Home » Open Letter to Nurses » Open Letter to Nurses: Fall 2023

Hi everyone,

It’s been a while since I last connected with you! I hope you all enjoyed your summer and have managed the transition to fall well.

We have continued to work on key areas of focus over the past few months, and I want to provide an update. While a lot of this work is complex and takes time, we are starting to see progress, and it's important to celebrate that, as it's a result of your contributions.

Over the past month or so, I have been visiting our sites more frequently for our Meet & Treat events. This was a result of the feedback we received in the Employee Opinion Survey, where you told us that you want executive to be more visible and available. Meeting so many of you in person, recognizing your hard work and discussing our new mission and values has been a great experience. We still have more sites to visit throughout October, so I’m looking forward to seeing even more of you then.

We also had another staff town hall last Thursday, during which the Senior Executive Team gave updates on our progress toward our goals and accomplishments for Q2. I want to thank you all for your ongoing feedback and participation, and I hope you'll take a few minutes to complete our Q2 pulse survey.

And finally, with fall comes scenery changes, cooler weather, pumpkin spice on every menu . . . and respiratory virus season. Vaccines are now available – you can find details of upcoming staff clinics on Insite. I encourage you to get your shots to protect yourself and those we serve.

As always, if you have any questions you would like to ask, or topics you want to see covered in future letters, you can reach out to me at talktomaryanne@wrha.mb.ca.

Mary Anne Lynch
Chief Nursing Officer and Regional Lead, Health Services – Acute Care

Visit from Federal CNO

This summer, we had the pleasure of hosting Leigh Chapman, the new federal Chief Nursing Officer, for a visit with the nurses at St. Boniface Hospital. It was a great opportunity for her to meet with the frontline staff and gain insights into their work and the health care system in Manitoba. Although it was just one site, the issues and perspectives that were shared were representative of what we’re all dealing with, and the work that takes place everywhere. I heard from the staff who were present, and personally felt, that we were heard and were able to provide her with a better understanding of our unique circumstances.

See photos from the event (intranet access required)

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Internationally Educated Nurse Recruitment in the Philippines

Our final acceptance count for International Nurse Recruitment in the Philippines has reached an impressive 312 candidates, with the last delayed candidates having signed their acceptance this summer. This is a significant milestone in the selection process and showcases the dedication of both our candidates and the team involved. In other good news: The first nurse from the Philippines arrived on September 20 and received a warm welcome. Also, KC Quitoriano, the first internationally educated health care aide, is now here and will be working at Concordia Hospital. We’re thrilled to welcome KC to the region and look forward to welcoming more internationally educated health care professionals soon!

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Nurse Mentorship Program – Mentors Needed!

We need experienced nurses who want to be mentors. We have many new nurses who have signed up as mentees and expressed that having a mentor is incredibly important to them.

I know that you are already working hard, but this is an important opportunity to ensure our colleagues, who are just beginning their careers, can succeed and remain in the health care system for many years to come. To learn more about becoming a mentor, please get in touch with Lesia Yasinski at lyasinski@wrha.mb.ca, or fill out the Nurse Mentorship form.

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Clinical Education Facilitator Opportunities

Another way to get involved in supporting new nurses is by becoming a clinical nurse educator. We are currently looking for experienced nurses to supervise undergraduate nursing students during their clinical placements in our sites and program areas. As a clinical nurse educator, you will provide guidance and direction to ensure student nurses provide the best care to those we serve and evaluate them on their clinical performance. Job postings for these positions will be available here.

Red River College Polytechnic :

Brandon University Faculty of Health Studies:

Nursing Grants Update

A number of nursing recruitment and retention grants have been updated or had their allocations increased in recent weeks. For more information and to apply, please visit the NRRF Grants website.

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Skill Mix Review Update

The skill mix review initiative focused on the care needs of patients on medicine and surgery inpatient units in all five hospitals within the Winnipeg Health Region. The purpose of the review is to better understand the patients in our care, their needs and the skills that our teams need to meet them. Over roughly a 12-month period (June 2022–June 2023), more than 16,000 patient assessments were completed, with more than 500 interdisciplinary team members engaged through focus groups, surveys and panel assessments. The collection and review of thousands of data points could not have happened without the active and engaged participation of the hundreds of health care team members involved. Stay tuned for further updates on the results in the near future.

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In the Spotlight: Bea Laya

For Bea Laya, a Clinical Service Lead for Respiratory Therapy at Grace Hospital, being a respiratory therapist (RT) has given her opportunities to experience many different areas of the health care system.

Having worked in multiple clinical settings including critical care, anesthesia, pulmonary function lab, and as an educator, Bea has seen firsthand how RTs support various key elements of care.

"Respiratory therapy has evolved a lot over the past 40 years," she says. "Our scope has expanded and affects patients in all levels of acuity, seeing needs from stable to critical patients."

Read the full story (intranet access required)

Once again, if you have thoughts, ideas, or things you want to know, I want to hear from you. Please email me any time.