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Dear Colleagues: Welcome to our Saturday, June 5 report during this sixteenth month of COVID-19 in Ontario. You can find earlier update reports here, including thematic pieces in Doris’ COVID-19 Blog. And, for the many resources RNAO offers on COVID-19, please visit the COVID-19 Portal where you will also find RNAO media hits and releases on the pandemic here. Daily Situational Reports from Ontario's MOH EOC can be found here. As always, feel free to share this report and links with anyone interested. Scroll down for information on an upcoming webinar. COVID-19 VIANurse – Critical care nurses - As informed earlier, RNAO has activated VIANurse to augment nursing HR in critical care. If you are a critical care nurse and you are available, or if you are an employer needing critical care nurses, please go to the VIANurse page here. Employers: we still have hundreds of RNs with specialty in critical care available to work. Reminder to answer our survey on nurses’ wellbeing: RNAO is working in partnership with researchers from the Rosemary Bryant AO Research Centre (RBRC) at the University of South Australia (UniSA) to deliver a Canada-wide survey of nurses on COVID-19 and wellbeing. We urge you to answer to this important survey! Please go here.
In today’s report we share: (1) RNAO’s response to the Ontario government announcement on schools; (2) RNAO’s continuing media profile during the month of May and (3) an update on RNAO’s AGM taking place on June 24 – 26.
RNAO supports Premier Ford's announcement on schools as risk is too high The following is a media release from RNAO issued on June 3, 2021. RNAO is keenly aware of the importance of schools for the mental, social and physical health of children, as well as for their academic development. The pandemic has been very hard for everyone and in particular for young students and their parents. However, the risk of reopening schools for the remaining three weeks of the academic year is too high. Thus, RNAO fully supports Premier Doug Ford's June 2 decision to delay the reopening of schools for in-person classes until September. RNAO supports the premier's decision despite recent advice from the Science Table that schools can reopen safely on a regional basis. Many, including RNAO, say the Science Table's advice does not account adequately for the potential community spread and consequences of such spread. RNAO CEO Dr. Doris Grinspun wrote in her weekend blog that there is a high price to pay if we get it wrong and the reopening of schools brings about a new wave of infection and the possibility of a fourth lockdown in the summer. New variants, such as B.1.617, and other emerging variants, could potentially make vaccines less effective (see the potential for a new variant originating in Vietnam). RNAO says it is best to focus on fast-tracking the full vaccination rollout, maintaining public health measures, and taking steps to end the COVID-19 pandemic. RNAO supports the government's phased-in Roadmap to Reopen plan, but cautions against advancing the June 14 date to move into Step One. We have suffered so long with the COVID-19 pandemic and we must learn the lessons of premature re-openings. Let's not make the same mistake. RNAO recommends that the government immediately take the following actions:
RNAO’s continuing media profile: The May report RNAO continues to be active in the media to keep nurses, other health providers and the public informed of our views and advise during these challenging times. This month, we spoke out on many important issues, including long-term care (LTC), vaccinations, nurse burnout and the measures required to bring an end to the pandemic. I thank RNAO’s communications team for preparing this summary. On April 30, Ontario’s Long-Term Care COVID-19 Commission released its findings and recommendations. Led by Associate Chief Justice Frank Marrocco, the independent commission provided recommendations on how to address chronic and severe understaffing of the LTC sector, as well as infection prevention and control deficiencies. In a May 1 media release, RNAO welcomed the commission’s report and was especially pleased to see the recommendation that 70 per cent of staff be full time – a recommendation that aligns with RNAO’s Nursing Home Basic Care Guarantee (NHBCG). The commission also adopted the NHBCG’s recommendation on skill mix, which calls for 20% of staff to be comprised of RNs, 25% RPNs and 55% PSWs. It also adopted RNAO’s recommendation of one NP for every 120 residents, substantially increasing the number of attending NPs. Finally, it also adopted RNAO’S recommendation of one full-time RN per 120 beds dedicated as the Infection Prevention and Control practitioner. Now, the government needs to listen and promptly take action to ensure all of the recommendations are fully realized, including those related to skill mix, adding more attending NPs and ensuring essential caregivers do not face restrictions visiting their loved ones. They must work to deliver four hours of direct care much sooner than their proposed timeline of 2024-2025. LTC residents and their families have experienced too much devastation to not be promised adequate care levels. The commission also