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Govind Rao

Renal RPNs reassigned as aides ; CUPE unhappy with recent news; wants RPN title and res... - 0 views

www.fpinfomart.ca/doc/doc_display.php?key=pr|245142|sust|20150928|230212824

from heather Ontario pn lpn nursing utilization cupe

shared by Govind Rao on 28 Sep 15 - No Cached
  • The Sudbury Star Mon Sep 28 2015
  • The union representing a group of registered practical nurses at Health Sciences North is protesting their new assignments. Sixteen RPNs from the nephrology unit have been reassigned as renal aides. CUPE said Thursday their skills remain necessary to the operation of the program; however, their statuses, titles and salaries have been negatively impacted. "The hospital took it upon themselves to say they didn't need the RPNs in that unit anymore, so they basically reassigned the RPNs to a new position, called renal aides," Dave Shelefontiuk, president of CUPE Local 1623, which represents the RPNs, said Thursday. "When you get reassigned, you have no choice in the matter."
  • Shelefontiuk said many of the reassigned employees are seasoned RPNs, some with more than 20 years experience in the hospital setting. "Registered practical nurses are required by the College of Nurses of Ontario to maintain their standard of practice and to practice to the full extent of their skills, whatever their new designation may be," he added in a media release. Shelefontiuk said he wants their titles retained and, with three years of post-secondary education, pointed out an RPN can do "92% of what a registered nurse can do." They will not have those opportunities in their new positions.
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  • "Health Sciences North has been pushed to exploit these nurses because of its funding deficit " Sharon Richer, vice-president of CUPE Local 1623, added. "RPNs will be expected to practice on the dialysis unit like nurses, but their status has been downgraded. Psychologically this represents a demotion to women who work very hard and professionally to provide optimum patient care. We have asked the hospital to reconsider its decision." Dan Lessard, a spokesperson for Health Sciences North, admitted the renal aide job description does not mirror that of an RPN, but does include significant patient contact.
  • "The duties of the renal aide will include such things as preparing, starting and monitoring the dialysis machines, transferring patients and helping patients with such things as toileting," he explained. "These duties do not encompass the full scope of practice for RPNs." If an RPN's practice lapses for more than two years, Shelefontiuk contended he/she would likely have to go back to school or write intensive exams, in order to seek new employment.
  • Additionally, the new aides face long-term salary freezes, as RPNs currently make about $30 per hour, while aides earn a little less than $26 hourly. Shelefontiuk said the salaries of the new aides are likely to remain stagnant --with any raises being negligible --for at least the next few years. "Their salaries have been frozen until anybody else who starts that job catches up, which is about 10 years from now," he said. "At less than a 1% increase per year, which is the norm for us, these RPNs will be long gone and retired before they ever get another pay increase." Shelefontiuk accused the hospital of devising the reassignments as veiled cost-cutting measures.
  • "They said it's not all about saving money --it's about using the skills (one) has --but you're not using the skills of those 16 RPNs," to their full potential by reassigning them, he argued. As Lessard pointed out, the new positions were developed in conjunction with nephrology departments from across the province. "As part of its ongoing efforts to find efficiencies without affecting patient care, HSN's nephrology department is going to a model that employs renal aides working alongside registered nurses, as opposed to registered practical nurses working alongside RNs," he told The Star. "This decision was based on a survey of other nephrology departments in Ontario which are using a similar model."
  • From a patient perspective, Lessard stressed "nothing changes in terms of the care provided or the quality of care." The registered nurse will still maintain responsibility and oversee medical care. CUPE noted in its release that, like many hospitals throughout the province, Health Sciences North has been backed into an impossibly tight corner.
  • "Health Sciences North has cut beds, services and staff in the face of a five-year funding freeze imposed by the provincial Liberal government," the union indicated. "Ontario's auditor-general has estimated that hospitals need a 5.8% increase in funding each year just to keep pace with their costs, which are rising faster than the general rate of inflation due to the costs of drugs, medical technologies and doctors' salaries." These reassignments are symptomatic of a series of deep cuts to hit Health Sciences North.
  • "The freeze has cut Sudbury hospital's budget by (more than) 20% in real terms," CUPE continued. "Ontario hospitals were already the most efficient hospitals in the country with the fewest beds and staff, and the shortest lengths of stay going into the budget freeze." Despite their dissatisfaction with the new arrangement, Lessard said the renal RPNs will have an opportunity for training and may bid out of the department.
  • "We've offered affected RPNs an opportunity to express interest in receiving additional training in order to qualify for other RPN opportunities within the organization," Lessard noted. "No layoffs are anticipated, as other RPN vacancies continue to come up in other departments. RPNs who choose to stay in nephrology will be reassigned as renal aides." maryk.keown@sunmedia.ca Twitter: @marykkeown 705 674 5271 ext. 505235
Govind Rao

