St. Joseph's Health System CEO called out for vacationing during COVID-19 stay-at-home order
St. Joseph’s Health System in Hamilton fired its CEO Dr. Tom Stewart after it was made public he had vacationed in the Dominican Republic despite government advisories to stay at home late last year. Stewart apologized for taking the trip. RNAO President Morgan Hoffarth spoke out: “We have been working tirelessly day-in and day-out. I work at a nursing home in an outbreak, so for front-line health-care workers to be at work every single day and not able to take a day off, and to have leaders who are travelling internationally or abroad for pleasure is not something I think people will respond favourably to.” Stewart was also removed from his position as CEO of Niagara Health. Several other high-profile politicians and health-system leaders in Ontario and other parts of the country were identified earlier this year for making similar, unfortunate choices to ignore public health advice. (CBC News, Jan. 5)
Letter to the editor
RNAO CEO Dr. Doris Grinspun’s letter about the COVID-19 vaccine rollout appeared in the Toronto Sun (Feb. 12). For more on the province’s shortcomings as they relate to the rollout, read Conversations with members in this issue.
Glad to see Ontario’s COVID-19 science table is learning from Israel, the world’s leader on per capita vaccination. I know the Israeli health system as I practised there for a decade and also have most of my family there, all of whom are already vaccinated. There are three fundamental things we can learn from Israel’s vaccination success. First, the vaccination rollout is entirely delivered by nurses working in primary care, which is the anchoring sector of Israel’s four health-maintenance organizations (HMO). Second, Israel never relied on hospitals to store vaccines or to inoculate its citizens. Instead, they have zealously protected hospitals to care for the very sick. Third, Israel’s rollout in order of priority was all health-care workers, followed by nursing homes residents, and then everyone 60 and older. Ontario can get it right too, by moving away from hospital-delivered vaccinations to our community sector: Public health, primary care, home care, and pharmacies, deploying the thousands of nurses, physicians and pharmacists working in community care and relying on community-based tried and true distribution systems for vaccinations. It would accelerate a provincewide COVID-19 rollout plan 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week. We must follow Israel’s third and important lesson and vaccinate everyone over the age of 60 and fast, before the new variants claim their lives. Let’s get ready to roll up our sleeves and get the vaccine for the sooner the healthier we will all be.
Stefanie Van Nguyen
Sept. 10, 1995 to Jan. 21, 2021
This past year has been one of tremendous loss. COVID-19 has taken the lives of patients, friends, family members and colleagues. But it’s not just the effects of the virus on our physical health that is to blame for this unprecedented loss. The impact of the pandemic on mental health is undeniable.
The nursing community was shocked by the tragic loss of RN Stefanie Van Nguyen, 26, who died by suicide on Jan. 21, 2021. Van Nguyen was a registered oncology nurse at Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital. She also worked as an occupational health nurse at Humber River Hospital. She was a dedicated RN who cared deeply for her patients and her co-workers and was well-liked by her colleagues.
RNAO CEO Dr. Doris Grinspun told Global News that Nguyen’s family told her that she was very giving and was always the last one to leave work in order to help others. On social media Van Nguyen’s partner, Jason Parreno described her as “a light in this world.” In another post, friend and fellow nurse Amanda Jara urged her colleagues to take care of their mental health. “This career is endless and it will always be waiting there for you to come back when you’re ready,” she writes.
Grinspun says that this pandemic has been especially tough on frontline health-care workers. “It’s unsustainable. It breaks the souls of our people and it’s exhausting them to no limit.” RNAO began its open forum series in February to provide nurses with a space to discuss their mental health and how they are coping during the pandemic. In January, RNAO launched a wellbeing survey for RNs, NPs and nursing students to get a pulse on how nurses are feeling during this pandemic. Early results from the survey were released at a webinar on March 8.
If you are experiencing mental health issues, know that you are not alone. Please reach out for help. Visit our COVID-19 portal for a list of resources and supports for care providers coping with depression, stress and anxiety. Seek support from a health professional because you are loved and we need you.
Bladder and bowel BPG now available
RNAO has published its newest best practice guideline (BPG) to replace two former BPGs on bladder and bowel management. A Proactive Approach to Bladder and Bowel Management in Adults, Fourth Edition, provides evidence-based recommendations for supporting adults who live with urinary incontinence, fecal incontinence and/or constipation. The recommendations are applicable to all practice settings where people are accessing services for these conditions. The new BPG replaces Promoting Continence Using Prompted Voiding and Prevention of Constipation in the Older Adult Population, both of which were last updated in 2011. Learn more and access the free download of the BPG here.
RN recognized for dedication to organ donation
Retired Brant Community Healthcare System (BCHS) nurse manager and RNAO member Barbara Longo received a Hospital Donation Champion Award from the Trillium Gift of Life Network. The award is given to health-care professionals who are exceptional advocates for organ and tissue donation. Longo’s passion for organ donation and transplantation comes from her own family’s experience. Her mother-in-law is a kidney donor recipient and Longo became a living kidney donor for her husband. She says that being an RN helped her start conversations about organ donation that people may not otherwise have with their families. Longo says that organ donation is a true team effort. “Everyone understands what to do and believes in the importance of the donation and transplant program. It’s embedded in their practice,” she says of colleagues at BCHS. “I am fortunate to have worked in a profession and with an organization that can make a difference every day in the lives of patients and their families, and for the patients and families we will never meet.”
