Thank you to many of you who joined us for our Facebook Live on Tuesday evening. We received several questions about the vaccine rollout in Ontario so we are re-circulating the government's recently released resources and guidance for health care professionals:
Today, the Government released their Staffing Strategy for Long Term Care that details their plan to ensure residents receive a minimum of
four hours of direct care per day. Read our statement and see below for further details.
CNO Statement: Nurses supporting public health measures Public health protection measures, such as handwashing, masking, and social distancing are effective strategies to prevent the spread of COVID-19. With the imminent rollout of COVID-19 vaccines in Canada, CNO is taking this opportunity to make its expectations about providing advice on evidence-based public health protection and prevention measures clear to nurses in Ontario.Read their statement
Survey of RPNs in LTC Are you an RPN working in a longterm care setting who has worked directly with patients
experiencing COVID19 infection? Our colleagues at the Univeristy of Toronto Faculty of Nursing want to hear about your experience and perspectives on reducing distress for nurses working on the front-lines! If you are interested in participating in a 45 minute virtual interview, please contact the research team via email at: covidnursingethics@gmail.com.
To compensate for time spent being interviewed, you will receive a $30 gift card.
Key Provincial Updates and Resources for Health Professionals
Today, the government released their Long Term Care Staffing Strategy. This plan focuses on six key areas of action to be delivered over four years:
Investing up to $1.9 billion annually by 2024-25 to create more than 27,000 new positions for personal support workers, registered nurses and registered practical nurses in long-term care to meet the direct care commitment; in addition, providing a 20 per cent increase in direct care time administered by other health care professionals such as physiotherapists and social workers.
Accelerating and expanding education and training pathways in order to prepare and train the tens of
thousands of new staff that will be required.
Supporting continued professional development and growth of long-term care staff to improve retention.
Improving working conditions for staff by coordinating with long-term care employers to increase full-time employment and promote innovative approaches to work and technology.
Driving effective and accountable leadership in homes across the province to improve oversight, guidance and medical outcomes in long-term care homes.
Measuring progress against key performance indicators.
Yesterday, the Ontario government unveiled a five-year poverty reduction strategy to help Ontarians get back to work and participate in the province’s economic recovery from COVID-19. The strategy, Building a Strong Foundation for Success: Reducing Poverty in Ontario, includes key initiatives to connect people experiencing poverty with education, skills, training, health and other supports.
Canada's Chief Medical Officer of Health's statement for December 17 is available here
For more information, we encourage you to visit the Government of Canada website.
Daily Reports
As of 10:30AM today, Ontario reported 148,967 confirmed cases (increase of 2,432), 123,373 resolved cases, 3,992 deaths and 45,770 currently under investigation with lab results pending.
The Ministry is also reporting that 921 patients are hospitalized with COVID-19, 249 are in ICU and 156 are vented. To view these additional details:click here
Click Hereto read the latest Ministry of Health Daily Report
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
