We know that many of you are eager to get more information about the government's plan for pandemic pay. As we have mentioned previously, the government has announced that RPNs working on the frontlines in the following sectors will be eligible for a $4/hr increase from April 24th to August 13th:
All hospitals in the province, including small rural hospitals, post-acute hospitals, and others
Long-term care homes (including private, municipal and not-for-profit homes)
Licenced retirement homes
Home and community care
Today we took part in a meeting with the Ministry of Health regarding this policy and they mentioned that more details about the $4 per hour
increase will be shared in the coming days. We will be sure to pass along this information as soon as we receive it.
We expect it may take a bit more time for the government to finalize details about the additional lump sum of $250 for RPNs and other eligible health care providers who work more than 100 hrs a month. We will bring you those details as soon as possible.
Thank you for all that you are doing to keep us safe. Wishing everyone a great weekend!
Key Provincial Updates and Resources for Health Professionals
Today the Ontario government announcedthat it is allowing certain businesses and workplaces to reopen as long as they comply with strict public health measures and operate safely during the COVID-19 outbreak.
The government also issued new temporary emergency orders under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act to support the immediate needs of the province's hospitals and health care workers so they can better manage critical health care human resources during COVID-19. These orders will:
Give hospitals the
authority and flexibility to more quickly appoint, re-appoint and grant privileges to medical and other professional staff, in order to address potential surge volumes due to COVID-19. This emergency order will allow for the reduction of administrative processes and better enable hospitals to focus operational resources on providing frontline services.
Authorize coroners, registered nurses appointed as coroner investigators, and public health units to access the provincial electronic health record to help reduce demands on clinicians' time related to death investigations, reduce exposure to COVID-19 related death investigations,
and improve the ability to monitor the spread of the virus.
Allow registered nurses appointed as coroner investigators to complete medical certificates of death instead of a physician or nurse practitioner, giving these medical professionals more time to focus on patient care and helping to ensure that medical certificates of death are being completed and sent to funeral directors in a timely manner.
For more information, we encourage you to visit theGovernment of Canada website.
Daily Reports
As of 10:30AM today, Ontario reported 16,608confirmed cases (increase of 421), 10,825 resolved cases, 1,121 deaths and 11,975 currently under investigation with lab results pending.
The Ministry is also reporting that 1017 patients are hospitalized with COVID-19, 225 are in ICU and 175 are vented. To view these additional details: click here Click Hereto read the latest
Ministry of Health Daily Report **Please note, these reports are intended for health professionals only and we request that you not share this with the public.
World Health Organization Situation Reports are also available here
In the News For an interactive map tracking all cases across Canada and internationally, click here
Below are some key stories from today that may be of interest to our members:
We encourage RPNs looking for employment opportunities to sign up on all the platforms noted above.
We will continue to monitor this situation and keep you updated as more information becomes available. Thank you for the important work that you're doing and the sacrifices you're making to keep Ontarians safe. We appreciate everything that you're doing each and every day.
Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact Tiff Blair at tblair@werpn.com
Sincerely,
WeRPN Team
WeRPN 5025 Orbitor Drive Building 5, Suite 200 Mississauga, Ontario L4W 4Y5