recommends increased funding for home care services – an issue RNAO raised in its Enhancing Community Care for Ontarians 3.0 (ECCO 3.0). In QP Briefing on May 3 (which I reiterated in a QP Briefing Podcast on May 7), I said that Minister Fullerton is ultimately responsible for the fact that residents died of neglect, and both her and the Ford government should have known early on during the first wave that neglect was costing lives. The tragic deaths were avoidable, yet no preventative action was taken. RNAO hopes that the provincial government will heed the advice laid out, which included all of the recommendations RNAO made to the commission, and immediately implement them. That same day, CTV News quoted RNAO estimating staffing shortfalls of 63% for RNs, 51% for RPNs and 13% for PSWs in LTC settings required to meet the four hours standard of care. In a Canadian Press article on May 3, I said “that unless [Minister] Fullerton is willing to legislate higher staffing levels in long-term care, other changes won't help”. Unfortunately, the pandemic continues to take the lives of Ontarians, including health-care workers. On April 30, we learned of the loss of Lorraine Gouveia, a dedicated RN who worked at Maple Grove Care Community in Peel Region. “I feel horrified that we continue to lose Ontarians. This shouldn’t be happening anymore,” I told the Toronto Star on May 1. Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with Lorraine’s family, colleagues and friends. Read RNAO’s statement on her passing. To protect nurses and other health workers, it is imperative that they be fully vaccinated. On May 7, we issued a media release calling on the Ontario government to prioritize nurses’ second dose, since many – even those working directly with COVID-19 patients – only had their first dose. As I told in a widely reported Canadian Press article (May 6), one shot is not enough. RNAO member Amanda Dodge, an ICU nurse, expressed her frustration to CTV News on May 6 that she still had not received her second dose. On May 7, I told the Toronto Sun that Premier Doug Ford should kick off National Nursing week with a second round of doses for nurses in hospital intensive care and other critical care sectors. On May 10 I spoke live on 980 CFPL about the urgent need to protect frontline health-care providers. That same day, the province announced that it would be prioritizing high-risk health-care workers to receive their second dose. This is an example of the power of speaking out and ensuring your voice is heard. It is through the advocacy of our members and the media amplifying our message that we can impact change and ensure nurses are protected from the COVID-19 virus so they can care for others. RNAO also publicly addressed doctors being paid substantively more than nurses while serving as nurse extenders in ICU, or as vaccinators. This occurs while there are still hundreds of RNs eager to work in ICUs and other units. The situation is similar for vaccination sites. There are thousands of primary care and home care nurses (NPs, RNs and RPNs), as well as 4,500 RN Care Coordinators, not being utilized for vaccination rollout. I spoke to CBC News on May 11 and 12 about how such huge pay discrepancies must upset nurses who are training doctors to do these jobs. The Ontario Medical Association said it was ultimately up to the Ministry of Health to decide how to compensate physicians working as nurses. “If there is nothing to hide, then why not tell us how much they’re getting paid?” I asked in the same CBC News article. As I said in a Globe and Mail article on May 12, the wage discrepancy is causing resentment among the nursing community: “The message that it sends to nurses is that they are not valued in the system for the work they do.” Readers will remember that nurses’ pay has been constrained by Bill 124, and their real remuneration (after inflation) has been going down. RNAO put out an Action Alert asking the premier to exempt nurses and other health-care workers from Bill 124, which forcibly suppresses the compensation of health-care workers by freezing wage increases at 1 per cent. Nurses must be paid fairly for the challenging work that they do on a daily basis. If you haven’t yet done so, please add your voice to over 4,000 who have already signed our Action Alert. As we continue to work through the third wave of this pandemic, nurses and other health workers are burnt out. On Global News (May 5), I explained that it is the piling up of many stress factors that affect nurses’ mental health, such as the inability to take time off. In the same story, RNAO member Eram Chhogola, an emergency trauma RN, said that the pandemic has been difficult: “This pandemic has become very challenging and taxing.” Chhogala has seen first-hand the devastation caused by COVID-19. “When (patients are) incredibly short of breath and I think that’s the hardest thing to see,” she said. Another RNAO member, Debra Lefebvre told City News on May 8 about the mounting exhaustion: “We are moving toward a place in our careers where we’re feeling a large amount of moral injury and that we’ve been abandoned.” RNAO is dedicated to continuing to advocate on your behalf and encourages you to use your voices to share your experiences and