spoken to, not emailed. Previous supervisors, not character references.
Health and immunization
Records on file and kept current for the settings we place into.
Training and orientation
AODA, WHMIS, worker health and safety awareness, and workplace violence and harassment, plus site-specific orientation before a first shift.
What it costs, honestly
We quote a single hourly bill rate per role, per shift type. There is no separate line for the things that should already be included.
The rate covers the nurse’s wages, statutory payroll costs, vacation and public holiday entitlements, WSIB coverage, screening, training and the cost of running a 24/7 coordination desk that answers when a shift falls through at 04:30. Nights, weekends and statutory holidays carry a premium, and so do same-day and short-notice fills, because they are harder to staff and we pay more to staff them.
An RN rate sits above an RPN rate. Whether that is the right spend is a clinical question about your population, not a procurement one. We will tell you when an RPN is the appropriate placement, even though it bills less.
Rates depend on the region, the shift pattern, the volume and the notice period, so we will not publish a number here that would be wrong for most readers. Send us the shifts and you will get a written rate for your site.
Common questions from coordinators
How quickly can you fill an RN shift?
It depends on the notice, the region and the shift. Same-day fills are possible in the markets where we hold depth, and are harder overnight and on statutory holidays. We will tell you on the call what we can actually cover rather than accept the shift and call you back to release it.
Are your nurses employees or subcontracted?
The nurses we place are employed and paid by Help Now Healthcare. Payroll, source deductions, WSIB coverage and Employment Standards Act entitlements are ours to administer, not yours.
Do you verify registration, or do you rely on what the nurse tells you?
We verify current registration and standing directly through the College of Nurses of Ontario public register before a first shift, and we re-check it. A photocopy from a candidate is not evidence.
Can we hire an agency nurse permanently?
Yes. Many of our permanent placements start as an agency shift, which is the only reliable way for both sides to test a fit. Talk to us about the conversion terms before the assignment starts rather than after. Permanent recruitment
Will we get the same nurses each week?
Where the schedule allows it, yes, and we build toward it deliberately. Continuity is the difference between a nurse who needs orientation every shift and one who knows your residents. Block bookings and recurring lines make it far more achievable than ad hoc single shifts.
What happens if a nurse does not show?
Our coordination desk is staffed 24/7. You call one number, we re-fill it, and you get a written account of what happened. A no-show that we cannot backfill is reported to you immediately, not discovered by your charge nurse at handover.
Request RN staffing
Tell us the site, the unit, the shifts and the start date.
Send the site, the roles, the shifts and the start date. We come back with what we can actually cover — including when the answer is that we cannot.
Answered 24/7 on 1-888-507-6236.
Request staff