November/December 2018

In any sport, you have your all-stars. these are the big-name players who go out and hit home runs or make three-pointers. All-stars are a huge asset to any team, but they are not the only vital players for success.

RNAO’s Region 6 board representative Hilda Swirsky and senior economist Kim Jarvi appeared before a legislative committee Oct. 30 to offer recommendations on Bill 34, also known as the Green Energy Repeal Act.

A recent report by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) provides some revealing data when it comes to health spending. Ontario spends less on health, on a per capita basis, than other provinces across the country.

Issues such as homelessness and addiction took centre stage at a coroner’s inquest that began at the end of November. The proceedings focused on the circumstances into the death of Brad Chapman, a 43-year-old father of three who died on Aug. 26, 2015 in downtown Toronto.

RNAO’s annual Queen’s Park on the Road (QPOR) initiative wrapped up in December. Forty-seven meetings between RNAO members and MPPs from all parties across the province took place in their local constituency offices.

President Angela Cooper Brathwaite and CEO Doris Grinspun visited eight communities this fall to meet with RNs, NPs and nursing students from different chapters and regions. Grinspun visited Ottawa, Petrolia, Chatham and Windsor. Brathwaite met with members in Toronto, Sudbury, Timmins and Durham.

This October, Robin Morash was honoured with an Oncology Nurse of the Year award from the Canadian Association of Nurses in Oncology (CANO). Morash, who retired in June, says that receiving the award from her peers was a lovely way to finish her 35-year career. “It was very humbling.