Media Advisory: Ontario nursing leader to visit Cuba

TORONTO , Feb. 12 /CNW/ - A representative from Ontario's top professional nursing organization will visit Cuba next week to address academic and policy experts about the state of Canada's publicly-funded, not-for-profit health care system.

Doris Grinspun, the executive director of the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO) will travel to Havana to share her views on some of the challenges facing governments, policy-markers, hospital administrators and other health-care professionals during a time of global recession. She will also meet with officials of Cuba's Ministry of Public Health.

During her visit, Ms. Grinspun will also conduct an all-day seminar on evidence-based practice for registered nurses, physicians, pharmacists and other health-care providers. There, she will share RNAO's best practice guidelines, including information about the program's inception, the 42 guidelines released to date (diabetes, hypertension, wound care, asthma, and COPD) among others and their implementation in hospitals, long-term care facilities, public health units and other health-care facilities across Canada , parts of the United States and numerous countries around the world including China , Japan , Chile , and Italy .

    
    WHAT:    University of Havana conference and CENCEC seminar on evidence
             based guidelines

    WHERE:   University of Havana and National Centre for Clinical Testing
             (Centro Nacional de Ensayos Clinicos - CENCEC)

    WHEN:    Tuesday February 16th and Wednesday February 17th

    WHO:     Doris Grinspun, Executive Director, Registered Nurses'
             Association of Ontario (RNAO)
    

The Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario is the professional association representing registered nurses in Ontario. Since 1925, RNAO has lobbied for healthy public policy, promoted excellence in nursing practice, increased nurses' contribution to shaping the health-care system, and influenced decisions that affect nurses and the public they serve.

RNAO's ambitious Best Practice Guidelines Program is funded by the Ontario government's Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and was launched in 1999 to provide the best available evidence for patient care across a wide spectrum of health-care areas. The 42 guidelines developed to date are a substantive contribution towards building excellence in Ontario's health-care system. They are available to nurses, other health-care professionals and organizations across Canada and abroad. To learn more about RNAO's Nursing Best Guidelines Program or to view these resources, please visit www.rnao.org/bestpractices.

For more information about RNAO, visit our website at www.rnao.org. You can also check out our Facebook page at www.rnao.org/facebook and follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/rnao.

For further information: To arrange an interview with Ms. Grinspun, please contact: Marion Zych, Director of Communications, Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO), 158 Pearl Street, Toronto, ON, [phone] (office), [phone] (cellular); Jill Scarrow, Acting Managing Editing, Registered Nurse Journal, Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO), 158 Pearl Street, Toronto, ON, [phone] (office)