mobilize change. If you need mental health support, please see our list of resources. Please know, YOU are not alone. On May 20, Ontario announced its new Roadmap to Reopen, a three-step plan to lift public health measures based on ongoing vaccination rates and the improvement of key public health indicators. The province is expected to enter the first stage on June 14, which would allow for non-essential retail to open at 15% capacity, outdoor gatherings of up to 10 people and outdoor dining with up to four people per table. RNAO says this approach, which would have the province stay in each stage for 21 days before moving to the next, is a reasonable approach. We must ensure a fourth wave is prevented and be cautious about advancing the June 14 transition to Step One. The province also lifted restrictions on several outdoor activities ahead of the Victoria Day long weekend. Missing from the list of listed restrictions was outdoor visits with LTC residents, which I flagged immediately in a tweet and also communicated directly to the Premier’s office. On May 21, the Ontario government sent around a memo that LTC residents would be able to have outdoor visits with friends and family. In response to the great news, RNAO tweeted: “This weekend we’ll see more smiles on residents' faces as they smell the gardens and resume some of life’s simple pleasures.” RNAO’s tweet was cited in a May 21 Canadian Press article. On May 26, the province’s Financial Accountability Office released a review that found the province needs to hire over 37,000 nurses and personal support workers by 2024 to meet their LTC commitments. On CBC News, (please watch at the 9:47 mark) I said that hiring more nurses sooner is crucial for the sector. “It’s essential, not by 2024, (but) by 2022 because if not residents in long-term care will continue to face detrimental consequences.” In May, vaccine eligibility expanded to anyone 12 or older. Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam said that once 75 per cent of the population receives their first vaccination, public health measures may be lifted. Calling it a ‘one shot summer’, Canadians could expect to be able to meet with others outside. I told Radio-Canada (May 14) that this news is encouraging and will motivate people to get vaccinated. In a Zoomer TV panel discussion on vaccine disclosure (May 18), I made it clear that vaccinations are important: “We need to encourage and help health professionals understand that being vaccinated is good to protect ourselves, our communities and our patients.” On May 14, the Ontario government announced $35M in funding to increase enrollment in nursing education programs in publicly-assisted colleges and universities across the province. The new spaces will be available for fall 2021 and winter 2022 cohorts and will eventually introduce 870 RNs into the health-care system. Money is also being allocated for RPN seats. While pleased with the announcement, RNAO is concerned that Ontario still has the lowest RN-to-population ratio in the country. We simply need to bring many more RNs into the system. RNAO is pleased that the government is committing to a 10 per cent increase of BScN seats and hopes further commitments in subsequent years are in the works. This news follows our recent Work and Wellbeing Survey, which found that many young nurses (26-35) are considering leaving the profession post-pandemic. “This allows those nurses already working to think, ‘Well maybe there is help on the way,” I told City News on May 18. On May 30, it was announced that Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams will be retiring at the end of June. As you may recall, RNAO has been calling for Dr. Williams to resign since last year, when he failed to act using the precautionary principle at the onset of COVID-19. In August 2020, I told QP briefing that we simply cannot have more of Dr. Williams’ wavering guidance. More than 1,800 residents died, and many could have been saved if universal masking had been ordered early in the pandemic for health providers in long-term care as well as surveillance testing, as RNAO had called for. On May 30, 2021 I told the Globe and Mail that my concern regarding Dr. Williams going back a year was not just “confusing communication” as pointed out by other critics, but also “failure of content in his message.” The new chief medical officer of health will be Dr. Kieran Moore, who is the current medical officer of health for Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington Public Health. Dr. Moore is also on Ontario’s COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force. I told the Toronto Sun (May 30), throughout the pandemic, Dr. Moore has demonstrated that he follows the precautionary principle: “He has shown consistently that he takes decisive action and that he is ahead of the curve.” RNAO very much welcomes this new leadership and we are confident Dr. Moore understands and appreciates that nurses play a crucial role in ending this pandemic. RNAO’s advocacy and media outreach resulted in 297 hits in May (as of May 28). We will continue to speak out for our members and for the health of all Ontarians. To keep up with our media coverage, visit RNAO’s official COVID-19 Portal press room.
