Donations and free mental health supports have been given to hospitals in Guelph and Wellington County ahead of National Nursing Week.
St. Joseph’s Health Care Guelph, Palmerston District Hospital and Groves Memorial Hospital are each receiving $10,000 from the RBC Foundation.
A news release said the funds will go to a variety of training and educational activities for nurses.
"The funding of $10,000 will cover the costs associated with Skills Days for all nursing staff at Groves Hospital,” said Lori Arsenault, Executive Director of Groves Hospital Foundation, in the release.
"These will be five full days of hands-on sessions and nurses will be trained in the areas of Defib Recertification, Protected Code Blue, Medical Directives, Tubes and Drains and Port-a-Cath techniques, Head to Toe Assessment & Critical Thinking."
With a majority of health-care workers directly caring for COVID-19 patients being nurses, the release said nurses are reporting worse mental health than other health-care workers.
In a January 2021 Statistics Canada survey, more than 70 per cent of Ontario’s nurses said they’ve experienced a breaking point throughout the course of the pandemic.
The virtual mental health workshops provided by RBC will be running throughout the month of May by experts at the Canadian Mental Health Association.
Workshops will be held morning, afternoon and evening to give nurses working shifts flexibility and will be focused on topics like burnout, self-care and de-escalation in crisis.
“We are living through a time like never before, a time where many of us are feeling a strain on our mental health in some capacity,” said Jennifer Hall, Vice President, Development, St. Joseph’s Health Centre Foundation Guelph, in the release.
“Our healthcare heroes have sacrificed so much this year to care for some of our communities most medically fragile. It’s inspiring to see RBC’s commitment to our nurses and team of care providers.”
Along with these donations to hospitals in Guelph and Wellington County, the RBC foundation is also donating $120,000 to 13 local hospital foundations this year to support education and training for nurses in Halton, Grey, Bruce, Huron-Perth, Oxford and Dufferin Counties.
Held in honour of nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale, National Nursing Week is designed to increase the awareness of the many contributions nursing makes to the wellbeing of Canadians. National Nursing Week runs from May 10 - May 16, 2021.
