A Joint Nursing Council with representatives from Manitoba’s health-system employers and the Manitoba Nurses Union (MNU) will work together to identify and implement initiatives that will improve working condition for Manitoba nurses, Health Minister Audrey Gordon announced in a media release on Monday (June 12).
“The Joint Nursing Council is a collaborative effort that will allow nursing leaders from across the system, along with representatives of the MNU,” said Gordon. “This council will set priorities and pursue initiatives that will better support our current nurses while contributing to our recruitment and retention efforts through the Health Human Resource Action Plan.”
The council will include six members with a range of nursing and health leadership experience including three appointed by the Manitoba government and three appointed by MNU. The council will work jointly to identify priority initiatives and propose solutions to current challenges, the minister added.
“We welcome the chance to collaborate on ways to improve the retention, recruitment and return of nurses to the public health-care system,” said Darlene Jackson, president, Manitoba Nurses Union. “We are eager to discuss creating safe workplaces, developing nurse patient ratios, and fostering respect in the workplace as strategies to begin this process.”
Appointees to the Joint Nursing Council include:
– Interim chair – Monika Warren, chief operating officer of provincial health services and chief nursing officer, Shared Health.
– Darlene Jackson, president, MNU;
– Mike Sutherland, executive director, MNU;
– Leona Barrett, manager, labour, MNU;
– Reghan Scaletta, executive director, provincial health labour relation services, Shared Health; and
– Treena Slate, regional lead, acute care and chief nursing officer, Prairie Mountain Health.
Warren, a graduate of the University of Manitoba’s nursing program, has worked as a nurse both at bedside and in clinical and organizational leadership positions for nearly 20 years, and also served as the health-care system’s operations chief throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Nurses bring so much passion and skill to their day-to-day work. I am excited about the potential that this collaborative group has to recommend initiatives from nurses that will bring meaningful and lasting change to the work experiences of our fellow Manitoba nurses,” said Warren. “It is so important to all of us that our nurses feel supported and valued for the many contributions they make to the care and experiences of our patients-and to the culture of our workplaces.”
Appointees will regularly meet to discuss working conditions, work-life balance, recruitment and retention support, as well as opportunities for collaboration on improvements to patient care.
The creation of the council is an initiative of the Health Human Resource Action Plan. The action plan launched in November 2022 with a commitment to add 2,000 health-care providers, invest $200 million to retain, train and recruit health-care staff across the province, and eliminate mandated overtime.
More information about the Health Human Resource Action Plan is available at https://www.gov.mb.ca/health/hhrap
