NATIONAL NURSING WEEK
6 WINNIPEG FREE PRESS - SATURDAY, MAY 8, 2021
MAY 6-12, 2019 NATIONAL NURSING WEEK cna-aiic.ca MAY 10-16, 2021 A Vision For Future Healthcare #W e A nswer T he C all
Your leadership makes a difference every day. Share your story @canadanurses #VoiceToLead #IND2019 & #NationalNursingWeek
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BRANDON HILLCREST PCH FITTEAM PHOTOS COURTESY OF PRAIRIE MOUNTAIN HEALTH
FIRST RESPONDERS NURSES STEP UP, FROM INITIAL VIRUS OUTBREAK THROUGH VACCINATION
I n January 2021, a COVID-19 outbreak in Brandon affected some of the community’s most vulnerable citizens. As information about new cases emerged, Prairie Mountain Health’s (PMH) public-health nurses responded immediately,
expediting contact tracing and working as part of a multidisciplinary response to put in place community supports, housing support, wrap-around services and everyday essentials for the population impacted by the outbreak. The rapid, flexible and team-based response was highly successful and is just one example of the many ways the PMH public-health nursing team has responded to the growing and
changing needs of Manitobans during an unprecedented pandemic year. PMH public-health nurses have been an important part of the provincial pandemic response, providing clinical support to teams in all regions of the province. In July and August of 2020, while much of the province continued to experience relatively low COVID-19 activity, PMH was responding to high case numbers. Public-health nurses cancelled vacations, worked additional hours and supported every possible initiative to bring case numbers down, and the team effort was ultimately successful. At the peak in provincial case numbers in the fall, PMH public- health teams supported as many as 80 cases in a single day, from all across the province. These dedicated professionals have travelled to local and remote First Nations communities, working collaboratively with communities in managing cases. More recently, public-health nurses have been at the centre of PMH’s support for COVID-19 immunization. “Public-health team members have played a crucial role during the pandemic, acting as our first line of defence in the fight against COVID-19,” says Glenda Short, regional lead, Community and Continuing Care. “They have applied their communicable disease investigation skills, compassion and advocacy to the emergence and evolution of COVID with fierce determination.” Public-health nurses like Terri-Lynn Archambault, who is based out of Ste. Rose du Lac, support COVID case investigations, contact tracing, case monitoring and follow-up to prevent the ongoing transmission of COVID-19. Archambault has also worked as an immunizer at the Dauphin pop-up vaccine clinic while continuing in her role as a Families First coordinator. “Although these are trying and ever-changing times for our program, it will go down in history as, ‘We survived it,’ ” Archambault says. The team has been able to support COVID-19 response while continuing to prioritize other important public-health initiatives, such as the annual flu campaign, harm-reduction initiatives and outreach care, prenatal and postpartum support, and childhood immunizations. “This team of health-care providers has been very versatile and able to adjust to changes in communities’ needs when called to do so. PMH public-health nurses have been flexible, working evenings, weekends and putting much of their own life on hold to fill whatever role needs to be done. They have been the behind-the- scenes providers working on the outbreak,” says Short.
May 10-16 FOR ALL THAT YOU DO, THANK YOU! National Nursing Week
JAMES BEZAN, MP SELKIRK E INTERLAKE E EASTMAN OFFICE@JAMESBEZAN.COM 204-785-6151
HON. CANDICE BERGEN, MP PORTAGE E LISGAR INFO@CANDICEBERGEN.CA 204-822-7440
RAQUEL DANCHO, MP KILDONAN E ST. PAUL RAQUEL.DANCHO@PARL.GC.CA 204-984-6322
MARTY MORANTZ, MP CHARLESWOOD E ST. JAMES E ASSINIBOIA E HEADINGLEY MARTY.MORANTZ@PARL.GC.CA 204-984-6432
TED FALK, MP PROVENCHER TED.FALK@PARL.GC.CA 204-326-9889
LARRY MAGUIRE, MP BRANDON E SOURIS LARRY.MAGUIRE@PARL.GC.CA 204-726-7600
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