RNAO’s ongoing media profile: The June 2023 report
Emergency department closures, the College of Nurses of Ontario’s (CNO) recent report on nursing registration in the province, internationally educated nurses (IEN), and RNAO’s 98th Annual General Meeting (AGM) are topics RNAO’s executive was interviewed about in June.
Several hospitals across the province announced closures of their emergency departments. Haliburton Highlands Health Services closed Minden’s emergency department on June 1, citing ongoing staffing shortages. Several days later, Douglas Memorial Hospital in Fort Erie and another site in Port Colborne announced that as of July 5, the hospitals’ emergency departments will only be open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET each day. In response to the closures, RNAO CEO Dr. Doris Grinspun told CBC News (June 4) the government should “Build a system up with primary care included in small ERs rather than…closing (ERs) for even a few hours,” said RNAO CEO Dr. Grinspun.
The ongoing nursing crisis was highlighted in a new report from the CNO released on June 21. It found that while more than 15,000 new nurses registered this year, 9,000 nurses did not. It also noted that the proportion of actively working nurses in Ontario declined from 90.6 per cent at the start of the pandemic in 2020 to 88.9 per cent in 2023. The proportion of nurses taking leaves of absence or moving away from Ontario rose from 3.3 per cent in 2016 to 4.6 per cent in 2020 to 5.8 per cent in 2023. Grinspun told the Globe and Mail (June 21) that the report highlights that while many want to enter the nursing workforce, many others are leaving the profession and not enough is being done to retain them. “Year after year after year, we are seeing this trend,” said Grinspun. In a Canadian Press (June 23) story, Grinspun said the Ontario government needs to focus on retaining nurses. She echoed this on AM 900 CHML (June 26): “We currently have 18 per cent of our workforce registered with the college (who) are not practising nursing in Ontario. If the government had good retention strategies, many of them would come back.”
One way to alleviate this shortage of nurses is hiring more IENs. Last year, the Ontario government allowed the CNO to make regulatory changes to expedite IEN applications. These nurses play an important role in helping to keep the health-care system going. Grinspun told CBC News (June 5): “IENs are not lesser nurses than those educated here.” She also noted that if these nurses decide to move to rural areas of Northern Ontario, full-time employment must be guaranteed.
From June 22-24, RNAO hosted its in-person 98th AGM with members coming together to connect and celebrate the work of their professional association over the past year. The Pointer published a story about the event, highlighting remarks from elected officials who attended. RNAO also honoured the winners of its Recognition Awards. In the Peterborough Examiner (June 22), RNAO member Maureen Charlebois was highlighted for receiving the Leadership in Nursing Administration Award. In the story, Grinspun said she has known Charlebois for decades and “she has demonstrated exactly that extraordinary leadership in executive positions.” In the same story, Charlebois said “I was very thrilled and honoured to be recognized in winning this award.” In Chatham Daily News (June 27), recipient of the Award of Merit Lori Zozzolotto said, "“I thought it was amazing I got an award for doing what I considered to be the right thing, which is promoting nursing, promoting diversity in nursing and the world that I work in.” Read about all of the Recognition Award winners online.
As always, RNAO will continue to speak out alongside its members. For more media coverage, visit RNAO in the news.