Nurses rally against job cuts at Almonte General Hospital - Infomart - 0 views

www.fpinfomart.ca/doc/doc_display.php?key=pr|245142|pgac|20150319|216702400

from heather cupe Ontario nurses nursing hospital cuts campaign

shared by Govind Rao on 19 Mar 15 - No Cached
  • Almonte/Carleton Place EMC Thu Mar 19 2015
  • Not all cuts heal. That was one of the messages written on signs held by demonstrators on Monday, March 16, who were protesting the Almonte General Hospital's (AGH) plan to cut 10 registered practical nurse (RPN) positions from their team of staff over the next few months. "We don't want to see these nurses lose their jobs," said Marie Campbell, a demonstrator whose husband, Bill Campbell, receives complex care in the hospital's Rosamond Unit. "There is an excellent level of care here, and we don't want that to change." AGH recently announced that,
  • in light of continuing budget challenges, they would be implementing a new model of care to the hospital over the coming year. The new model will introduce 11 personal support worker (PSW) positions and eliminate 10 RPN positions in an effort to reduce salary expenditures. "In this fiscal climate, the challenge is finding ways to live within our means while ensuring quality and safety are always at the forefront of the patient and staff experience," said Mary Wilson-Trider, the hospital's president and chief executive offi cer. "Embracing the addition of PSWs is in line with that." Hospitals across Ontario have been experiencing budgetary challenges for years, ever since the provincial government implemented funding cutbacks, Wilson-Trider said. This year, the hospital received a mere one per cent increase in their provincial funding, which Wilson-Trider said is not enough to cover mandated salary increases or to offset inflation on product and service costs.
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  • "We've been managing our budgetary costs for years," she said, "but this is the first year we've considered staffing restructuring as a practice to balance the budget's bottom line." Since PSWs are trained for a smaller scope of work than RPNs, they are compensated at a lower rate. Wilson-Trider said it should be made clear that there will still be RPNs on the hospital's team. Though there will be fewer RPNs, the team of PSWs will work to lighten their workload by taking care of certain tasks. The restructuring of the care model for the hospital's Rosamond Unit is just one aspect of the changes made to the AGH's budget this year. During the winter months, AGH conducted an internal comprehensive review of the hospital's revenues and expenditures, looking for efficiencies and asking for suggestions from staff.
  • The review, Wilson-Trider said, had a target figure of a five per cent change to the budget's bottom line, either in increased revenue or decreased expenditures. The cuts to RPN positions will account for some of that five per cent change, but the review also found other areas to cut costs, such as supply cost savings and energy management practices. Also, the hospital reviewed their service costs and found that they were charging below the average for private rooms, something they've adjusted for 2015. "These changes are a way of living within our means from a budget standpoint while providing the least impact to current patient care and the patient experience," Wilson-Trider said.
  • Protest Anita Comfort, one of the RPNs whose job is being eliminated, has been working at AGH for 21 years. She's among one of many soon-to-be-laidoff RPNs who have been at the hospital for decades, and she says that level of dedication can't be replaced. "We know our hospital, we know our patients and we know how to care for them," she said. "There's simply not going to be the same level of care without us." Comfort was one of more than 30 demonstrators who marched the street in front of AGH on March 16, asking for honks of support from passing cars.
