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November 14 2021 COVID-19 report

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Dear Colleagues: Welcome to our Sunday, November 14 report during this twenty second 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 policy updates and action alerts, as well as RNAO’s upcoming webinars.

This week we share: (1) Join us at the rally to repeal Bill 124 on Sunday, November 14 at noon; (2) Ontario nurses discuss the crisis in the profession during RNAO’s Fall Tour, which builds on (3) RNAO's just released political action bulletin on Ontario’s RN understaffing crisis: Impact and solution; and (4) nurses celebrate National Nurse Practitioner Week and call for scope expansion to improve access for Ontarians.

Congratulations to all NPs during National Nurse Practitioner Week! We had a phenomenal week of virtual celebrations and extensive social media exposure. Thanks to Canada’s awesome NPs for the work you do day in, day out. Special thanks to the many NPs that lend their voices to social media, such as this, this, this, this and this. See below RNAO’s media release to mark this special week. Also, join us for the NP Virtual Knowledge Exchange on November 23, at no cost, for a full day of presentations, discussions and more – check below the program and please RT here.

I have been humbled and honoured to receive the 2021 Nell J. Watts Lifetime Achievement in Nursing Award from the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing’s board of directors “for demonstrated exemplary achievements in nursing throughout her lifetime.” You can read more here and watch my acceptance remarks here.

RNAO joins Toronto nursing rally to demand an immediate repeal of Bill 124

Toronto, Nov. 11, 2021. Nurses across the province are standing together to call on the provincial government to immediately repeal Bill 124 and stop a nursing exodus that is devastating Ontarians and their health system.

On Sunday, Nov. 14 at noon, the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO), alongside nurses and other public sector workers will join the group Nursewithsign416 (@Nursewithsign on Twitter) in Toronto to rally against Bill 124. The legislation caps compensation increases for a broad range of public sector workers, including nurses, at just one per cent. Please RT here.

Despite their tireless efforts to care for Ontarians over the course of the pandemic, nurses’ incomes are not keeping up with the cost of living. The lack of respect implied in Bill 124 is triggering many registered nurses (RN) to leave the profession. Bill 124 must be repealed as an immediate first step for RN retention in the province.

“Ontario is already in the midst of a nursing crisis that is being worsened by Bill 124, disincentivizing nurses to stay in a profession they love. On top of that, nurses are also facing chronic understaffing made worse by a 22-month pandemic. If this legislation is not repealed, nurses will continue to leave and health-care organizations will continue to face staffing challenges and longer wait times for already backlogged procedures and surgeries,” says RNAO CEO Dr. Doris Grinspun. “RNAO is joining this rally on Nov. 14 and welcomes all nurses, other health workers, educators, and the public to join in sounding the alarm so the government listens and repeals Bill 124.”

“Nurses are leaving the bedside in droves and a large part is because Bill 124 – the final straw,” says RN Leah Waxman, one of the rally organizers. “On Nov. 14, we want to show our fellow nurses that silence is no longer an option. We have a right to a wage increase that is not below inflation and we have a right to tell the public what is happening in Ontario hospitals and other sectors: staffing challenges are so severe that Ontarians’ health care is in danger if the current conditions continue.”

RNAO president Morgan Hoffarth reinforces that “RNAO has long spoken out about the challenges of RN understaffing across the province, which has now evolved into a major crisis with a large number of RN vacancies across the province.” Hoffarth adds: “According to Statistics Canada, RN vacancies in Ontario have more than quadrupled over the last five years and there was a 56 per cent increase in vacancies over the first half of this year (2021). It is imperative for Premier Ford to signal that our government values nursing by repealing Bill 124, which demoralizes and undermines our profession and at the end of the day is a total slap in the face.”

To support nurses’ call for action, join us on Nov. 14 and please sign and share our Action Alert calling on the premier to repeal Bill 124.

What:

The Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) along with nurses and other public sector workers will rally to repeal Bill 124. The gathering will be socially distanced with masking encouraged.