RNAO AGM now extended to 7:30pm! We are delighted to invite all RNAO members, other health professionals, and members of the public to our 96th Annual General Meeting (AGM) taking place on June 24 – 26, 2021. The theme for this year’s AGM is Protecting Ontarians and Leading Change: Nurses and RNAO during COVID-19. The AGM will highlight the incredible leadership played by RNs, NPs and students in nursing Ontarians during the pandemic, and the role of RNAO and its members advocating for healthy public policies to protect nurses and the public. We have an exciting program of events that will be livestreamed to rnao.ca, Facebook, and YouTube. To accommodate for great number of members submitted resolutions (17 total!), we will be extending the annual general meeting (AGM) to take place on Friday June 25th from 4:00 – 7:30 p.m. Please mark this new time on your calendars! If you have yet to register, be sure to do so, we have an exciting three day program: Thursday, June 24th Opening Ceremonies | 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. The opening ceremony is the official kick off our AGM. You’ll hear from Ontario’s top political leaders, government officials, and our international nursing colleagues. To top off the evening, we’ll be celebrating our newly designated provincial and international Best Practice Spotlight Organizations (BPSO). Friday, June 25th Annual General Meeting | 4:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. The AGM is a time for members and the board of directors to gather to discuss the required business of the association. During the AGM, you’ll hear from President Morgan Hoffarth and CEO Dr. Doris Grinspun on the year’s achievements and successes for nursing and the health system over the past year. The results of the governance items up for vote will be announced; including the election of the President-Elect and Regional Representatives, bylaw amendments, and the selection of auditors. Another key feature of this event is the consultation session Consultation Representatives from RNAO’s chapters/regions without chapters and interest groups will have the opportunity to vote on the proposed resolutions brought forward by members. Saturday, June 26th Promoting 2SLGBTQI+ Health Equity Best Practice Guideline: Launch & Media Conference 10:45 – 11:15 a.m. RNAO is excited to release its newest best practice guideline (BPG), Promoting 2SLGBTQI+ Health Equity at this year’s Annual General Meeting (AGM). The virtual release will celebrate the rigorous and collaborative efforts by RNAO and a diverse expert panel – consisting of persons with lived experience, activists, nurses and other health providers, researchers, educators and administrators – to publish a much-needed resource with evidence-based recommendations on ways to promote inclusivity and enhance the safety of 2SLGBTQI+ people across health, school and academic settings. The virtual release will be hosted by RNAO President Morgan Hoffarth and will include the co-chairs of the BPG, Sheena Howard, RN, psychotherapist and founder, Love-Led Leadership and Dr. Elizabeth Saewyc, RN and, professor and director of the School of Nursing at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Paul-Andre Gauthier, RN and provincial president of RNAO’s Rainbow Nurses’ Interest Group, will also take part. Speakers will discuss the important need for this BPG, its purpose and scope, share key best practice recommendations, and answer questions from members of the media. Closing Keynote: Protecting Ontarians and leading change: The COVID-19 pandemic as viewed through the eyes and experiences of nurses 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Concluding the exciting activities is our closing keynote presentation. Moderated by CEO Dr. Doris Grinspun, this presentation will include a panel of nurses from various sectors sharing their experiences working on the frontlines of COVID-19. We look forward to you joining us to celebrate the past year’s achievements. Register now and we’ll see you there!
POLICY UPDATES FOR ALL TO ACT ON & MUST JOIN EVENTS – OPEN TO ALL
RNAO Action Alerts Take action on Bill 124 and sign the Action Alert. Add your voice to over 4,000 others calling on Premier Ford to exempt health-care workers from Bill 124. We also join in the call to #RepealBill124. Take action on global vaccine access: Sign an Action Alert calling on Prime Minister Trudeau to ensure global vaccine access.
Webinar: COVID-19 Webinar Series June 14, 2021, 2:00pm - 4:00pm When: Every second Monday of the month RNAO's CEO Doris Grinspun will be hosting COVID-19 webinars for health providers. Topics include:
Health providers from Ontario, Canada, and anywhere in the world are welcome to join at no cost. We are here with you in solidarity. Together, we will continue to tackle COVID-19 with the best tools at hand, including accurate information, calmness, determination and swift actions! Upcoming webinar:June 14, 2021, 2 - 4 p.m. ET Additional date: July 12, 2021, 2 - 4 p.m. ET You can watch our May 10 webinar. Here is the description of that webinar: Kick off National Nursing Week with us; we will be dedicating our COVID-19 webinar to your stories. Nurses, other health providers and members of the public are welcome to join our webinar to pay tribute to the roles nurses have played during the pandemic. This webinar is focused on good news. You can share examples, words or stories of the nurses’ leadership: Their knowledge, compassion, bravery, dedication, collaboration and creativity as they have given it their all for patients this past year. Together, we will create a virtual wall of appreciation where you can share stories, upload images, take photos and share GIFs. The wall can be shared within your networks and on social media. Let's take time to collectively honour nursing and reenergize ourselves and our colleagues. We are an awesome mosaic of human richness! Watch and read about earlier webinars here.