  • Affected RPNs, friends, family, union representatives and even patients came out to show their support, holding signs boasting messages such as "Cuts hurt everybody," and "My skills are vital to patient care." Linda Melbrew, president of the local chapter of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents the RPNs, was present for the demonstration, showing the union's support for saving their jobs. "We're asking the hospital to reconsider their decision," she said, "and we're also asking for the province to provide better funding for our hospitals so something like this doesn't have to happen at all." Representatives from the Ontario Nurses Association also showed their support during the demonstration, holding signs and marching among the affected RPNs.
  • Cathy Porteous, another of the RPNs who will lose her job because of the cuts, also mentioned the hospital's appearance on the Sunshine List: a list of employees whose annual salary rates are $100,000 or more. She said she heard there are 10 such employees with the AGH. "Why can't they make cuts in that area," that's what we want to know," she said. "Instead of cutting from the front lines of patient care, maybe they should take a look at their own salaries." When asked about the Sunshine List later in an interview, Wilson-Trider said the hospital doesn't have 10 employees being paid more than $100,000 annually - instead, they have nine.
  • Those employees, she explained, are all high-level employees and not all of them are paid by AGH itself. Among those on the Sunshine List are the director of care for the hospital's Fairview Manor (FVM) and the manager for Lanark County Ambulance Services. "These managers are already stretched," she said. "Between managing the hospital and their accountability to the LHIN (Local Health Integration Network) and the ministry, they're stretched." Many of the demonstrators voiced another concern as well: that patients will not receive the same level of care with a team of PSWs than they would with RPNs. "The don't call it complex care for nothing," said Debbie Tipping, whose husband, like Marie Campbell's, receives care in the Rosamond Unit, also called the Complex Continuing Care Unit.
  • Since PSWs don't go through the same level of training as RPNs and therefore are not qualified to perform certain tasks, Tipping said she is concerned her husband's care could suffer. "We don't want to lose the nurses we've come to know and love," Campbell said. Patient care While Wilson-Trider said the AGH is appreciative of the work the affected RPNs have put in over the years, she also said that she thinks the new care model will benefit patient care. "I actually think that this will be good for patient care," she said. "The new PSWs will be there to support the RPNs, who will be working at their full scope of practice."
  • "Patient care," she added, "is of the utmost importance here, and we have taken every measure to ensure that that level of care is maintained." Over the next few months, as the new model of care is phased in and positions are jostled around, Wilson-Trider said that the AGH will be following the union's collective agreement and working with the union the whole way through. "We appreciate the commitment and high quality of care that all of our staff has demonstrated and continues to demonstrate," she said, "and we're also very appreciative of the care they've given to our patients." Illustration: • Kelly Kent, Metroland / On Monday, March 16, more than 30 demonstrators took to the street outside Almonte General Hospital (AGH) to protest the hospital's new model of care that will cut 10 registered practical nurse (RPN) positions from its team of sta . AGH's new model of care comes in light of budget challenges passed down from the province's freeze on funding. Some of the a ected RPNs, above, held signs reading "My skills are vital to patient care."
Govind Rao