When:

Today, Sunday, Nov. 14 at 12 p.m. ET

Who:

Featured speakers include:

  • Nancy Halupa and Leah Waxman, RNs and rally organizers
  • Dr. Raghu Venugopal, ER physician
  • Dr. Doris Grinspun, RNAO CEO
  • Cathryn Hoy, RN and first provincial vice-president of ONA
  • Sara Fung and Amie Varley, RNs

Attendees include:

  • RNAO President Morgan Hoffarth along with other RNAO board and assembly of leaders
  • Nurses and other public sector workers

Where:

Nathan Phillips Square (100 Queen St. W) in Toronto, Ont.

Join the conversation on social media using #RepealBill124

Ontario nurses discuss the crisis in the profession during RNAO’s Fall Tour

Toronto, Nov. 12. For the past 22 months, nurses across the province have been working tirelessly and diligently to care for patients and residents amid a relentless pandemic. To make sure their voices are heard, the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) will be checking in with nurses and nursing students this month through a virtual Fall Tour. RNAO will hear nursing struggles and aspirations from more than 10 Ontario regions and check the pulse on the association’s next steps of escalating demands with government and employers.

“For decades, Ontario’s RN-to-population ratio has lagged when compared to the rest of Canada. With the pandemic, the situation has turned into a full-blown crisis,” says RNAO CEO Dr. Doris Grinspun. “Nurses are burnt out, exhausted and are leaving the profession. They are no longer willing to continuously compromise patient care because of excessive workloads. And, they are not willing to put up with inadequate compensation and a lack of respect. If something is not done the crisis will spiral out of control and collapse our health system with horrendous results when it comes to patient safety and Ontarians’ health.”

RNAO President Morgan Hoffarth says “We have been hearing concerns from our members throughout the pandemic and our seventh-annual Fall Tour gives us a chance to check in again. Registered nurses (RN) and nurse practitioners (NP) know that we have been urging the government to immediately launch a human resources task force and while good progress is being made for long-term care, the rest of the system is lagging in action,” says Hoffarth.  

RNAO President Morgan Hoffarth and CEO Dr. Doris Grinspun will meet virtually with RNs, NPs and nursing students from different regions across Ontario to check the pulse on their work and on their well-being. The magnitude of the crisis is discussed in RNAO’s just released political action bulletin RN Understaffing Crisis: Impact and Solution (see below for a short version).

One of the main advocacy items to be discussed during the tour is Bill 124, legislation that limits wage increases to a maximum of one per cent for RNs, NPs and other health-care professionals. “Bill 124 demoralizes and undermines our profession and at the end of the day is a total slap in the face,” says Hoffarth. “If the bill is not repealed, nurses will continue to leave and health-care organizations will continue to face staffing shortages and longer wait times for already backlogged procedures and surgeries, compromising people ’s health and threatening the functioning of Ontario’s health system.” 

The virtual Fall Tour runs from Nov. 15-30 and has nurses from more than 10 regions across the province participating.

“The work that nurses do touches the lives of millions of Ontarians in all stages of their lives, in good times and in times of crisis. Yet, despite nurses selflessly giving to the point of exhaustion – caring for people and saving lives while confronting fears for their own health and safety – the government has not understood the crisis, nor is responding accordingly,” says Grinspun. “As the professional association representing more than 48,000 RNs, NPs, and nursing students, we must once again sound the alarm – we will do so alongside our colleagues for their sake and for the sake of Ontarians.”

Join the conversation on social media by using #FallTour. 

Details of RNAO’s Fall Tour:

Media interested in attending can follow up with a media contact at the information below or register online using the registration links provided above. 

Ontario’s RN understaffing crisis: Impact and solution

As part of its Queen’s Park on the Road (QPOR) actions this Fall, RNAO is issuing a political bulletin on the major #NursingCrisis facing Ontarians. Here is a short version of the bulletin. The full version can be found here.

For decades, Ontario has had an RN understaffing problem. The COVID-19 pandemic has ushered in a new, deeper crisis in RN staffing. While nurses have been resilient in the face of inordinate stress throughout the pandemic, and have had to find ways to adapt and reach out for help when necessary, there are limits to what they can endure and for how long. Many RNs have reached or crossed that limit and have left their jobs. Some have left Ontario or the profession altogether. And others plan to depart the profession post-pandemic. The magnitude of these departures is significantly higher than ever before. RNAO insists on urgent action from health-system employers and government. At risk is the effective functioning of Ontario’s health system, the health of Ontarians, and the future of nursing in Ontario. Retention and recruitment must be aggressive.

