WELLINGTON COUNTY – National Nursing Week (May 11 to 17) is very appropriately timed this year, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact healthcare workers throughout Canada.
“Nursing Week is the annual celebration of our profession and this year is unique because it marks the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birthday, the founder of modern nursing,” said Dr. Angela Cooper Brathwaite, president of the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO), in a press release.
“It also falls during the World Health Organization’s designated Year of the Nurse and Midwife.”
The RNAO is recognizing 97,890 registered nurses, 3,294 nurse practitioners and 47,744 registered practical nurses in Ontario.
“We also salute the thousands of nursing students who are taking forward Nightingale’s lamp,” said Brathwaite.
“From the bedside to the classroom and the boardroom, nurses and nursing students make the world a healthier place.”
Locally, nurses work in many settings throughout the county, notably hospitals and long-term care facilities.
Members of the Wellington Terrace nursing staff gather for a photo, donning their protective gear.
Hospitals
The Wellington Health Care Alliance, which operates the three hospitals in Wellington County, is recognizing county nursing staff this week.
“In the weeks since the COVID 19 crisis has unfolded, nurses, alongside other healthcare workers, have emerged as leaders during the pandemic,” stated Jill Schitka, chief nursing executive for Wellington Health Care Alliance in an email interview.
“The past few months have certainly highlighted the essential role of nursing, as well as all of our hospital workers.”
In Wellington County nurses work in many different areas at Groves Memorial Community Hospital in Fergus, Louise Marshal Hospital in Mount Forest and the Palmerston and District Hospital.
“A fantastic nurse is someone who provides care and compassion to every, single patient,” Schitka said.
“Being a team player and recognizing that all of our hospital staff are instrumental in providing the best care possible to our patients is also a key element to a great nurse.”
Katie Olechowski, RN, Palmerston and District Hospital (Submitted image)
County hospitals employ registered nurses, registered practical nurses, nurse practitioners, diabetes nurse educators, geriatric specialists, oncology and professional practice leads (infection prevention and control, nurse managers, midwife nurses and nurses helping with hospital redevelopment projects.)
“Nurses are a key part of a collaborative team approach to patient care,” Schitka said. “Nurses are trained to treat the whole patient, not just the injury or illness.
“This includes being an advocate, excellent communicator, emotional support, good listener, educator – there are many roles they must juggle to provide the best possible patient care that is vital to our hospitals and community.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses at hospitals have needed to be flexible.
“As our non-essential services such as surgeries are on-hold, we have had to redeploy some of our nurses to work in other areas of the hospital such as the staff screening centre or working on the inpatient floors,” Schitka said.
“All of our hospital staff and physicians had to learn to quickly adjust to COVID-19.”
She added, “The first two weeks were frightening for many of us. We had to digest a great deal of information quickly and adjust our course of action.
“We have amazing staff and physicians who support one another and understand the only way to move forward is relying on the strengths of one another.”
Long-term care
Nurses are also critical to the care and health of residents in long-term care facilities.
The county-run Wellington Terrace Long -Term Care facility in Aboyne is celebrating its entire nursing team this week, including registered nurses, registered practical nurses, personal support workers, Terrace aids and nursing clerks.
“They’re responsible to provide care … to the residents whether that be direct care, clinical care, some of the supportive roles in caring for the residents as well,” said director of care Tricia Burrough.
The Wellington Terrace has about 180 nursing staff, more than half of all 300 staff at the facility.
Burrough said the qualities that make the nursing staff at the Terrace exceptional at their jobs include: compassion, hard work, enthusiasm, resilience and courage.
“Certainly they’re working hard to protect our residents, especially in the time of COVID, so they’re using their knowledge and their skills to maintain safety for the residents and care for just their wellbeing in general,” Burrough said.
Members of the Wellington Terrace nursing staff are dressed in their protective gear.
Throughout the pandemic the nursing team has needed to be flexible and resilient, Burrough said.
From adapting activities to dining room management, they have needed to find ways to continue providing necessary care.
COVID-19 has forced all nursing staff to don personal protective equipment (PPE)and they’ve had to adapt to the challenge of wearing gear that isn’t all that comfortable.
Some have been pinning a picture of themselves smiling to their uniforms because with their masks and face shields on, residents have difficulty identifying them.
“We have a neighbourhood right now who are doing a theme day every week where they’re dressing up a little bit so they had a spring theme one week and there were … pictures of rubber duckies and flowers [on] their uniforms,” Burrough said.
“So having fun in the midst of what we’re experiencing right now.”
The nursing staff has also been facilitating window visits between residents and their families – even using their own cell phones so residents can communicate with their loved ones on the other side of an accessible window.
Celebrating Nursing Week
Provincially, political leaders will be meeting and speaking with nurses through Zoom to better understand the practice.
The RNAO released Enhancing Community Care for Ontario on May 12, which provides the government and public with direction to enhance community care for Ontarians in primary care.
“The shocking impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in every person’s life, and the challenges it has presented to our health system, make bold system transformation an imperative,” stated RNAO CEO Dr. Doris Grinspun in a press release.
“We must decisively and definitively embrace our publicly-funded and primarily not-for-profit delivered health system, with a strong community care focus, to meet trending population health needs and serve all Ontarians.
“We must fully lift our talent and focus on all aspects of care delivery, inspiring the collective contributions of all sectors.”
In addition, on May 12 the RNAO, Ontario Nurses’ Association and Registered Practical Nurses Association honoured one nurse practitioner, registered nurse and registered practical nurse at the inaugural Nursing Now Ontario Awards.
At Wellington Terrace the administration sent out a celebratory email to all the nursing team to show appreciation and acknowledge the tireless and selfless care they provide to the residents. The Terrace also provided a chocolate treat for the nursing staff and is organizing some draws.
In addition, Wellington County is using Nursing Week to acknowledge all the staff at Wellington Terrace by providing a couple of meals and various giveaways, including a tree seedling to each staff member.
“The nursing team is contributing to the residents’ quality of life by meeting so many of their needs, socially, emotionally, spiritually, physically,” Burrough said.
“And we are so grateful to our team for continually going above and beyond the call of duty to ensure that these residents’ needs are met and that residents have the highest quality of life possible.”
While some individual departments at county hospitals are holding small nursing celebrations, Schitka said larger celebrations are delayed until later in the year, when COVID-19 has hopefully slowed.
“The greatest gift anyone could give us right now is to stay home if possible, practice physical distancing and hand hygiene,” she said. “We are in this for the long run.
“Our communities have done a fantastic job at helping to flatten the curve – please continue to do so.”
Katie Frankland, RN, Louise Marshal Hospital (Submitted image)
