The last time Annette Greene can remember seeing an on-site school nurse was 1974.
She was thus surprised to hear Manitoba Education Minister Kelvin Goertzen claim during a news conference this week public schools would have easy access to nurses to help the fight against COVID-19 when students return next month.
“In all my years as an educator and as a parent, and that’s going on 30 years, I’ve never seen an in-house nurse, a nurse dedicated to a singular school,” Greene, who teaches at Maples Collegiate in the Seven Oaks School Division, said in an interview Friday.
“Not in my school and not in my division, and not in any of the metro Winnipeg divisions that I know of.”
During a media conference Thursday with Goertzen and Manitoba chief provincial public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin, the education minister responded to media questions about the availability of health-care professionals, claiming “many schools have nurses.”
“Many schools have many different resources when it comes to things that are outside of your traditional education system,” Goertzen added. “I don’t believe that every school would have a nurse, but certainly the divisions themselves would have that ability.”
Greene, along with NDP MLA Lisa Naylor and a chorus of teachers and educators, took to social media to push back. Many noted they had never encountered an on-staff nurse in the city school system.
Radean Carter, senior information officer for the Winnipeg School Division, confirmed in an interview with the Free Press its schools have not had access to on-site nurses during her time with the division.
Instead, divisions are served by a single health and wellness nurse, who provides “information, consultation and support to school personnel” for all students who qualify for health-care support, according to WSD policy documents. That group includes students with severe allergies and pre-existing health conditions, Carter said.
Schools are directed to contact parents and emergency responders to address immediate student health concerns.
As many on social media criticized the minister for being out-of-touch, Greene noted she’d like to see Goertzen and Roussin make school visits in the fall to have a better understanding of the on-site situation in the fight against the novel coronavirus.
“We would welcome them, because I think we’re seeing a lot of disconnect in their ideas and thoughts based on what we see first hand in the schools,” she said Friday.
Meanwhile, Carter noted having nurses in schools may not help educators face the challenges of managing COVID-19 in their buildings, but added it’s still too early to say either way.
“Until we actually get back to school, it’s hard to say what extra staff we might need. But in terms of the screening that needs to be done, we are really relying on families to do that,” she said. “We cannot afford to have students or staff coming into our school with flu-like symptoms.”
Parents are being asked to screen their children with the province’s online tool for symptoms or risk factors associated with the novel coronavirus. The same screenings will also be taking place with students and teachers at Winnipeg’s schools.
As September looms closer, with or without available nurses, “I would like to see the province provide PPE (personal protective equipment) to educators… I would like the province to say all teachers and students should be wearing this protective equipment because that is what’s advised by our very own government,” Greene said.
Representatives for Goertzen’s office responded to requests for additional comment late Friday, saying the minister was instead referring to improved mental health services.
“The minister had just replied (Thursday) to the previous media question about mental health support provided at schools, and was continuing to refer to resources for students beyond the traditional education system — including an investment of $4.4 million announced last December to improve access to mental health and addictions services beginning in certain areas of the province,” a spokesperson wrote in an email.
julia-simone.rutgers@freepress.mb.ca
Twitter: @jsrutgers
Julia-Simone Rutgers Reporter
Julia-Simone Rutgers is a general-assignment reporter.
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.
The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.
Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.
“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”
The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.
A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.
Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.
“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.
Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.
The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.
“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador‘s chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says that so far this year, the province has recorded 230 confirmed cases of the vaccine-preventable respiratory tract infection, also known as pertussis.
Late last month, Quebec reported more than 11,000 cases during the same time period, while Ontario counted 470 cases, well above the five-year average of 98. In Quebec, the majority of patients are between the ages of 10 and 14.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick has declared a whooping cough outbreak across the province. A total of 141 cases were reported by last month, exceeding the five-year average of 34.
The disease can lead to severe complications among vulnerable populations including infants, who are at the highest risk of suffering from complications like pneumonia and seizures. Symptoms may start with a runny nose, mild fever and cough, then progress to severe coughing accompanied by a distinctive “whooping” sound during inhalation.
“The public, especially pregnant people and those in close contact with infants, are encouraged to be aware of symptoms related to pertussis and to ensure vaccinations are up to date,” Newfoundland and Labrador’s Health Department said in a statement.
Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics, but vaccination is the most effective way to control the spread of the disease. As a result, the province has expanded immunization efforts this school year. While booster doses are already offered in Grade 9, the vaccine is now being offered to Grade 8 students as well.
Public health officials say whooping cough is a cyclical disease that increases every two to five or six years.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s acting chief medical officer of health expects the current case count to get worse before tapering off.
A rise in whooping cough cases has also been reported in the United States and elsewhere. The Pan American Health Organization issued an alert in July encouraging countries to ramp up their surveillance and vaccination coverage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
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