Voices

Here are voices from survey respondents to the Canadian COVID-19 nursing workforce survey:

  • “We have felt dispensable and disrespected in a time when we have given up so much personally and professionally, and risked the health and safety of ourselves and our loved ones.”
  • “I have felt real fear for the safety of my family and my patients unlike anything I have ever known.”
  • “I wake up thinking about work (workload, adequacy of my work, impressions by team members and management) and feel anxious almost all the time - I am hyperalert at work and energized in a fight-or-flight manner. I go home and feel like a zombie with no energy left - I cry often; generally unprovoked. The stress and heaviness of the workloads and expectations makes me feel paralyzed often.”
  • “Staff morale is low, there is a staffing crisis. Many older staff have retired, and many are leaving the department I work in. There is a lack of support/recognition from management. Increased job stress and workload have left me burnt-out and stressed, I no longer enjoy my job and am thinking of changing my profession.”
  • “It's exhausting! Working with higher acuity patients, working more hours, short staffed and now fighting Bill 124. It’s demoralizing to have Bill 124. It presents a bleak future in nursing.”

Background

A rich body of evidence indicates that RN care is directly linked to positive outcomes on numerous patient, organizational and financial markers. RNAO’s 2017 scoping review of 70 years of research into RN effectiveness, updated in 2020, confirms positive health outcomes from RN care across a broad range of quality-of-care indicators including, but not limited to, mortality rates and morbidity rates (i.e., pressure injuries and infections). And yet, RN understaffing in Ontario is a long-standing problem driven by misguided government and employer policies designed to lower the proportion of RNs employed in Ontario. For more than three decades, the number of RNs per capita in this province has trailed the rest of Canada. Ontario entered the COVID-19 pandemic nearly 22,000 RNs short of the rest of Canada on a per-capita basis, according to the latest data.

The impact of the pandemic on RN understaffing and wellbeing

Ontario’s long-standing RN understaffing problem has become an RN human resource crisis. Since January 2020, the understaffed RN workforce has waged an unrelenting battle with COVID-19. As of Nov. 7, 2021, 603,711 persons in Ontario have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, resulting in almost 10,000 lives lost and many thousands more left to grieve. The toll on our colleagues and their families is immeasurable.

RNAO has been involved in three surveys of the nursing profession over the course of the pandemic to gain a greater understanding of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the nursing workforce:

  • RNAO's Work and Wellbeing Survey, focused on Ontario’s nursing workforce.
  • The Canadian COVID-19 workforce survey, in partnership with Australia’s Rosemary Bryant AO Research Centre at the University of South Australia and Nursing Now International.
  • The Healthy Professional Worker (HPW) Partnership, led by Dr. Ivy Bourgeault of the University of Ottawa.

While we can’t yet report on results of the latter, results of the first two surveys show the profound impact of the pandemic on RN wellbeing:

  • RNs and NPs require better supports from government and employers – as they attempt to manage the impact of the pandemic at work and at home.
  • About 90 per cent of respondents experienced at least moderate stress, with mid-career RNs/NPs reporting the highest levels of stress.
  • Early-career RNs reported the greatest challenges with coping.
  • ­­­Burnout is intensifying among the Canadian nursing workforce. Slightly more than two-thirds of the sample (67.9 per cent) indicated they were burnt out, with another 5.8 per cent reporting exhaustion, and 12 per cent reporting disengagement.

Findings from The Ontario Science Advisory Table substantiate RNAO’s survey findings, as they indicate the prevalence of severe burnout in Canadian health-care workers has increased from 30-40 per cent in spring 2020 to more than 60 per cent by spring 2021.

