Health policy and advocacy

NP and RNAO member Joanna Binch is tenacious and undeterred by barriers that others may find daunting. For more than a decade, she has laid the groundwork to not only help, but also respect and honour her clients in an area of Ottawa that has more rooming houses than any other part of the city....

Since she was six-years old, Wendy McNeil always knew she wanted to be a nurse to care and advocate for patients and ensure they receive the best care possible. However, since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, she says working as a nurse has become impossible. “It just felt like there...

RNAO has been building environmental and social determinants of health into the fabric of its policy and advocacy work for more than two decades (you can read more about this in the latest installment of Conversations with Members, by Dr. Doris Grinspun). In the late 1990s, the association began to think bigger and broader ...

RNAO has welcomed two new interest groups that are helping to create culturally safe environments in health care, the nursing profession and beyond.  The Indigenous Nurses and Allies Interest Group (INAIG) aims to increase Indigenous representation and education in nursing and health-care settings to create more inclusiv...

Bill 37 falls short on addressing long-standing issues in LTC In November 2021, RNAO CEO Dr. Doris Grinspun presented virtually to the Standing Committee on the Legislative Assembly regarding Bill 37, Providing More Care, Protecting Seniors, and Building More Beds Act, 2021. Long-term care (LTC) homes bore the brunt of...

It was an Annual General Meeting (AGM) to remember. A dynamic video highlighting the achievements of nurses and RNAO throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. A song performed by a First Nation elder in recognition and remembrance of the residential school children whose tragic deaths have come to ...

RNAO stands with the Indigenous peoples of this land who are mourning lives lost. We recognize and share the enormous and enduring pain caused by the residential school system. In our ongoing commitment to reconciliation, the association is building on its partnerships with Indigenous communities to address the impacts of coloni...

For the second time in RNAO’s history, Nursing Week (May 10 – 16, 2021) was celebrated virtually amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. With the theme of Protecting Ontarians and Leading Change: Nurses and RNAO During COVID-19, the association hosted a variety of fun and informative virtual events to honour the profession and celeb...

On Sept. 20, Canadians voted for a minority liberal government in the federal election. Two RNAO members – Aisha Jahangir and Bert Laranjo – were among the candidates vying for a seat in the House of Commons. Jahangir ran for the NDP and took third in her Guelph riding. Laranjo, a Conservative candidate, came in second in his ri...

On April 30, 2021, Ontario's Long-Term Care (LTC) COVID-19 Commission released its final report with 84 recommendations for change in a sector that has found itself grappling with challenges exacerbated by the pandemic. The commission, announced on May 19, 2020 by Merrilee Fullerton, then Minis...