Nurses protest cuts ; Hospital underfunded, they say - Infomart - 0 views

www.fpinfomart.ca/doc/doc_display.php?key=pr|245142|sust|20151023|232029063

from heather pn lpn cupe Ontario hospital cuts utilization

shared by Govind Rao on 23 Oct 15 - No Cached
  • The Sudbury Star Fri Oct 23 2015
  • Registered practical nurses blaming provincial government health-care cuts for a change in their status at Health Sciences North converged on the office of Sudbury MPP Glenn Thibeault on Thursday to protest government underfunding. RPNs at HSN say their positions were eliminated and they were transferred to the renal program as renal aides, where they are expected to practise on the dialysis unit like nurses, but their status and pay has been downgraded, according to representatives at CUPE Local 1623. "It's a multi-purpose rally today," said Dave Shelefontiuk, president of CUPE Local 1623. "The immediate purpose is over the action the hospital has recently done, which is to reassign 16 RPNs back to the renal (program), freeze their wages and they're no longer going to be used as nursing staff, but we all hear every week there's a nursing shortage at Health Sciences North and they voluntarily took 16 very experienced nurses out of the system and we don't think that's correct. We think that's degrading to these nurses. They went to school, they're professional nurses, they have the skills and now they're not being allowed to use those skills."
  • The other purpose of the rally, Shelefontiuk said, was to highlight workers' struggles under the current funding model. "We're over capacity now; the emerg has been just jam-packed," Shelefontiuk said. "Everybody who provides direct patient care is overworked, they're stressed out, and the only thing we can see to correct this problem is if Mr. Thibeault and Premier (Kathleen) Wynne realize that the North East LHIN (Local Health Integration Network) needs to be funded differently from the other LHINs.
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  • "People who come to Health Sciences North come from a lot of different areas. I can't jump on the subway and go down to the hospital to make my appointments. Some people come from Blind River, some come from Timmins, we're a referral hospital that's not funded properly and we can't provide the care we expect to be able to provide. We're very proud of what we do and people are struggling. People are going home sick. They're happy to get through a day, not happy to go to work and provide the care they want to provide. We don't think that's proper." According to CUPE, the hospital has cut beds, services and staff because of a five-year funding freeze imposed by the provincial Liberal government.
  • The union cited an Auditor General's report which estimated hospitals' costs increase by 5.8% annually, rising faster than inflation, because of the soaring costs of drugs provided free to inpatients and medical technologies, among other factors. Thibeault was at Queen's Park in Toronto on Thursday, but forwarded a statement through his communications staff. "I understand that Health Sciences North has made the decision to make changes in its nephrology department, shifting to a model of RNs working alongside renal aides, rather than RPNs," Thibeault said. "I have been assured by officials at Health Sciences North that this decision was made based on surveys of other nephrology departments in Ontario working successfully under similar models, and will not change the terms or quality of patient care.
  • "I understand that RPNs who choose to stay in nephrology will be re-assigned as renal aides, while those interested in pursuing RPN opportunities in other departments will be offered any additional training necessary. "I have been assured by officials at HSN that no layoffs are anticipated, and that vacancies for RPN positions in other departments are expected. I recognize, as does our government, that nurses are the backbone of our health-care system, and I will continue to advocate for health-care practitioners and patients in Sudbury."
  • The move to use renal aides alongside registered nurses, rather than the previous model of RPNs alongside RNs, was made to find efficiencies without affecting patient care, HSN spokesperson Dan Lessard said in a statement. "Nothing changes from a patient's standpoint, in terms of the care provided or quality of care," Lessard said. "The RNs assigned to the patient still oversee the process and their care."
  • The duties of the renal aide will include preparing, starting, and monitoring the dialysis machines, Lessard said. They'll also help transfer patients around the unit and help them with such things as going to the bathroom. "RPNs were doing these duties before, but these duties don't encompass the full scope of practice for RPNs. "For the RPNs affected by this, we're offered them an opportunity to let us know if they would be interested in receiving additional training in order to qualify for other RPN positions within HSN, where they would be working more fully within an RPN's scope of practice." Lessard confirmed that no layoffs are expected.
  • "In terms of their salaries, they don't get a pay cut," Lessard said. "They will have their salaries red-circled. That means their salaries will remain the same until the pay scale for renal aides catches up to their present salaries, and at that point they will follow the normal progression up the salary grid, but as renal aides, not RPNs." ben.leeson@sunmedia.ca Twitter: @ben_leeson
  • Registered practical nurses from Health Sciences North and their supporters hold a rally outside Sudbury MPP Glenn Thibeault's office in Sudbury on Thursday.
Govind Rao

Employment Integration of Nursing Graduates: Evaluation of a Provincial Policy Strategy... - 0 views