The impact of the pandemic on the RN workforce

RN understaffing combined with an unrelenting and emotionally draining pandemic has caused RNs to leave their jobs or consider leaving the profession. The results are astonishing:

  • Ontario risks losing more than 20 per cent of early-career RNs/NPs (26- to 35-years-old).
  • We are likely to see a very significant post-pandemic loss of late-career RNs/NPs who opt for early retirement, particularly RNs working in middle and senior management, as well as faculty positions.
  • 70 per cent of RNs/NPs working excessive overtime plan to work less hours post-pandemic.
  • 68.5 per cent of respondents plan to leave their current position within the next five years, 12.6 per cent of whom plan to leave the profession altogether, while 29.4 per cent plan to retire.

Statistics Canada vacancy data illustrates the extent of the RN human resource crisis:

  • Of all occupations measured in Canada, RNs and registered psychiatric nurses have had the largest increase in job vacancies over the past two years (up by 85.8 per cent).
  • RN vacancies in Ontario have more than quadrupled since the beginning of 2016, and have more than doubled since the start of the pandemic.
  • The number of Ontario RN vacancies that have remained unfilled for 90 days or more has increased by nearly 50 per cent since the start of the pandemic.

Recommendations

RNAO recommends immediate action on RN retention and recruitment by:

  1. Repealing Bill 124

Bill 124 caps compensation increases for a broad range of public sector workers, including nurses, at just one per cent. The lack of respect implicit in Bill 124 is triggering many RNs to leave their profession or practice outside of Ontario. Bill 124 must be repealed as an immediate first step for RN retention in Ontario.

2. Increasing RN supply

    1. Increase enrolment, and corresponding funding, in four-year baccalaureate (Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN)) programs, second entry/compressed programs, and RPN-to-RN bridging programs by at least 10 per cent annually for eight years.
    2. Compress RPN-to-BScN bridging programs to two years.
    3. Fast-track applications and develop funding pathways for internationally educated nurses (IEN) to become RNs in Ontario.
    4. Support faculty retention and recruitment in both CAATs and University programs as a crucial strategy to increase RN supply in Ontario.
  2. Immediately developing and funding a Return to Nursing Now Program (RNNP) to attract RNs back into Ontario’s nursing workforce.

Ontario needs to develop and fund a program to bring back into the nursing workforce the 7500 Ontario-licensed RNs who are not currently nursing, including 2500 Ontario-licensed RNs nursing in other jurisdictions. The program would fund those Ontario health-care organizations with vacancies, to offer full-time positions, robust orientation programs, reduced nursing workloads and mental health supports.

  1. Supporting nurses through their careers by expanding the Nursing Graduate Guarantee (NGG) program and reinstating the Late Career Nurse Initiative (LCNI).

RNAO’s Work and Wellbeing survey identified early career nurses’ intention to leave is most influenced by the nature of workplace support. Survey respondents 51 years and older are most likely to leave or retire early due to excessive working hours and work intensity. In the past, Ontario successfully retained nurses through NGG and LCNI, which focus on an RN’s career stage.

  1. Immediately establishing a nursing task force to make recommendations on matters related to recruitment and retention of RNs.

Ontario will not be able to sustainably retain and recruit an RN workforce in the absence of substantially improved working conditions. RNAO insists that an urgent task force of government officials, nursing associations, unions, health-system employers and employer associations must be struck immediately to ensure necessary improvements. RNAO has repeatedly called for this task force and delays are harmful to Ontarians and their health system.

Nurses celebrate National Nurse Practitioner Week and call for scope expansion to improve access to the health system

Toronto, Nov. 10. In honour of National Nurse Practitioner (NP) Week (Nov. 7 – 13), the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) is proud to highlight the critical role of NPs in improving access to care for all, especially persons marginalized by inequity.

“It is important to dedicate a week to celebrate NPs. They make formidable contributions to the health system by improving timely access to health services, delivering quality care for Ontarians, and optimizing outcomes for patients, organizations and the health system as a whole,” says RNAO President Morgan Hoffarth.

This week especially, RNAO reminds the government of the urgency to remove barriers to NP practice so Ontarians can fully benefit from NPs’ education, experience and expertise. Last month, the association sent a letter to urge Minister of Health Christine Elliott to move on her commitment to expand the scope of practice of NPs – a move that is long overdue.  

