As registered nurses (RNs) at Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare (MAHC) rallied and donned stickers reading “RNs: Staff Us, Retain Us,” a delegation of 30 RNs accompanied by Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA) Provincial President Erin Ariss, RN, met with top executives at Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare to demand workplace changes.
The delegation of 30 RNs from both sites of MAHC (Bracebridge and Huntsville) presented a letter signed by 88 per cent of the RNs to hospital President and CEO Cheryl Harrison, Director, Nursing, Clinical Services & Chief Nursing Executive Melissa Bilodeau and Vice President, Integrated Care, Patient Services and Quality Diane George.
“As nurses, we are patient advocates first,” says ONA Provincial President Erin Ariss, RN. “We know that patients rely on their health care, and we have clearly spelled out to the executives what this organization needs to do immediately to fix staffing and nurse retention issues at MAHC that threaten patient care.”
Nearly 200 RNs at MAHC agree that management must take six steps to immediately address staffing and retention issues; these include working with local ONA leaders and front-line nurses to develop safe, quality and ethical nurse-to-patient ratios appropriate for the number of beds at MAHC and the increasing patient acuity by this summer.
The nurses have joined the community in being outspoken about opposition to the plan unveiled earlier this year by hospital leaders that would decrease access to local care. The hospital has been facing public scrutiny and criticism for its plans that would impact the access to critically needed health-care services locally.
“Our nurses stand in solidarity with this community,” says Ariss. “We will not give up in our efforts to not only preserve, but improve, patients’ access to high-quality care in their community.”
ONA is the union representing more than 68,000 registered nurses and health-care professionals, as well as 18,000 nursing student affiliates, providing care in hospitals, long-term care facilities, public health, the community, clinics and industry.
Rally in Bracebridge. (Submitted).
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At my age, I have seen the inside of the ER, Xray and many other departments of hospitals too many times to remember.
What I do remember is that in every single case, I was helped in so many ways on my path to recovery, not by fancy machinery, (although this always helps) but more so by the care and support of the nursing staff who looked after me.
These nurses (and they are not all women these days) and indeed all the staff from the cleaners to the cart pushers to the person who keeps the heat working, they all helped me recover and they are all necessary to a hospital. Without this staff, the hospital is just a pile of bricks. It alone won’t help someone much.
These staff are not only critical, but being involved each day in all aspects, they know the sort of inside story, the “work arounds” and special situations that seem to crop up and need solving every day. I’m not so sure administrators appreciate this fact all that well.
I’d pay a lot of attention to nurses input.
BRAVO to all the Nursing Staff for standing together. !
Healthcare is expensive but, no one wants to seek medical attention and get budget-cut services.
Good healthcare is a signature of an organized caring community.
The latest update from MAHC claims to be working on some of the changes the nurses are demanding. Hopefully the administration can work with the nurses, along with the doctors and support staff to keep our hospitals working well and getting even better.
I get the impression that the nurses were not consulted before the MAHC made in Muskoka plan was rolled out.
Without nurses we would be in a sorry state of health care. So I thank them all.
Hopefully the administration of our hospitals will listen to the people that actually provide our health care.
GOOD LUCK LADIES and STAY SAFE !!!