Kimberley Kearsey
When we last brought you news about nurses providing supervision at drug consumption sites (Sept/Oct 2016), several of those sites were unsanctioned and the fight for buy-in for these services – from the public and government – was very real. Although more than two years have passed, the fight is still very real. Opioids killed 1,354 Ontarians between July 2017 and June 2018 (see page 12). With these troubling statistics, and with significant advocacy by RNAO and others, the provincial government confirmed late last year that it would fund supervised consumption sites in a number of Ontario cities.
Our cover feature brings you the tragic story of one nurse who has lived the opioid epidemic in a very personal way. We also bring you an update on the family (featured in 2016) at the centre of an inquest into the overdose death of a beloved son, father and brother.
Vulnerable populations served by supervised consumption sites are now getting the help they need, but they are not alone in their struggle to access focused attention and improved health services.
In this issue, we also bring you news of a new program for nurses with mental illness and/or substance use disorders. We reconnect with Kathy*, an RN profiled in RNJ in 2015, who says the Nurses’ Health Program would have been a huge help when she struggled with addiction years ago.
Indigenous peoples in Canada are also in need of more focused care. RNAO is taking steps to better understand these needs, and its work on this was the focus of a panel discussion at an RNAO staff meeting in January. We bring you details from this discussion, including insights from staff who are developing best practice guidelines for Indigenous populations, creating formal partnerships for evidence-based care in Indigenous communities, and learning about cultural humility and the history of Indigenous peoples across this country.
As you read this, you may be holding a hard copy of the magazine in your hands. I’d like to take this opportunity to also invite you to visit our new digital RNJ to explore and experience the new and improved magazine that will be formally launched in April.
* Pseudonyms have been used to protect privacy