“It’s especially important during National NP Week to recognize that the full utilization of NPs would optimize access, safety, quality and equity for Ontarians seeking health care, as well as improve health system effectiveness. Until their role is fully realized by the government and employers, our health system will remain two steps behind where it should be in terms of equity and efficiency,” says RNAO CEO Dr. Doris Grinspun.

Reflective of RNAO’s staunch advocacy for increased NP supply, utilization and scope, the association’s NP Task Force released its Vision for Tomorrow report in February 2021. This report features eight recommendations for the government, as well as academic, health service and association stakeholders to act on to optimize the role of the NP in a transformed, integrated health system anchored in primary care. 

In Vision for Tomorrow, recommendation number six calls for investments in research to support NP practice and improved health outcomes. To begin implementation of this recommendation, RNAO is hiring an NP Research Chair to lead and work with various academic institutions and service organizations to carry out research on the following priority areas: Indigenous health, primary care, mental health and substance use, persons experiencing homelessness, older adult, and acute care.

“The NP Research Chair and RNAO’s robust plan for research focused on the priority areas, will be fundamental in emphasizing the effectiveness of NPs across our health system,” says Dr. Grinspun. “The chair’s and partners’ research, transformed into a readily accessible database, will showcase NPs’ vital role and effectiveness in improving timely access to quality care for all, especially for populations marginalized by inequities.”

Throughout COVID-19, NPs have been integral to the province’s pandemic response, especially in long-term care homes where their wide-ranging scope of practice – and emergency directives -- allowed them to respond to residents’ complex needs. RNAO is pleased that Minister of Long-term Care Rod Phillips is moving ahead with a commitment to invest $57.6 million to hire 225 NPs within the next three years. This recognizes recommendation number seven in RNAO’s 2016 Mind the Safety Gap report, as well as recommendation number one of the Vision for Tomorrow report. NPs play a central role in nursing homes improving resident care, safety and quality of life, as well as staff retention. The funding is an essential start to satisfy RNAO’s recommendation to have one NP per 120 residents in every long-term care home in Ontario, as outlined in RNAO’s Nursing Home Basic Care Guarantee, which was adopted by Former Associate Chief Justice Frank Marrocco, who chaired Ontario’s Long-Term Care COVID-19 Commission.

In collaboration with its NP interest group (NPIG), RNAO looks forward to co-hosting the eighth annual NP Knowledge Exchange Symposium virtually on Nov. 23 from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. ET. Entitled Powered by change, the event will engage Ontario NPs in shaping their current and future roles and mobilizing health system transformation. RNAO expects both Minister Elliott and Minister Phillips to bring remarks to the symposium.    

RNAO expresses its deepest gratitude to its NPIG and NPs everywhere in Ontario, Canada and abroad for their outstanding contributions to patients, communities and health systems. Your dedication to improving access, quality care, peoples’ experiences with the health system and health outcomes is transformational. RNAO is marching with you as you deliver better outcomes to all.

POLICY UPDATES FOR ALL TO ACT ON & MUST JOIN EVENTS – OPEN TO ALL

Best Practice Champions Virtual Workshop - Session 2

Nov 17, 2021, 9:00am - 12:00pm

Register now

The Best Practice Champions Network team has established a new, two-part Best Practice Champions Virtual Workshop similar to the curriculum delivered at the in-person champions workshop. This free, online educational opportunity consists of a brief pre-recorded introductory video, and two live virtual sessions to be completed in sequential order. 

The Best Practice Champions Virtual Workshop will replace RNAO’s Virtual Learning Series and in-person champions workshops during the coming months. The Virtual Workshop will be offered twice per month, with a session (either session 1 or 2) taking place each week, providing you will ample opportunity to select the live session that best suits your work schedule. This online educational opportunity can be completed individually or as a group. 

The Virtual Workshop sessions are each 3 hours in length; these live sessions must be completed in sequential order by December 2021 in order for you to become a Best Practice Champion and receive your Champion's certificate. You must register for Session 1 and Session 2 separately.*

After each live, online session, participants are expected to complete reflections and activities based on the content presented in each session. 

After completing the pre-recorded introductory video and attending Sessions 1 and 2, you will become a Best Practice Champion and member of the Best Practice Champions Network. You will receive a certificate of completion after all elements of the training are complete. 

