FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Commitment to Nursing Leadership “ALIVE” and Well in Home Health Care Sector

TORONTO (March 6, 2008) – The Ontario Community Support Association (OCSA), Saint Elizabeth Health Care (SEHC), VHA Home HealthCare and VON Canada (Victorian Order of Nurses) are pleased to announce that the importance of home health care nurses has been recognized by the Ontario Government with the funding of a community nursing project called ALIVE (Actively Leading in Virtual Environments).

“We are thrilled to receive this HealthForceOntario funding of $310,000 from the Nursing Secretariat. This funding emphasizes the Ontario Government’s commitment to leadership development in the area of home care,” said Sue Matthews, Ontario VP, Operations & Chief of Practice, VON Canada, and the project’s lead organization. “It is crucial that we all recognize the importance of strong leadership and how that translates to the quality care we provide to Canadians each and every day.”

The goal of the ALIVE Nursing Leadership Project is to create a model of transformational leadership that is specific to the needs of nursing leaders in the home health care sector and will support front line nurses in the provision of excellent client care. The model will encourage and facilitate the growth and mentorship of leaders as highly effective front line leaders, working with an extremely mobile, dispersed and often isolated nursing workforce.

“Home health care nurses work in isolation and rarely have the opportunity to meet or congregate in one location. This means that nurses must possess unique leadership skills to supervise and manage a dispersed employee base from a distance, as well as the nuances of working with multiple customers such as clients, staff nurses and Community Care Access Centers, stressed Nancy Lefebre, Chair of the OSCA Nursing Committee.

The ALIVE Model will be developed with input from front-line nurse managers, a literature review and analysis of current programs and resources in community environments. Once developed, the model will be widely shared across all health care providers in Ontario through a number of vehicles, including regular updates in newsletters, the OCSA Website (www.ocsa.on.ca), Registered Nurses Association of Ontario and the Nursing Secretariat, Ministry of Health & Long-Term Care.

Media Contacts:

Sara Lankshear
ALIVE Project Manager
Tel: 905-570-3003
Email: slankshear@sympatico.ca

Nancy Lefebre
Chief Clinical Executive
Senior VP Knowledge and Practice
Saint Elizabeth Health Care
Tel: 905-968-6444

Deborah Simon
Chief Nursing Officer & Vice President, Client Services 
VHA Home Healthcare
Tel :416-482-8771

Thea McCarthy
Manager, Public Affairs and Community Engagement
VON Canada
Tel: 613-288-3462
Cel: 613-203-3117

Cheryl Gorman
Consultant, OCSA
Tel: 416-653-1245