RNAO’s ongoing media profile: Your June 2024 report

In June, RNAO’s president and the CEO were featured in media stories related to for-profit care, pharmacare, internationally educated nurses (IEN), the federal electric vehicle standard, and RNAO’s Media Awards and 99th Annual General Meeting (AGM).

On June 3, the Ontario government announced a call for community surgical and diagnostic centres to apply for a license to perform MRI and CT scans. On Windsor’s AM800 (June 4), RNAO CEO Dr. Doris Grinspun said that the government should be putting money into hospitals, not “investor driven for-profit entities.” Grinspun explained that “if we had more equipment alongside the staffing in our public system, we could be operating 24/7 and in no time deliver faster, better care with the standards that are necessary with optimal outcomes for patients.”

The federal government’s pharmacare bill passed third reading in the House of Commons on June 3 and is now before the Senate. In a statement (June 4), RNAO President Claudette Holloway said “access to medication is a human right and nurses are thrilled lawmakers are committed to progress towards a universal, single-payer, national pharmacare program.”

Grinspun co-authored an op-ed published in The Hill Times (June 3) with a board member of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment and the CEO of The Atmospheric Fund about the federal electric vehicle availability standard. This standard would require automakers and importers to meet zero emission sales targets, reaching 100 per cent by 2025. “Every day, nurses and doctors see the cascade of human suffering due to preventable hospitalizations, heart disease, lung cancer, asthma, dementia, and other chronic respiratory conditions, including 11,000 premature deaths. That can be avoided just by switching from gasoline to electric light-duty personal vehicles,” Grinspun and her co-authors wrote.

A recent CTV News Kitchener (June 5) story focused on the experience of IENs facing setbacks as they try to become registered in Ontario. In the story, Grinspun shared that RNAO has long advocated for the College of Nurses of Ontario to expedite the application process for IENs. “Before there were thousands and thousands of applications waiting. And the situation has tremendously improved. Night and day improved,” Grinspun explained.

RNAO recently announced the winners of its annual Media Awards competition. “As an association that speaks out for nurses and healthy public policy, we value the work of all journalists,” said Holloway in the June 13 media release. In CTV News Kitchener (June 13), Grinspun said “the stories being recognized highlight the successes and challenges nurses, other health professionals and the public experience every day in our system.” For the full list of winners, visit RNAO’s website.

The association also sent out a media advisory ahead of its 99th AGM. Hundreds of nurses from across Ontario gathered in Toronto to celebrate successes and solve challenges. At AGM, RNAO welcomed incoming president, NP Lhamo Dolkar. “I am honoured to undertake the once-in-a-lifetime responsibility to represent RNAO’s strong, influential voice of RNs, NPs and nursing students,” said Dolkar (Durham Radio News, June 24).

RNAO will continue 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.