Similar to the in-person workshop but in a virtual format, participants are introduced to best practice guidelines and will learn how to successfully implement them using RNAO's Toolkit: Implementation of Best Practice Guidelines, Second Edition.

Outline of the Best Practice Virtual Champions Workshop

Pre-recorded Introduction webinar: 

  • Overview of RNAO
  • Overview of Best Practice Guidelines 
  • Role of the Best Practice Champion

Session 1:

  • Introduction to Social Movement 
  • Chapter 1 – Identify a Problem & Identify, Review, Select Knowledge
  • Chapter 2 – Adapt Knowledge to the Local Context 

Session 2 :

  • Chapter 3 – Assess Facilitators and Barriers to Knowledge Use
  • Chapter 4 - Select, Tailor, Implement Interventions/Implementation Strategies
  • Chapter 5 - Monitor Knowledge Use & Evaluate Outcomes
  • Chapter 6 - Sustain Knowledge Use

*Please note, this registration is only for Session 2 of the two-part Best Practice Champions Virtual Workshop. Please register for Session 1 at RNAO.ca/events. 

Find out more about the Best Practice Champions Virtual Workshop.

Addressing Substance Use Level 2 Virtual Workshop - Session 1

Nov 19, 2021, 1:00 - 3:00 pm

*Please note: This is a  two-part Addressing Substance Use Level 2 Virtual Workshop. Please register for Session 1 at RNAO.ca/events. 

The RNAO Addressing Substance Use Level 2 Virtual Workshop is for nurses and health professionals with experience working with clients who use substances and who would like to advance their knowledge of this group.

This workshop consists of two sessions, each being two hours in length using the Zoom platform; these live sessions must be completed in sequential order in order for you to become a Mental Health Champion and receive your Champion's certificate.   

Workshop prerequisite: Completion of a Mental Health and Addiction Level 1 workshop or completion of the Engaging Clients Who Use Substances e-learning (Under Addiction and Mental Health)

This online workshop will focus on appropriate evidence-based assessment tool to identify people with substance use disorders, therapeutic interventions and techniques to treat clients with substance use disorders and approaches to integrate best practices in clinical care and organizational processes.

REGISTER NOW

NP Knowledge Exchange Virtual Symposium

Join us for RNAO's Annual Nurse Practitioner Knowledge Exchange Symposium! 

Nov 23, 2021, 9:00am - 4:00pm (virtual VIA Zoom)

On Nov. 23, 2021, RNAO is holding its eighth annual Nurse Practitioner (NP) Knowledge Exchange Symposium, titled "Powered by Change." This virtual event offers RNAO's NP members a unique opportunity to discuss matters important to their critical role in Ontario’s health system.  Hear from Ontario's Minister of Health, The Honorable Christine Elliott, about the government's vision for enhancing NP practice.  Share your ideas and discuss opportunities for mobilizing NP networks, igniting and sustaining the power of NPs and the impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable populations and NP practice. Hear from international colleagues about global and local initiatives impacting health transformation and the role of the NP.  

The NP Knowledge Exchange Symposium's objectives are to:

  • update knowledge about the NP Task Force's Vision for Tomorrow: recommendations, action and outcomes;
  • share and discuss how the clinical, policy and governance roles of NPs during COVID-19 are impacting the system and can power health transformation;
  • embrace the collaborative efforts and relationships between RNAO and its NP interest group (NPIG);
  • mobilize Ontario’s health transformation agenda incorporating opportunities and strategies to advance full NP supply, utilization and scope expansion;
  • galvanize NP engagement on global and local initiatives impacting health transformation and the role of the NP; and
  • showcase a vibrant public education campaign spotlighting the role and capacity of NPs.

View the 2021 NP Virtual Knowledge Exchange Symposium Agenda.

REGISTER NOW

Related Documents:   NP Virtual Knowledge Exchange Symposium Agenda 2021

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 detailed Ontario epidemiological summary from Public Health Ontario, you can go here.

According to the latest Situation Report #553 for November 12, the case count was as follows: 605,846 total, +598 change from yesterday; 9,921 deaths, +5 change from yesterday.

Update:

The COVID-19 Vaccine Third Dose Recommendations has been updated and is available on the Ministry’s website.