nhsru.com/...g-graduate-guarantee-2012-2013

from heather ontario nursing research staffing

shared by Govind Rao on 09 Apr 14 - No Cached
  • Research Team: Andrea Baumann, Mabel Hunsberger, Mary Crea-Arsenio Summary: The NGG was launched in 2007 to encourage FT employment for RN and RPN graduates in Ontario. This provincial government initiative was created in response to an increasing trend towards casualization of the nursing workforce, particularly NGNs. The NGG funds six months of supernumerary FT employment for NGNs. In 2012, there were 6648 nursing graduates (3383 RNs and 3265 RPNs); 2249 participated in the NGG (1813 RNs and 436 RPNs). Additionally, 214 employers participated. Hospitals hired the majority of new graduates (85%), followed by LTC facilities (10%) and community organizations (5%). During the past six years, 14,395 NGNs participated in the NGG. An average of 200 healthcare employers per year also participated. Survey data demonstrate that NGNs who participated in the NGG obtained FT employment at a higher rate than those who did not participate. In 2012, 62% of RNs and 50% of RPNs who participated in the NGG secured FT positions compared to 38% of RNs and 17% of RPNs who did not participate. According to the College of Nurses of Ontario new registrant data, there has been an overall 5% decrease in FT employment for RNs (61% to 56%) and RPNs (35% to 30%). However, there has been a 9% increase in FT employment for both RNs ( 7% to 56%) and RPNs (21% to 30%) over the six years of the NGG.
Irene Jansen

Retaining RPNs: Impact on Quality Care | NHSRU - 0 views

www.nhsru.com/...ng-rpns-impact-on-quality-care

from heather pn ontario nursing

shared by Irene Jansen on 14 Dec 12 - No Cached
  • A paucity of research on the work experiences of registered practical nurses (RPNs) in Ontario prompted the Registered Practical Nurses Association of Ontario (RPNAO) to conduct a province-wide study of RPNs in 2010
  •  View PDF of report
Irene Jansen

Provincial panel to shine a spotlight on the role of the RPN | RPNAO - 1 views

www.rpnao.org/...panel-shine-spotlight-role-rpn

from heather Ontario pn scope utilization

shared by Irene Jansen on 16 Apr 13 - No Cached
  • The Registered Practical Nurses Association of Ontario (RPNAO) is pleased to announce the launch of a new provincial project titled: ‘It’s All about Synergies: Understanding the Role of the RPN in Ontario’s Health Care System’.
  • This research and consultation project, which is expected to be completed by December, 2013
  • In addition to producing a final report outlining the findings, the working panel will also lead the development of a set of resources that nurses, nurse employers and educators will be able to utilize to help enhance their understanding of the scope and appropriate engagement of the RPN role in Ontario’s health care system
Heather Farrow

Local RPN receives award for dedication | Peterborough Examiner - 0 views

www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/...-receives-award-for-dedication

cupe hospital Ontario pn lpn nursing nurses

shared by Heather Farrow on 16 May 16 - No Cached
  • May 12, 2016 1
  • A local woman is the recipient of this year's RPN of the Year Award. Mary Wakeford has been a registered practical nurse (RPN) in Peterborough since 1980, working in the chronic care unit at Peterborough Regional Health Centre for 15 years. She currently works in PRHC's medical cardiac unit. The award was presented by the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions and the Canadian Union of Public Employees during Nursing Week, running from May 9 to 17. "I treat my patients like they are my family members," Wakeford stated in a release. "Even now, with the faster pace of nursing today, I still make the time to sit down with the patients or the family to reflect with them and make that emotional connection. This is really important when the diagnosis for the patient is not a good one. I hope that I've made a difference in people's lives."
Heather Farrow

"Bonds with patients and families most fulfilling" for Peterborough nurse, winner of 20... - 0 views

cupe.ca/gh-nurse-winner-2016-rpn-award

cupe Ontario hospital pn lpn nursing week

shared by Heather Farrow on 11 May 16 - No Cached
  • May 11, 2016
  • Peterborough, ON — A 36-year nursing veteran Mary Wakeford, a registered practical nurse (RPN) at the Peterborough Regional Health Centre is the 2016 winner of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU)/CUPE RPN of the year award.
  • May 9 –17 is nursing week and Ms. Wakeford will be celebrated at a special recognition event at the hospital Friday, May 13 (2016) at 8:30 a.m.
Govind Rao

New Dispensing Authority for RPNs and RNs | RPNAO - 0 views

www.rpnao.org/...pensing-authority-rns-and-rpns

from heather pn Ontario utilization nursing

shared by Govind Rao on 09 Jan 14 - No Cached
  • Date: Jan 7th, 2014 In April 2013, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne announced that the provincial government would work with the College of Nurses of Ontario to expand the nursing scope of practice to allow nurses to dispense drugs in specific circumstances for the purpose of improving access to care for people across the province. On January 1, 2014, Ontario’s RPNs and RNs were granted the authority to perform the controlled act of dispensing drugs. Nurses can now receive an order from an authorized provider to dispense a drug and will no longer need delegation. Please visit the website of the College of Nurses of Ontario to view the revised Medication practice standard for Ontario’s nurses, which provides information about nurses’ accountabilities and expectations for safe medication practice.
Govind Rao