RNAO members, CEO named fellows of Canadian Academy of Nursing
Eighteen RNAO members, including CEO Doris Grinspun, were inducted as fellows of the Canadian Academy of Nursing (CAN) on Nov. 20. They include: Grinspun; RNAO past-president Judith Shamian; former IABPG director and past-president Irmajean Bajnok; Provincial Chief Nursing Officer Michelle Acorn; and individual members Helene Berman, Lorie Donelle, Maher El-Masri, Marilyn Ford-Gilboe, Pam Hubley, Lianne Jeffs, Kimberley LeBlanc, Dianne Martin, Earl Nowgesic, Beverly Simpson, Victoria Smye, Dawn Stacey, Bonnie Stevens and Carol Young-Ritchie. This esteemed group has worked in important leadership roles and across many domains and sectors of the health system.
The academy, which was developed by the Canadian Nurses Association, is the first organization in Canada dedicated to identifying, educating, supporting and celebrating nursing leaders across the country. These new inductees were chosen based on their substantial contributions and sustained impact on the nursing profession.
“Congratulations to all of our accomplished RNAO members who will be part of the first fellowship class,” says RNAO President Morgan Hoffarth. Grinspun adds: “I am inspired by all inductees and their contributions, and especially proud of my fellow RNAO members who are receiving this important recognition. They are amazing nursing leaders and their outstanding work and dedication to advancing the nursing profession and its impact on people’s health is being honoured. It is fitting that during the Year of the Nurse their incredible contributions are being celebrated in this way.”
Find out more about CAN and read the biographies of the inductees.
Niagara community health centre provides HIV prevention
Quest Community Health Centre is providing residents of the Niagara region with access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a combination of two antiretroviral drugs that can prevent HIV after an exposure. Emily Kedwell, a nurse practitioner and lead of an interdisciplinary medical and allied health team at Quest, says: “It’s quite difficult to access PrEP in Niagara; it’s quite difficult to access HIV treatment in Niagara.” RN Steven Athanasas, who is involved in the organization’s bid to become an RNAO Best Practice Spotlight Organization, is a member of the LGBTQ+ community and says: “There’s no judgment whatsoever; you could be super promiscuous, you could be sleeping with two people, you could have a steady partner who may be HIV-positive — it doesn’t matter to me. I’m here to help (patients) out, I’m here to listen and do what’s right for them...I hope we play some small part in preventing HIV for the community.” (Niagara This Week, Sept. 17)
COVID-19 Courage Award for RNAO CEO
On Oct. 29, RNAO CEO Doris Grinspun received the American Academy of Nursing’s (AAN) prestigious COVID-19 Courage Award for her work and contributions in the area of policy. She was among four nurses selected to receive an award, with the other three receiving recognition for developments in innovation, leadership and science.
“Courage is the capacity to speak out when one must to move change...and to not only say it once, but persist in saying it until change is achieved,” Grinspun said about influencing policy. “A huge battle that we won from a policy perspective – and feel tremendously proud about at RNAO – is that we succeeded to convince the premier of this province to reopen nursing homes for families. Essential caregivers are now allowed to go and be with their loved ones to support them during this difficult time.”
An effective policy expert and 2018 AAN fellow, Grinspun skillfully uses evidence to influence policy decisions at the provincial, national and international levels. She is in regular contact with the premier of Ontario, health minister and other top officials in charge of the government’s COVID-19 response plan. She is well-known among the media as an outspoken and evidence-grounded advocate for policy change that will help vulnerable populations, including residents in long-term care homes, as well as people experiencing homelessness. She is a tireless champion and is especially concerned about these groups during the pandemic.
When asked the source of her courage, Grinspun said: “Whether it is with my family, my community or with nursing, health or health care - at the core of it - my courage is driven by a deep desire to leave behind a better world than the one that we came to.” And to the question about what moved her to focus her advocacy work on policy, Grinspun noted: “We have outstanding clinicians, educators, administrator and researchers in nursing. What we need are outstanding policy makers who can master not only the evidence and the values to drive policy...but the courage to speak out.”
Read about all of the winners HERE. For more on RNAO’s COVID-19 advocacy efforts, visit the COVID-19 portal with links to Grinspun’s weekly COVID-19 blog.
Ontario needs to take action and save lives in long-term care
RNAO CEO Doris Grinspun spoke with CBC radio’s Metro Morning about early recommendations released Oct. 23 by the independent commission looking into the spread of COVID-19 in long-term care homes. The commission is expected to issue its report in April of next year, but released its preliminary recommendations on staffing and infection prevention and control in light of the spike in cases during the second wave of the pandemic. The commission would like to see a minimum of four hours of daily direct care for each resident, as well as increasing the supply of personal support workers and nurses. When asked what the recommendation for four hours of direct care would mean to residents, Grinspun notes it will provide residents with the quality care they deserve. “That care should be 48 minutes from an RN, 60 minutes from an RPN, and 132 minutes from a PSW, every day for each resident,” she says, noting this required mix of staff is outlined in the association’s Nursing Home Basic Care Guarantee submission to government (released in June 2020). (Oct. 26)
RNAO member honoured with VON Canada Award of Distinction
Bracebridge RN Nan Cleator received a national Victorian Order of Nurses (VON) Award of Distinction at a virtual awards ceremony on Sept. 25. Cleator, who has worked at VON for 30 years, is a national practice consultant and helps guide practices for those delivering home care. She has also served as a member of the Public Health Agency of Canada’s Expert Working Group since 2003. In that role, she brings the home and community care perspective to the agency’s national infection prevention and control guidelines. In addition to her main role, Cleator was also recognized for her contribution in helping to shape VON’s COVID-19 response. “It is an honour to be recognized for this award and I am especially humbled to be recognized by my colleagues and VON leaders,” says Cleator. (Bracebridge Examiner, Oct. 6)
