An online poll by the Vancouver-based Research Co. revealed that more than a third of Canadian households have been impacted by COVID-19 since public health measures were lifted where they live. 37% of Canadians reported they got infected themselves, or someone in their household. The survey conducted between Aug. 1 and Aug. 3 included 1,000 respondents from across the country.
Ontario’s health minister, Sylvia Jones, said that six hospitals had to close ERs and other departments last weekend, but argued that the situation wasn’t unprecedented. Jones revealed that individual hospitals are working with Ontario Health to try to reassign staff and avoid such closures when they loom, but it happens “occasionally.” The minister also said the situation Ontario is facing is not unique, as jurisdictions across the country have reported similar staffing challenges and closures.
Recruiters in all industries, including healthcare, often struggle with worker retention and satisfaction. This leads to staffing issues, higher turnovers, and instability within organizations. But there are ways around it. And to learn more about them, we recently interviewed Jennifer Lagemann, expert in brand and storytelling for attracting senior caregivers and founder of NextJenn Copy, who provided us with several best practices for staffing and training in senior care.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he is doing everything in his power to add more healthcare workers to the system, but is indicating that won’t include repealing wage restraint legislation or increasing a retention bonus for nurses. Many nurses point to Bill 124 as a major source of concern, saying that the legislation that capped wage increases for public sector workers to one percent a year for three years has devalued their work.
Toronto General Hospital has reached its intensive care capacity as healthcare institutions in Ontario continue to struggle with high patient volumes and staffing issues. The hospital is under a critical care bed alert, which means that its three intensive care units are “at their total bed capacity and/or have limited human resources to safely keep all physical critical care beds open and in operation.” The situation was brought on by multiple factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our very own Cali Wiersma joins us as she talks all about how social media can help both healthcare workers and organizations promote themselves. She offers some great tips to consider while building your social presence, and also talks about how to build a great video resume!
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