As we battle a relentless and stubborn third wave of COVID-19 driven by dangerous variants, RNAO continues to speak out on the pandemic and its impact on nurses, other health-care workers and Ontarians. Here is the April media report.

On April 30, the Ontario’s Long-Term Care COVID-19 Commission released its final report. RNAO has followed the work of the Commission, met more than once with the commissioners and contributed substantially to their work. Here is RNAO’s media release in response to the Commission’s final report.

RNAO continues to act swiftly on our commitment to Ontarians and our health system during the COVID-19 pandemic. With the record-high daily COVID-19 cases surpassing 4,000, RNAO activated VIANurse to augment nursing HR in critical care.

The Ontario government issued an emergency order addressing regulated health professions in hospitals. Under this new government order, health professionals from Ontario or other Canadian jurisdictions – including nurses – are authorized to engage outside of their regular scope of practice.

On Feb. 25, RNAO’s NP Task Force released the groundbreaking report, Vision for Tomorrow, which brings to life not only the evidence on why NPs are crucial in our health-care system, but also the lived experiences of those NPs who are already making a difference to patient outcomes in their day-to-day practice. It is a comprehensive blueprint that calls for the NP role to be expanded and to fully utilize NPs to advance the health of Ontarians and strengthen the health system.

RNCareers.ca, RNAO’s official career site since 2005, is the largest in Ontario. The site hosts positions for nurse practitioners (NPs), registered nurses (RNs), registered practical nurses (RPNs), personal support workers (PSWs), and other health professionals in clinical and non-clinical roles across all health-care sectors.

RNAO reminds both employers and healthcare workers who have the ability to offer their availability at this urgent time of RNCareers, the largest employment website in Ontario for NPs, RNs, RPNs, PSWs and other health professionals. RNCareers is a 24x7 service.

RNAO issued a media release on December 18 in response to the Ontario government’s announcement of its long-term care staffing plan. RNAO welcomes the release of the government’s long-term care (LTC) staffing plan, but the minister’s staffing plan falls short on immediate action and specifics.

RNAO organized a path breaking Cross Country Meeting to engage Collective Action for Long-Term Care Reform in Canada on Monday, November 9. The overwhelming response and active engagement is indicative of the urgency and opportunity for collective action. To this end, we are hosting another Cross-Country Meeting. We will continue the conversation on Monday, December 14.