Ontario government indifference fostering systemic neglect, hastening incontinence of L... - 0 views

www.ochu.on.ca/...LTC_focus_group_study.php

from heather ltc cupe ontario campaign research

shared by Govind Rao on 23 Sep 14 - No Cached
  • Ontario government indifference fostering systemic neglect, hastening incontinence of LTC residents, finds PSW, RPN focus group study23/September/2014 08:00 AM
  • Kenora, ON – Ontario government indifference to care quality, provincial policies and low funding for long-term care are fostering systemic neglect of residents, say personal support workers (PSWs) and registered practical nurses (RPNs) who took part in intensive focus group sessions in five Ontario communities. “What PSWs and RPNs told us are frank, powerful and often heartbreaking accounts of how, despite their outmost efforts and dedication they are forced to provide what amounts to substandard care to residents,” said Kevin Tyrrell a regional vice-president with the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU) in releasing the focus group report - Long-Term Care in Ontario: Fostering Systemic Neglect - at a Kenora media conference today.
Irene Jansen

Licensed and Registered Practical Nurses urge Premiers to agree on key principles to pr... - 0 views

www.nupge.ca/...ree-key-principles-protect-and

shared by Irene Jansen on 02 Feb 12 - No Cached
  • Victoria, BC (16 Jan. 2012) – Licensed and Registered Practical Nurses (LPNs/RPNs), who are members of the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE), met earlier this week in Victoria to discuss public policy, labour relations and professional practice issues.   They were joined by LPN representatives from the B.C Hospital Employees’ Union (HEU).   Three important issues discussed at the meeting included: Strategies to ensure LPNs/RPNs receive recognition and respect for the important independent role they play as members of a professional nursing team. The evolution of LPN/RPN practice and regulatory changes that impact entry to practice and scope of practice.  The ongoing negotiations between the federal, provincial and territorial governments for a new Health Accord in Canada.
  • In order to strengthen the delivery of health care in Canada, a new Health Accord must encourage health care employers to utilize all health care workers to full scope of practice, particularly Licensed and Registered Practical Nurses; this would help to improve the quality of care and to ensure the cost effective delivery services.
Govind Rao

Hudak's job plan bad for nurses ; LETTER - Infomart - 0 views

www.fpinfomart.ca/...187534404

from heather nursing Ontario pn election

shared by Govind Rao on 22 Jan 14 - No Cached
  • Hudak's job plan bad for nurses ; LETTER The Barrie Examiner Wed Jan 22 2014
  • Over the past 15 years, at least, we have seen health-care costs reduced by the changing roles of the Registered Nurse (RN), the Registered Practical Nurse (RPN) and the introduction of the Personal Support Worker (PSW). Scope of practice has expanded -they do more -yet wages have not reflected this change, particularly for the RPN. More and more, RNs are being replaced by RPNs at a saving of approximately $10 per hour and now Hudak wants to increase workload by reducing the number of front-line nurses.
Govind Rao

New Dispensing Authority for RNs and RPNs - CNO - 0 views

www.cno.org/...ing-authority-for-rns-and-rpns

from heather pn Ontario nursing utilization regulation

shared by Govind Rao on 09 Jan 14 - No Cached
  • As of January 1, 2014, RNs and RPNs have access to the controlled act of dispensing a drug. They will need an order from an authorized provider to dispense a drug but will no longer need delegation.
Govind Rao

RPNs visit Queen's Park to help lead positive change for health care | RPNAO - 0 views

www.rpnao.org/...ad-positive-change-health-care

from heather Ontario nursing lobby

shared by Govind Rao on 26 Nov 13 - No Cached
  • MISSISSAUGA, Nov. 22, 2013 – Queen’s Park served as the backdrop on November 18 as a group of Registered Practical Nurses (RPNs) met and shared ideas with Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs) and other government officials to help strengthen Ontario’s health care system.
Govind Rao