Staying in touch          

Keeping in touch and being part of a community helps us get through challenging times. Keep telling us how we, at RNAO, can best support you. Send us your questions, comments, and challenges. Recommend ideas for articles and webinars. Write to me at dgrinspun@rnao.ca and copy my executive assistant, Peta-Gay (PG) Batten at pgbatten@rnao.ca. RNAO’s Board of Directors and our entire staff want you to know: WE ARE HERE FOR YOU!

Thank you deeply for always being there for your community, everywhere and in all roles! Together, in solidarity, we are stronger. Thanks for encouraging your colleagues, their loved ones and your communities to be fully vaccinated. Let’s also remember about our privilege. Canada has purchased more vaccines than what it needs, while the majority of the world’s population has almost nothing. Like with other challenges we face – systemic discrimination and climate change – we are not safe until everyone is safe. Vaccines for all – literally for all, across the world – must guide policy in the upcoming months. Let’s learn from the 21-month pandemic and take real action to build a better world.

To everyone – THANK YOU! Please take care of yourself and know that RNAO always stands by you!

Here’s one constant throughout the pandemic. The silver lining of COVID-19 has been to come together and work as one people for the good of all. Let’s join efforts to demand that political leaders protect patients, students, and workers – and secure #Vaccines4All.

Doris Grinspun, RN,MSN, PhD, LLD(hon), Dr(hc), FAAN, FCAN, O.ONT
Chief Executive Officer, RNAO

RECENT BLOG ITEMS:

6 Nov - RNAO’s continuing media profile: The October 2021 report – go here.

6 Nov - Ontario’s economic statement signals government’s concerns with nursing human resources – go here.

6 Nov - RNAO deeply disappointed with Premier Ford’s decision on mandatory vaccination – go here.

30 Oct - Hospitals ‘bleeding out’ as nursing shortage intensifies – go here.

30 Oct - The Lancet calls for emergency action to tackle climate change, restore biodiversity, and protect health – go here.

24 Oct - Big tech has a vaccine misinformation problem – go here.

24 Oct - RNAO is deeply disappointed with government’s reopening plan – go here.

24 Oct- Misinformation is an urgent threat that prolongs the pandemic and puts people at risk – go here.

17 Oct - Health organizations around the world: Urgent climate action required – go here.

17 Oct - Climate change the new public health emergency – go here.

17 Oct - A crucial moment for global public health: The Glasgow climate conference – go here.

10 Oct - RNAO launches new, evidence-based online implementation toolkit – go here.

10 Oct - Media release: Mandate vaccinations and establish safe zones – go here.

10 Oct - A renewed call: Prime minister, stop the court battle with First Nations children! – go here.

10 Oct - The inherent racism of anti-vaxx movements – go here.

3 Oct - RNAO’s continuing media profile: The September 2021 report – go here.

3 Oct - RNAO commends move to mandate vaccination for long-term care staff; urges for more – go here.

3 Oct - Action Alert – Stop fighting First Nation children in court: Concrete action on Truth & Reconciliation – go here.

25 Sept - Accelerating knowledge uptake and sustainability – learning from the Leading Change Toolkit – go here.

25 Sept - Connecting the dots – far right extremism as a serious health threat – go here.

25 Sept - How anti-vaxxers, conspiracy theorists, and the far-right came together over COVID – go here.

25 Sept - The anti-vax movement is being radicalized by far-right political extremism – go here.

19 Sept - Nurses urge Canadians to vote – go here.

19 Sept - Keeping schools open and safe – learning from Spain’s exceptional experience – go here.

11 Sept - Vote in the federal election! Nurses vote for a healthy recovery for all Canadians – go here.

11 Sept - Federal election: Which party has the best climate plan? Here’s where they stand – go here.

11 Sept - Where the parties stand on gun control in the 2021 federal election – go here.

4 Sept - RNAO condemns protests outside health organizations – go here.

4 Sept - RNAO’s continuing media profile: The August 2021 report – go here.

4 Sept - RNAO welcomes important steps to implement vaccine certificates – go here.

We have posted earlier ones in my blog here. I invite you to look.

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