Belated Happy Mother's Day and Happy Nursing Week to our members! While we all know that nursing and nurses should be acknowledged for their work in all sectors EVERYDAY, it is nice to pause and reflect on what we do amongst ourselves and to have recognition from the public every May. We are hopeful that you are coming to our Rock and Bowl event this coming Saturday night from 9:30 p.m.to 1 a.m. The cost is $20 and there will be door prizes and free appetizers. You can register at https://chapters-igs.rnao.ca/events/219 Friends and family are welcome. If you have difficulty registering them, contact lmccartney@rnao.ca
If the event doesn't work out for our members, perhaps the Chapter can plan a "Not Nursing Week" event in the coming months. We welcome your suggestions. We realize it is a long weekend and that you are all busy.
1. We wish to congratulate Marissa Smith, RPN for being selected for this year's Lois Farley award. Marissa was selected amongst a number of nominations from across the region for her compassion, commitment to patient advocacy, care and teamwork. See more details here https://www.windsornewstoday.ca/windsor/news/2025/05/08/operating-room-nurse-wins-2025-lois-fairley-award.
We thank the Farley family for continuing their mother's legacy and love of nursing through this award. And we thank Crystal Hepburn, past president of the Chapter for organizing the event at WRH Ouellette campus.
2. While we have a lot to be proud of, there are serious concerns about our profession and health care that we can't ignore. I want you to know that RNAO continues to advocate provincially and locally about issues that impact your work, morale, health and safety everyday including safe patient/staff ratios, needed retention strategies for senior nurses, pay equity across all sectors of nursing, the challenges of recruitment in a border city and the issue of workplace safety. We also continue to advocate for the health of Ontarians including access to primary care, homelessness, climate change and the toxic drug crisis amongst other things.
In the past month, as your Chapter president, I've met with local PC MPP's Tony Leardi and Andrew Dowie expressing our concerns and suggestions about these issues. While I acknowledged the government's efforts to increase nursing school enrollment and fast tracking internationally educated nurses to increase nursing numbers, I also pointed out that nurses are leaving their careers far earlier than in previous decades...that replacing a nurse with 10-20 years experience with a new grad does not replace those years of wisdom and expertise.
Some of the questions I asked each of them:
"What is this government doing to reward the nurses who have stayed to mentor those new grads and IEN grads?"
"How can we expect RN's to consider returning to work in Windsor from working in the States, when there are few incentives to do that-- recognizing that the financial incentives put in place may or may not give the nurse the position, shifts or incentives needed to make the change?" More needs to be done.
"Who is going to educate the student nurse positions being opened up when there are cuts to post secondary education and many faculty are reaching retirement age (this was predicted decades ago)?"
I relayed member comments shared with me about still stinging from the disrespect of Bill 124, the lack of preparedness for the pandemic, the impact of having no patient/nurse ratios and the lack of protection against mistreatment and violence that occurs everyday in your workplaces, often without consequence to the perpetrators.
I want to believe they listened. Both of them seemed concerned and asked that nurses from their ridings book meetings to share their stories in their local offices. I would strongly encourage you to do that including those that live in NDP MPP Lisa Gretzky's riding. If we hope that the current government is going to understand our concerns, we need to share our stories of what is happening at the front lines of acute care, primary care, homecare, public health and long term care facilities.
3. SAVE THE DATE: RNAO Windsor-Essex will be participating in this year's Pride Parade happening during the Windsor-Essex Pride Fest! It is scheduled for Sunday, August 10, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. on Ottawa Street.
We are going to have SWAG and props to give out so consider joining us.
4. AGM May 29-30: This year RNAO is celebrating 100 years of existence. The Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be taking place at the downtown Toronto Hilton May 29-30. Seven members of our Chapter will be attending as Consultation Representatives to vote on member submitted resolutions for the priorities of the RNAO over the coming year. The Chapter is also sponsoring four deserving nursing students to attend and learn about how RNAO operates.
Happy Nursing Week again. Thank you for all you do for those you care for and each other. Every day, your work should be acknowledged and recognized. Here's hoping you feel a little more appreciated this week.
Kathy Moreland, RN, MScN
President, RNAO Windsor-Essex Chapter