Primary Care Initiative Funding | RPNAO - 0 views

www.rpnao.org/...rimary-care-initiative-funding

from heather pn nursing Ontario

shared by Govind Rao on 12 Dec 13 - No Cached
  • Date: Dec 11th, 2013 RPNAO is pleased to announce special education funding for RPNs working in Primary Care settings. Limited special funding is being provided by the Ministry of Health and Long term Care until March 31, 2014 for RPNs currently registered to practice in the province of Ontario and employed in Primary Care settings. RPNs and/ or their employers can apply for funding to reimburse up to $1,500.00 toward tuition for provincially recognized educational opportunities that enhance the eligible RPN’s ability to deliver quality primary nursing care.
Govind Rao

Ontario government indifference fostering systemic neglect, hastening incontinence of L... - 1 views

cupe.ca/ing-incontinence-ltc-residents

from heather cupe ontario ltc continuing care research campaign

shared by Govind Rao on 25 Sep 14 - No Cached
  • Ontario government indifference to care quality, provincial policies and low funding for long-term care are fostering systemic neglect of residents, say personal support workers (PSWs) and registered practical nurses (RPNs) who took part in intensive focus group sessions in five Ontario communities. “What PSWs and RPNs told us are frank, powerful and often heartbreaking accounts of how, despite their outmost efforts and dedication, they are forced to provide what amounts to substandard care to residents,” said Kevin Tyrrell, a regional vice-president with the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU) in releasing the focus group report, Long-Term Care in Ontario: Fostering Systemic Neglect, at a Fort Frances media conference today.
  • Govind Rao on 25 Sep 14
     
    Wed Sept 24 2014
Govind Rao

Treating patients in the comfort of their homes; Community-care nurses help people heal... - 0 views

www.fpinfomart.ca/doc/doc_display.php?key=pr|246243|tost|20150509|220134672

from heather home care

shared by Govind Rao on 11 May 15 - No Cached
  • Toronto Star Sat May 9 2015
  • Roushad Omar-Ali is relaxing on his comfy sectional watching a cooking show as the doorbell rings and Lesley Rodway lets herself in. "How are you feeling today?" the registered nurse asks cheerily as she studies the chart with his health data. "She's pretty good at what she does," Omar-Ali offers when Rodway disappears to set up his dialysis machine in the bedroom. The Ajax resident has had his share of hospital stays for a stroke, a bad fall and a pacemaker implant. And there's no doubt where he'd rather be for his daily dialysis treatment.
  • The good thing about this is you get to hook yourself up whenever you want," he says. "At the hospital, you sit there and wait and wait whereas at home, as soon as it's done, I disconnect myself." It's thanks to nurses like Rodway that Omar-Ali can be treated in the comfort and convenience of his own home. Arranged through Community Care Access Centres (CCAC), government-funded visits by registered nurses and registered practical nurses provide a range of services including post-surgical, wound and palliative care, IV antibiotics, dressing changes and cancer treatment. (University-educated RNs care for patients with more complex needs while RPNs, who have attended community college, take on less complex cases.) "Patients don't really want to be in hospital," says Dianne Martin, executive director of the Registered Practical Nurses' Association of Ontario (RPNAO). "At home it feels good, they feel in control and more like they're in the driver's seat." They tend to heal faster and are safer from infections, Martin adds. It is also far cheaper to treat someone at home: an average of $42 per visit compared to $842 per day for a hospital bed.
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  • And the cooking's good here," jokes Donna Fox as Rodway stops in at the well-kept bungalow she shares with Bob, her husband of 62 years. Rodway, who's worked for ParaMed Home Health Care for 17 years, manages his symptoms and keeps him comfortable during his terminal illness. "It's very important because I couldn't exist without someone looking after me," Bob, a former marathon runner, says from the raised bed where he watches sports on TV or the awakening of spring outside his window. Suzanne, a Whitby breast cancer patient, credits a home-care nurse for possibly saving her life by sending her to hospital for a swollen hand caused by a blood clot. Now she gets shots of blood thinner at home.
  • "You're near the end, that's awesome," Rodway tells her after administering the day's needle, the 90th in a series of 100 prescribed injections. "You've been a trooper," she adds as Suzanne says, through tears, that her last chemo treatment is just days away. "There are many times I've cried with a client," Rodway says later. "People are appreciative because you're helping them feel better." Rodway, a mother of two young children, sees five or six patients a day in Whitby and Ajax. She says working 25 or 30 hours a week gives her a good balance of career, volunteer work and home life. "I get a lot of satisfaction." For RPN Max Hamlyn, it's all about the personal touch. "You've got the ability to spend time with the person and develop a closer bond," unlike hospitals where staff are too rushed, he says. "It's more than just running in and changing a dressing. I'll ask, 'How are you doing, are you eating OK?' And I say, 'What's the most important thing I can do for you today?' "
  • Hamlyn, who works in Ottawa for the government branch of Bayshore Home Health, covers up to 100 kilometres a day, seeing eight to 10 patients in private homes, retirement residences, detention centres and halfway houses. After 38 years in the profession - doing community care for the last 13 - he maintains "people do much better in their home" than in hospital. "I love it. I think home care is an amazing place for RPNs to work," says Hamlyn, whose youngest client is 23 and oldest, 102. He recalls the year he spent caring for a woman with colon cancer, meeting all her children and grandchildren and always staying for coffee and cake. "You become part of the family," Hamlyn says of many of his clients. "I get along really well with my people. I have a lot of fun with them - we laugh, we joke. They're such lovely people."
Govind Rao

