RNAO members did some door knocking this fall, visiting the offices of MPPs, many of whom took office for the first time following the June provincial election. The visits, an annual RNAO event known as Queen’s Park on the Road, give RNs, NPs and nursing students the chance to sit down with their local representative and discuss nursing and health priorities that affect the care and well-being of people in their communities. To date, 36 Queen’s Park on the Road visits have taken place and 25 others are being co-ordinated. Here are some of the key issues that have come up in meetings:  

• mandating RN vacancies in hospitals be posted and filled, and that all new nursing hires in acute care and cancer care hospitals be RNs 
• ensuring all first home care assessments are conducted 
• by RNs 
• increasing access to health care by enabling NPs to work to their full scope 
• changing funding models in long-term care and supporting minimum staffing levels to improve quality of care and resident safety
• making sure the premier’s pledge to increase access to public dental services for low income seniors is extended to all Ontarians living on low incomes
• ensuring all communities that require ‘consumption and treatment services’ are approved and funded 
• implementing recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada
• developing a climate change plan that ensures Ontario can meet its greenhouse gas emission targets

Visit QPOR.RNAO.ca for more information and links to a photo gallery. 
 

RNAO welcomed the government’s long-awaited decision to allow sites offering supervised injection and overdose prevention services to continue operating.

RNAO CEO Doris Grinspun attended a media conference on Oct. 22 where Health Minister Christine Elliott said she reviewed the evidence and saw first-hand the work RNs, NPs and other health workers are doing to combat the growing opioid crisis. She announced that all existing sites currently offering harm reduction services will continue operating, and that these and any new sites will offer a new delivery model that aims to connect clients to treatment options when they are ready.

Under the government’s plan, all existing sites will be rebranded as ‘consumption and treatment services.’ In addition to the sites currently operating in the province, Elliott said the three additional sites that were “paused” while the government conducted its review (in Thunder Bay, St. Catharines and Toronto) meet the criteria to apply. She says she believes they will be able to begin offering services once their applications are given the go-ahead.     

RNAO encourages members to sign the association’s action alert thanking the government for heeding its advice on this issue (RNAO.ca/AA-SIS-OPS-thanks). 

The public hearing phase of the Long-Term Care Homes Public Inquiry wrapped up at the end of September. And it ended with a submission from RNAO highlighting significant systemic issues it says need to be addressed if the ministry of health wants to ensure seniors in nursing homes receive safe, quality care.

Lawyers representing the association – which has standing at the inquiry – presented recommendations aimed at addressing two critical areas: the funding model and 
staffing ratios. 

RNAO argues the funding model in nursing homes should be changed to encourage homes rather than penalize them for implementing best practices that improve resident health outcomes, including reducing falls and lowering rates of incontinence. 

On the issue of staffing ratios, RNAO’s submission outlines the need for all homes to have a staffing mix of at least 20 per cent RNs, 25 per cent RPNs, and no more than 55 per cent PSWs. All homes should also have at least one NP per 120 residents. This is especially important given more than 50 per cent of residents in long-care homes are 85 years or older, and 90 per cent of all residents have some type of cognitive impairment.

RNAO also recommends clarifying the reporting obligations of nurses and nursing homes as it relates to resident safety. Employers should be mandated to disclose termination notices related to safety issues to prospective employers during reference checks.

The next phase of the inquiry includes formal consultations between stakeholders and the inquiry lead, Justice Eileen Gillese. To view RNAO’s closing submission, visit longtermcareinquiry.ca
 

Former RNAO president David McNeil will become the president and new CEO for the Brant Community Healthcare System (BCHS) on Dec. 10. For 17 years, he has been VP and chief nursing executive for Health Sciences North in Sudbury. In his new role, McNeil will oversee the operation of two hospitals within BCHS: the Brantford General Hospital and The Willett Hospital in Paris, Ont. “I’m honoured and excited about the opportunity,” McNeil says. “I look forward to meeting the staff, physicians, volunteers, patient and family representatives, as well as the community broadly. Together, we will set the priorities and directions for BCHS and the people we serve.” 

McNeil served as RNAO’s president from 2010 to 2012. He also co-chaired an RNAO-led provincial task force in 2014 that identified barriers and enablers affecting recruitment and retention of RNs, NPs and RPNs in rural, remote and northern Ontario communities, and proposed recommendations for a more sustainable workforce.

A new multimedia project called The Opioid Chapters is providing a platform for sharing the experiences of people affected by the opioid crisis in Ontario. Launched in September by the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network and Healthy Debate, the project highlights the human side of the crisis rather than focusing on statistics. The project uses video, audio, photographs and text to tell the stories of 11 individuals, some who rely on prescription opioids to manage pain, as well as health-care workers grappling with the epidemic. Among the individuals featured is a man who lost his wife after she took an accidental lethal dose of prescription fentanyl, and a man who found prescription opioids provided the only pain relief he could find for his back injury. The project also showcases the work of a community outreach and addictions counselor who says more funding is needed for health care for this population, especially emergency services. To read, watch or hear more stories, visit theopioidchapters.com.

A short film by RNAO member Natania Abebe has won the Take5 Storytelling Contest, organized by a U.S.-based organization with ties to Lucasfilm in San Francisco. The contest was created in August to solicit stories on gender inequality, and efforts to bridge the gap between genders. Abebe won for her film submission called Just a Nurse, which delves into how many nurses are not regarded as experts or leaders because of their gender. The film stresses how gender inequality has affected the nursing profession, including reinforcing stereotypes such as the “sexy nurse,” which can lead to sexual harassment and abuse in the workplace. “If we don’t discuss (gender inequality) now, we are losing our chance to foster future leaders who could shape health care,” writes Abebe in an online post. Watch her winning submission here. 
 
 

As many as 578 elementary school students from Windsor and Essex County face possible suspensions this fall. “These are students with incomplete or out-of-date immunization records,” says Stacy Manzerolle, manager of the healthy schools department for the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit. “They may be missing a booster shot or they may be missing information from their records.” A total of nine immunizations are required for students, including: tetanus, polio, measles and mumps. Meeting the immunization standards has been a requirement for families dating back to provincial legislation that was first introduced in 1990, says Manzerolle. “Our mandate is to review the records and ensure children and infants have received their vaccines for preventable diseases,” she adds. “We want to make sure we do what we can to help people comply with this. In some cases, it’s just a situation where the family doctors just need to send the immunization records to the health unit.” (Windsor Star, Sept. 19)
 

Sudbury’s Health Sciences North (HSN) opened a new child-friendly treatment room on the NEO Kids pediatric unit in September. The KICX for Kids Club House Room was opened as a space to perform various invasive procedures, and was thanks to a partnership with HSN’s NEO Kids Foundation, which raises funds for children’s health needs in the North, and the KICX for Kids Campaign by a local radio station. “The clinical team wants the patient rooms (separate from the treatment room) to be procedure free so they can remain a calm, safe environment for children,” says Carolyn Marshall, nurse clinician for NEO Kids NICU and pediatrics. She adds the new treatment space will “comfortably accommodate patients, their family members, and treatment staff with medical supplies and equipment that will no longer be in plain view.” It also includes a family seating area, child-friendly furniture, a mural, two television screens, twinkle lights, and creative décor to make medical equipment and supplies less intimidating for children. (The Sudbury Star, Sept. 21)