RNAO’s ongoing media profile: Your May 2025 report
In May, RNAO’s president and CEO were featured in media stories related to the association’s latest report, the ongoing staffing crisis, the provincial budget, the use of nursing agencies and RNAO’s 100th anniversary.
On May 12, RNAO released ECCO 4.0: Enhancing Community Care for Ontarians at a media conference at Queen’s Park featuring RNAO President NP Lhamo Dolkar, Immediate Past-President Dr. Claudette Holloway and CEO Dr. Doris Grinspun. The report is a blueprint for an equitable health system anchored in primary care and integrated community care. Live coverage of the report’s release was broadcast on CP24 (May 12). CTV News (May 12) also shared a story about the report, highlighting Grinspun’s call “for a shift from hospital-centric services to prevention-focused people-centred care.” Grinspun told Ottawa’s 580 CFRA (May 12) that “we need to put more investments in primary care, more investments in home care and more investments overall in community care. You will be able to keep people healthier, longer in the community, including the aging population.” The report is available online for free download.
Internationally educated nurses continue to face barriers to practise in Ontario. These delays are causing many to seek employment outside of the province. Grinspun told the Toronto Star (May 7) this is “driven by factors such as better employment opportunities elsewhere and systemic challenges.” While the College of Nurses of Ontario has made strides to improve the process to become registered in the province, she says more needs to be done.
A study from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) says public hospitals have paid for-profit staffing agencies $9.2 billion over the last decade. Grinspun explained to CTV News (May 14) the difference between care from a hospital staff nurse and an agency nurse. “If you are my patient, I work with you every day, I know you well. Even if you don’t tell me you’re feeling worse I can notice before even symptoms show up. Versus if I’m an agency nurse, I don’t know you the same, so I cannot detect those small signs,” said Grinspun. Last year, Hamilton Health Sciences paid temporary staff $245 USD per hour to operate heart and lung machines during a staffing shortage. Grinspun said this kind of staff turnover affects the care patients receive. “Agency nurses want to provide the best care to patients, but the fact is that they go every day, many of them, to a different place. It’s different from the point of view of knowing patients, they don’t participate in staff meetings where many of the issues of a unit get discussed. It’s a lot missing there," said Grinspun (Hamilton Spectator, May 9). On CTV News Channel (May 12), Grinspun said “the money makes profits for agencies but it isn’t good for patients or for staff.”
The province tabled its budget on May 15. Ahead of the announcement, Grinspun indicated that pay parity for home care nurses was a top priority for RNAO. “Not only do we want to increase compensation across all sectors, we also want to make sure that we have more RNs and more NPs working so the workload gets spread out better,” said Grinspun (CHCH, May 8). In a media release (May 15), RNAO said that the budget fails to address the challenges facing the province’s health system and the social and environmental conditions that shape people’s health. Dolkar said that “alongside the primary care crisis are other troubling performance indicators pointing to long-standing underfunding of the province’s health system.”
In a Nursing Week supplement featured in the Hamilton Spectator (May 15), Grinspuns spoke about RNAO’s 100th anniversary. When discussing RNAO’s origins, first with its predecessor: the Graduate Nurses’ Association of Ontario, Grinspun said “it’s important to remember how forward-thinking and proactive these first visionaries were during a very different era.” RNAO continues to be a leading voice and stands “on the shoulders of our predecessors and early leaders. We honour them and the public by continuing to build forward with focus and determination,” Grinspun added.
RNAO continues to speak out alongside its members on topics related to nursing and health. Stay up-to-date on media coverage by visiting RNAO in the news. If you’re interested in speaking with reporters on issues related to nursing, health and health care, complete a short survey.
