COVID-19 has challenged nurses everywhere in ways we never anticipated or imagined. They’re nursing people with knowledge, compassion and courage while risking their lives. It is fitting that 2020 is the Year of the Nurse because people have always respected and trusted nurses and yet, this pandemic has highlighted the work of nurses and the central role we play in improving health, in building healthier communities, and in caring for the ill and suffering.

RNAO continues pushing with determination to make things better in long-term care in Ontario. We have all been in shock at the tragedy that has befallen so many of our elders due to systemic neglect and faulty policies that have been going for too long. RNAO issued last week a new report summarizing two decades of reports, inquiry and commission – and calling on the government to take action, not engage in more study and deliberation.

RNAO mourns the death of George Floyd and all those who have succumbed to anti-Black racism and violence. RNAO stands together with sisters and brothers who continue to suffer the scourge of anti-Black racism and discrimination everywhere. RNAO unequivocally condemns racism, oppression and discrimination in all forms. In light of recent atrocities in the United States, Canada and around the world, we stand in solidarity with the loved ones of those who have suffered at the hands of law enforcement and those who experience gross inequities because of the colour of their skin.

We very much look forward to seeing you all very soon at our virtual Annual General Meeting taking place from June 11-13, 2020. We are excited to engage with you in this new format in light of the current COVID-19 pandemic and the physical distancing requirements across Ontario. Let’s continue to celebrate the Year of the Nurse and the formidable work of registered nurses, nurse practitioners and nursing students in such unprecedented times.

The Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) is calling on the government to take immediate and concrete action to address the long-standing shortfalls in long-term care (LTC) homes made blatantly evident in the Canadian Armed Forces’ (CAF) report.

Today I am appreciative to Tim Richter, President & CEO, Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness, for engaging us all in what promises to be a very effective campaign to end homelessness, once and for all. Tim’s message is so simple and so powerful: Yes, we want to go back to normal, but not a normal where more than a quarter of a million Canadians are homeless.

One of the most worrisome aspect of the current opening of the economy and increased mobility is that we have not developed sufficiently the infrastructure for surveillance, identification of clusters, containment, testing, case and contact tracing and isolating. The purpose of the lockdown was twofold; 1) to mitigate community transmission and prevent hospitals from crumbling, and 2) to build the public health infrastructure for testing and tracing required to go back to some level of normality.

Debunking PPE myths with Dr. Jeff Powis: Which masks should health care workers wear during COVID-19? Dr. Jeff Powis used a black light to demonstrate the potential self-contamination risks when donning and doffing a surgical earloop mask and a mask with horizontal straps (N95 mask). Results found that self-contamination was higher with the use of an N95 mask.

With the pandemic curve flattening, VIANurse program will focus its effort on outbreaks The pandemic caused a sudden spike in demand for nursing human resources across the healthcare system. RNAO planned and was ready for it. Indeed, we were the first out the door addressing growing shortages, as many RNs, NPs and PSWs were being quarantined and/or falling sick, and staffing needs escalated together with the acuity of many settings.

RNAO joins its nursing colleagues and the entire health-care community in mourning the death of RN Brian Beattie. Brian, who was 55-years-old, was an expert mental health nurse who worked at Kensington Village.