'Focus is on Advocacy for Nursing Week 2022:' Ontario Nurses' Association

TORONTO, May 6, 2022 /CNW/ - May 9 to 15 is Nursing Week 2022, and Ontario Nurses' Association (ONA) members – more than 68,000 nurses and health-care professionals – will mark the week by focusing on advocacy for Ontarians and their health-care system.

"Our theme this year is Dedicated to Care. Fighting for Change," says ONA President Cathryn Hoy, RN. "Our members will honour the vital the role they play as the backbone of health care for Ontarians, with a focus on one of their core roles – as advocates for their patients, residents and clients.

"The dedication nurses show and the exemplary care they provide every day is worth celebrating, but the harsh realities they face most definitely are not," she says. "As the pandemic pushes past the two-year mark, they are beyond exhausted, regressive legislation has devalued the profession and stripped away their rights, sound health and safety protocols are still not a reality in many of our workplaces, and incidents of violence continue to escalate," notes Hoy.

"Nursing can be an incredibly rewarding profession," she says. "Yet the disrespect that nurses continue to experience from this provincial government with discriminatory legislation such as Bill 124 has been the catalyst for many nurses leaving the profession. That is why ONA is encouraging nurses to tell their stories via social media during Nursing Week. Using the hashtag #WhyIFight, nurses are invited to share their stories of why they continue to advocate on behalf of their patients, residents and clients. It is important for nurses to have a voice, to share their experiences and tell their stories. It's also an opportunity for people to understand their realities, and to vote wisely in the election."

ONA is the union representing more than 68,000 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, industry and clinics.

www.ona.org; Facebook.com/OntarioNurses; Twitter.com/OntarioNurses; instagram.com/ontario.nurses

SOURCE Ontario Nurses' Association

Sheree Bond, [email protected], 416-986-8240; Katherine Russo, [email protected], 647-539-1925