MOH EOC Situational Report We are posting each day the Daily Situational Reports from Ontario's MOH EOC at RNAO’s website. That way, you can access the Ministry’s guidance at any time. For a more detailed Ontario epidemiological summary from Public Health Ontario, you can always go here. Here is a segment from the last Situation Report #444 for June 4:
Update:
Staying in touch Keeping in touch is now more important than ever. Feeling that you are part of a community and that we have your back will help you get through this challenging time. We are also eager to hear from you how we can best support you. Send to us your questions, comments, and challenges. Feel free to also recommend ideas for future webinars. Send these to me at dgrinspun@rnao.ca and copy my executive assistant, Peta-Gay (PG) Batten email: pgbatten@rnao.ca. RNAO’s Board of Directors and our entire staff want you to know: WE ARE HERE FOR YOU! Thank you all for being there for our communities – everywhere and in all roles! Together, in solidarity, we are stronger and more resilient. These continue to be tough times and we have to reach out to one another in solidarity! Our government, the public and indeed all health professionals – must keep focused. There is hope at the end of this long tunnel. Vaccines are being delivered in large quantities and now we need to fasten the rollout! Hugely important is to continue fighting the spread of the virus to preserve lives. To everyone and most especially our colleagues working in the front lines here at home and in countries around the world hit hard by evil COVID-19 – THANK YOU, and please take care of yourselves and know that RNAO always stands by you! As we have said before and everyday more true: The silver lining of COVID-19: Coming together and working as one people – for the good of all! Doris Grinspun, RN,MSN, PhD, LLD(hon), Dr(hc), FAAN, FCAN, O.ONT
RECENT BLOG ITEMS: 29 May - Vaccination passport apps could help society reopen – go here. 29 May - Email updates highlight best new evidence about COVID-19 – go here. 23 May – NPs speak about LTC during the COVID-19 Pandemic – go here. 23 May – Three surveys on the impact of COVID-19 on Canadian nurses – go here. 23 May – Exemption of nurses and other health-care workers from Bill 124 – go here. 23 May – RNAO’s statement on the government’s phased-in re-opening plan – go here. 23 May – Remembering Charlotte Noesgaard (1948-2021) – go here. 15 May - Nursing Now Ontario Awards Ceremony – go here. 15 May - Vaccine passports – reason for hope or cause for concern? – go here. 15 May - Government responds to RNAO’s call for increased enrollment in nursing education – go here. 15 May - Second dose vaccination for high-risk healthcare workers in response to RNAO’s call – go here. 8 May - Nurses must be fully vaccinated immediately, RNAO demands – go here. 8 May - A bill to support individuals with assistive devices for mental health – go here. 8 May - Action alert: Ensure global vaccine access, prime minister! – go here. 1 May - RNAO statement on the passing of RN Lorraine Gouveia – go here. 1 May - RNAO’s continuing media profile: The April report – go here. 1 May – RNAO response to Long-Term Care COVID-19 Commission report – go here. 24 April - RNAO launches new policy webpages – go here. 24 April – RNAO responds to federal fiscal budget – go here. 17 April - Vaccine engagement as a tool to address marginalization and exclusion – go here. 17 April - Here's how the COVID-19 pandemic could play out in 2021 and beyond – go here. 17 April - Reacting to the latest Ontario government public health measures – go here. 10 April - RNAO and NAN sign Relationship Accord to improve health across NAN Territory – go here. 10 April - RNAO media release on public health measures and vaccination rollout – go here. 10 April - 3 ways to vaccinate the world and make sure everyone benefits, rich and poor – go here. 3 April - Government’s “shutdown” announcement doesn’t go far enough – go here. 3 April - RNAO’s continuing media profile: The March report – go here. 27 Mar - Provincial budget fails to deliver urgent nursing investments to care for Ontarians – go here. 27 Mar - Government's reopening plan threatens the health of Ontarians – go here. 20 Mar - Preliminary results of RNAO‘s Work and Wellbeing Survey – go here. 13 Mar - Getting it right – go here. 13 Mar - RNAO leads dozens of organizations in candlelight vigil – go here. 6 Mar - RNAO’s continuing media profile: The February report – go here. 6 Mar - Communication during a Pandemic: How we can endure the pandemic together – go here. 6 Mar - Webinar: Understanding wellness in Indigenous wisdom traditions for caregivers – go here. We have posted earlier ones in my blog here. I invite you to look.
Information Resources Public Health Ontario maintains an excellent resource site on COVID-19 materials. Ontario’s health provider website is updated regularly with useful resources. Ontario’s public website on the COVID-19 is there to inform the general public – encourage your family and friends to access this public website. The WHO has provided an excellent link for you to share with members of the public here. Health Canada's website provides the best information capturing all of Canada. It contains an outbreak update, Canada's response to the virus, travel advice, symptoms and treatment, and resources for health professionals. The World Health Organization plays a central role in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic. See here and here. You can find up-to-date global numbers in Coronavirus COVID-19 Global Cases by Johns Hopkins CSSE.
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