We were thrilled to host a media conference today Friday, alongside Sinai Health System geriatrician and powerful advocate Dr. Nathan Stall. This virtual event was crucial in our ongoing efforts to raise red flags and push for action that we hope will stop an evolving disaster in long-term care (LTC) homes similar to the one we saw during the first wave of COVID-19.

The Ontario government released on Wednesday the Fall 2020 Budget. RNAO participated in the “lockdown” prior to the release and has subsequently been heavily involved with the media coverage of the budget and its ramifications. As you can see below, the budget received low scores from RNAO.

RNAO is shocked by the lack of urgency in Monday’s announcement from the provincial government that they intend to meet minimum quality care standards in Ontario’s nursing homes by 2025. Urgent action and not an election promise is needed to protect the lives of nursing home residents as the province is now in the grips of a ferocious resurgence of COVID-19.

As we all wait anxiously for the final tally of votes in the United States, I sit to finalize my blog while remaining glued to the media updates and elections maps. It has been a long wait – four years – of deepening inequalities, growing anti-Black discrimination, homophobia, Islamophobia, and as of late, mask-phobia. I don’t recall a time in recent history where nurses – and most health professionals – shared so widely a political preference. This US election is not necessarily about a political party but about someone who personifies everything that is abhorrent and contrary to the health of a nation.

We are grateful to the Senior Pride Network Toronto for their tremendously important contribution – below – calling to recognize the human rights of older 2-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, queer and intersex (2S-LGBTQ+) people in the City of Toronto, in particular those who reside in a long-term care home. We hear the call of the authors that the first step is to acknowledge the existence of people who have been discriminated and ignored, and consequently have suffered the health impacts of that neglect. We hope this article makes a small contribution to that goal.

I am extremely humbled and honoured to share that I was the recipient this week of The American Academy of Nursing (AAN) COVID-19 Courage Award on Policy. These awards “honor the incredible contributions nurses, have made to save lives, advance health equity, and protect communities during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.” Colleagues, I dedicate this award to you all.

In our report last week we confronted the fact that patient-centred care can be a reality or a dream. RNAO’s work with Ontario Health Teams on person-and-family centred-care was at the centre of a BPSO OHT four hour meeting a few weeks ago, and here we have another glimpse, arising from that meeting, on what person-and-family-centred care looks like from the field. The following is a contribution from Judy Smith, who shares a story about her mother-in-law Reta.

As our readers are aware, RNAO has been at the forefront of the demand to establish national standards in LTC, given the failure of provincial governments to act – for two decades – and the tragedy brought by the pandemic as a result. This week, RNAO wrote again to the prime minister and to Premier Doug Ford in anticipation of their meeting reiterating the urgency to establish standards. See the October 14 letter below.

RNAO’s work with Ontario Health Teams on person-and-family centred-care was at the centre of a BPSO OHT meeting two weeks ago. Please get a real glimpse of what person-and-family-centred care looks like from the field by reading the two contributions shared below from a caregiver and a health provider. The first one, by Mik Phipps, is a glimpse into person-centred-care at its best – and how small actions can have enormous meaning. The second, contributed by Helen Lascelle, shares an experience where patient-centred-care was a dream, not a reality.