Debates of May 11, 2007 (day 5)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to speak today about nurses and draw attention to the fact that this week is National Nursing Week across Canada. Tomorrow, Mr. Speaker, May 12th, is Florence Nightingale’s birthday. In 1971, the International Council of Nurses declared May 12th International Nurses Day. In 1985, the council passed a resolution to begin negotiations with the federal government to explore having the week including May 12th proclaimed as National Nurses Week. A few months later, in recognition of the dedication and achievements of the nursing profession, the Minister of Health at the time proclaimed the second week of May as National Nurses Week. In 1993, the name was changed to National Nursing Week to emphasize the profession’s accomplishments as a discipline.

The purpose of National Nursing Week is to increase awareness amongst the public, policymakers and governments, of the many contributions of nursing to the well-being, not only of Canadians but to northerners. It’s also an opportunity to educate Canadians about health issues by providing information they need to make decisions about their health and to promote the role of the nurse.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to publicly acknowledge the hard work, dedication and conviction shown by our nurses here in the Northwest Territories. Many of them have been through trying times over the past few years and nurses, Mr. Speaker, are the cornerstone of our health care system. Nursing for me is very close to home as my wife, Amanda, is a registered nurse and I get to have a very close-up look and understand some of the challenges and demands that are placed upon our nurses.

Mr. Speaker, I have the utmost respect for our nurses and I am very proud of the work and care they provide to our residents each and every day, in our hospitals, in our health centres, in clinics and in public health units and in our senior care facilities, Mr. Speaker.

With that, I want to thank the nurses for all they do for us each and every day. Mahsi.

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Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to recognize nurses week being May 6th to the 13th. I also would like to express my congratulations to Gail Beaulieu on her completion of the Nurse Practitioner Program at Thebacha college last week.

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I would also like to see Ms. Beaulieu return to her hometown of Deninu Kue and continue to provide nursing services to the residents, because we do have a shortage of nurses in our community and people are encouraged to visit our health centre on an emergency basis only.

Mr. Speaker, the nurses here in the North have to be very dedicated, hard working and committed while working in an atmosphere that is very personal, sensitive and often borderlines on abusive in nature. The long hours and effects on their personal lives and health are often overlooked by many residents who use our health care providers on a regular basis. Mr. Speaker, this has to change.

We, as a government, have to fully support and recognize that there needs to be more emphasis on educating northerners about the positive, long-term effects that communities can realize when we start treating all our health care professionals, especially our nurses, with the respect and the dignity they so rightfully deserve.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I want to encourage people to value, commend and thank our nurses at all times of the year and not just this week or on nurses day tomorrow, May 12th. I hope people will start doing that and then we can realize that our nurses will want to stay in our small communities to treat the people that they know personally. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, May 6th to 13th is International Nurses Week and at this time I would like to acknowledge nurses week and recognize the work and dedication of nurses around the world, across the country and here at home in our communities in the Northwest Territories. It seems that with each passing year, there is more and more pressure put our health care system and in the face of shortages in our different, varying medical professionals that are being experienced across the country, sometimes in the absence of a doctor, it is nurses that will take on additional responsibilities, especially in our small northern communities.

Nurses are involved in the whole spectrum of health care, home care, health promotion, public health, diabetes care, emergency care. Our nurses provide service in long-term care, acute care, dialysis management, psychiatric care, prenatal, obstetrics, telephone advice via our Tele-Care program. This is quite a list of responsibilities in a wide spectrum of health care services.

To give a sense of proportion of staff that are nurses, roughly one-third of the staff at the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority are nurses. They are professionals with a broad knowledge of care delivery and some go on to specialize in certain areas such as managing chronic diseases, dealing with infection control or becoming nurse practitioners.

In Hay River, we are very fortunate to have many long-term nurses and although there have been periodic vacant positions, I commend the hospital staff, the CEO Paul Vieria and the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority for their efforts in managing, scheduling and filling these vacant positions in order to provide the level of health care that we enjoy in Hay River.

In closing, I would like to congratulate our nurses and health care workers for their excellent service to the public and thank them for the contribution they make to ensuring the health and safety of the residents that they serve. Tonight, Mr. Speaker, we will have the pleasure of joining with our health care professionals in Hay River, along with Minister Roland, to honour them in a night that is specially set aside to show our appreciation for them.

Mr. Speaker, not to change the subject, but I was figuring out a way that I could work this into my Member’s statement. I would like to recognize my two daughters-in-law who are involved in a different type of nursing for many, many hours lately and they will be celebrating their first Mother’s Day this Sunday as mothers of my two new grandchildren, and I also wish Happy Mother’s Day to all the women across the Northwest Territories who are fortunate enough to be mothers. Thank you.

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