Dear editor,
Riverside health Care posted the following response to Response to the August 28th Article (Fort Frances Times)
After reviewing your article in the Fort Frances Times on August 28, 2024, based on your interview with Dr. Ennett, we would like to offer some clarifying statements for you to share with the public. The Site Administrator at the Rainy River Health Centre is responsible for emergency, acute care, and long-term care services. Certainly, the physicians are responsible for the physician aspect of care.
When considering references made to ‘clashes with administration’ and ‘the need for a healthier work culture,’ we would like to remind the public that Riverside remains committed to a consistent, healthy workplace culture across all our sites and to supporting our healthcare staff in our mission to improve the health of our communities by providing the best possible care to those we serve.
• While the decision to add an RN was not immediately approved due to serious cash-flow concerns in early 2023, we did achieve a level of financial stability towards the end of the calendar year. At that time, three seasoned clinical leads determined that an additional RN was not appropriate for Rainy River. Having said that, the team has been finalizing a model focused on increased scope of practice, and the addition of a personal support worker to address peak periods.
• Riverside Health Care was not engaged as part of the physicians recommendation to the Ministry to close the emergency room from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. We do not support any reduction in emergency services in Rainy River.
:This is my response to the above
Did any of the “three seasoned clinical leads” review the mounting literature that shows that positive patient outcomes are proportional to the percentage of a patient’s care that is provided by RNs. A literature search will yield many papers that support this statement. I could not find any literature to support upscoping staff which is the plan Riverside has decided on. Did they ask the RNs that have to work alone at night if that is an acceptable option? (I doubt it but I will confirm and report back if I am wrong). Of note, we have not been able to convince young nurses to come to work in Rainy River for years because they do not want to work alone overnight. Did they ask the RR ER physicians whether it is acceptable to choose upscoping rather than properly staffing the ER at night with 2 RNs? (No). Their decision to upscope rather than staff the Rainy River ER was the primary reason that the proposal to limit ER hours to 12 hours daily was offered as an option by Rainy River physicians. It would allow 2 RNs to be in the department when the ER was open. As a physician with 35 years of ER experience, I feel strongly that Riverside’s decision to upscope rather than properly staff the Rainy River ER with 2 RNs 24/7 increases the risk of harm to the patient population they are charged with serving.
Joe Ennett MD, RRMC Lead Physician