Registered Practical Nurses in OCHU/CUPE | Reports and Information about RPN labour and... - 0 views

www.ochu.on.ca/egistered_practical_nurses.php

from heather pn lpn cupe Ontario hospital bargaining arbitrator

shared by Govind Rao on 24 Jul 15 - No Cached
  • Please find below the brief on RPN issues to the Kaplan board of arbitration presented on behalf of the local unions participating in local issue bargaining.We also attach the interim award of Mr. Kaplan on RPN issues, which was released yesterday. We have scheduled a special provincial teleconference call for Monday July 27 at 7 p.m. to review the award.Please ensure that your local participates in this call. To join please dial: 1-888-289-4573 followed by the access code: 9788074 #.We look forward to talking with you on Monday evening.
Govind Rao

B.C. Nurses' Union puts workers and patients at risk, Labour Board rules | National Uni... - 0 views

nupge.ca/...tients-risk-labour-board-rules

from heather bc nursing pn lpn

shared by Govind Rao on 27 May 15 - No Cached
  • BCNU organizers "must also be taken to know that organizing on psychiatric wards while [Registered Practical Nurses] RPNs are on work time is a danger to the vulnerable patients RPNs serve and to RPNs themselves." — B.C. Labour Board decision
  • Vancouver (13 May 2015) — The B.C. Labour Relations Board has ruled that workers and patients were put at risk by dangerous tactics used by the B.C. Nurses' Union (BCNU) organizers in December. The BCNU organizers were attempting to convince registered psychiatric nurses to leave their union, Health Sciences Association of B.C. (HSABC/NUPGE). B.C. Labour Board finds organizing tactics by BCNU dangerous "The BCNU has demonstrated once again that they are more interested in increasing their revenue than representing the interests of psychiatric nurses and their patients," charged Val Avery, HSABC President, a union that has represented registered psychiatric nurses since the 1980s.
Govind Rao

Confusion about RPN role a blind spot in Ontario's health care system: Report - Infomart - 1 views

www.fpinfomart.ca/doc/doc_display.php?key=pr|240525|wcnw|20140603|197472618

from heather pn utilization ontario

shared by Govind Rao on 03 Jun 14 - No Cached
  • Canada Newswire Tue Jun 3 2014,
  • New report provides recommendations for nurses, nursing employers and educators MISSISSAUGA, ON, June 3, 2014 /CNW/ - Despite the fact that Registered Practical Nurses (RPNs) make up more than a quarter of Ontario's nursing workforce, a newly released report reveals that there is a significant lack of understanding among nurses, nursing leaders and educators in terms of the role of the RPN or how they can be best utilized.
  • Registered Practical Nurses Association of Ontario
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