Nurse Practitioner Association of Alberta
Stronger Together
Fall 2019 Newsletter
Hope everyone had a fun-filled and relaxing summer! This is my last newsletter as NPAA President so I would like to introduce Mary-Elizabeth Cooper who will be the incoming President as of November 1, 2019. Mary-Elizabeth has been the Vice-President for the last 2 years and has been instrumental in developing the strategic plan and advocating for NPs in Alberta with key stakeholders. In addition, NPAA is pleased to announce that Anne Summach will be assuming the Vice-President role as of November 1, 2019.
I would like to thank all of the board members for their support during my term. It would have been impossible to further our professional association without their hard work and commitment. By working together we were able to and continue to ensure that NPs have a voice with various groups such as CARNA, Alberta Health, and AHS. I would also like to thank the many members that took the time to reach out to me during my term to be engaged and involved in advocating for NPs. I am confident that the new board will continue to advocate for improved implementation of NPs into Alberta’s Healthcare System.
NPAA has been working throughout the summer to continue advocacy work with the AB Government and other stakeholders. Please find below a brief highlight of the work NPAA has worked on over the summer and this fall. The NPAA Board of Directors would like to invite all NPs to a town hall meeting on October 24th to discuss the labour board case, NPAA strategies as the professional association of NPs in Alberta, and the advocacy plan with stakeholders and government. This will also be an opportunity for members to meet and interact with the board and provide feedback on the work of NPAA. A meeting will be held in both Edmonton and Calgary and there will be an opportunity to join by webinar.
Invitation to Town Hall Meeting:
Edmonton:
October 24, 2019
1830 to 2000 hours
The Ledgeview Building
Suite 230, 9707-110 St NW
Free Parking
Calgary:
October 24, 2019
1830 to 2000 hours
University of Calgary
Administration (AD) Room 142
Paid parking:
Lot 25: flat rate of $8.00 or Lot 23 (closer): hourly rate of $5.00
Can also take C-Train to University Station and walk over to the University or park in the C-Train lot.
Light refreshments will be provided. Please RSVP to secretary@albertanps.com and indicate which location you will be attending.
There will be a limited number of spots for online participants. Please email secretary@albertanps.com to indicate if you would like to join the town hall meeting via online and we will forward you an invitation.
Membership Drive:
For the NPAA to be a strong advocate with any of our key stakeholders we must demonstrate that we represent a majority of the NPs in the province. NPs can only be strong if we advocate as one united voice.
In order to improve our membership we are offering a one time discount to all members that sign up for automatic renewal from October 7 to January 31, 2019.
In addition, we will be offering a one time discount to those members already signed up for automatic renewal:
https://albertanps.com/about-npaa/become-a-member/ NPAA Blog:
The Communications Committee is pleased to announce the launch of an NPAA blog with the first post to be available in November. Content will cover case reviews, NPAA relevant topics, and will also highlight NPs across our province. If you would like to be involved as a writer, or have a topic or NP that you would like to see highlighted, please email anne.summach@albertanps.com.
NPAA Conference:
Dear Alberta Nurse Practitioners,
Thank you to everyone who attended our last NPAA conference in Calgary, AB. We had a sold out conference with intriguing discussions, engaging speakers, and made incredible connections with one another! We are extremely excited to announce our next NPAA conference! Stay tuned for program and registration details!
Passionate about sharing your research? Deadline January 27, 2020
Advocacy work with Alberta Government:
NPAA executive members Teddie, Mary-Elizabeth and Anne attended a meeting with the Honourable Tyler Shandro, Minister of Health. NPAA highlighted that NPs want to be part of the solution to providing cost effective quality healthcare to Albertans in all practice areas (Primary, Acute, and Continuing Care). We discussed recruitment and retention problems due to the present compensation of NPs which have lead to situations where NPs are paid less than RNs.
The Minister stated that his government will be honouring their election promise to have direct billing for NPs in primary care, and encouraged NPAA to collaborate with Alberta Health to design the funding for NPs. Minister Shandro was also supportive of working to remove barriers to practice, and enabling NPs to practice to full scope.
Anne Summach, the next NPAA Vice-President, attended the news conference by the Honourable Tyler Shandro, Minister of Health, to announce the hiring of 30 NPs through the Primary Care Network (PCN) NP support funding model. Anne Summach was also interviewed on Alberta PrimeTime regarding the PCN funding of NPs. Please click on the link below to view the interview (third segment of the program):
https://alberta.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=1777608&binId=1.3892985&playlistPageNum=1
In conjunction with the lobbyist NPAA has hired – Alberta Counsel, we have also requested a meeting with the Associate Minister of Mental Health to discuss barriers that NPs face in providing care to this population, ie: not able to sign forms which are part of the Mental Health Act.
The current list of legislative barriers to practice for NPs has been forwarded to the Minister of Red Tape as recommended by Minister Shandro, and we will keep you informed of any resulting changes.
Teddie and Mary-Elizabeth met with Ernst and Young, the firm hired to review AHS, on the cost savings and challenges around NPs. This was a lengthy conversation and most likely will not be the last as the team at Ernst and Young works through this massive review.
Overall, the NPAA is happy to have gained traction within the Alberta Government as the reliable representative of our profession, with access to details about NP practice which can help to inform new healthcare policies.
Labour Board/UNA Update:
We are still waiting on the decision by the Labour board regarding the Charter question of whether NPs have a constitutional right to organize/participate in bargaining. We will not know our next steps until the ruling is made.
Advocacy work with CARNA:
NPAA has been working with CARNA to update the NP cannabis prescribing standards, as Alberta and BC are the only 2 provinces that do not allow NPs to prescribe cannabis. Once the changes are made to the prescribing standards they will be sent to government to go out for stakeholder feedback prior to being finalized.
Advocacy work with Alberta Health:
NPAA has continued to work closely with Candy Gregory, to support implementation of the PCN- NP support funding. Thank you to all members that have provided feedback and questions regarding the implementation of the funding. We have ensured that Alberta Health is aware of any barriers that have been noted by our membership.
Advocacy work with AHS:
We have continued to have discussions with AHS regarding governance models for NPs, compensation including shift & statutory holiday pay for NPs, and a lack of dedicated funding for NP positions. Sean Chilton and his staff also met with Ernest and Young and discussed the problem in AHS with remuneration for NPs within AHS and the various legislative barriers.
The Provincial Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI):
At anytime, should you wish to contact the board and provide feedback, please feel free to reach out to us personally or by email at: secretary@albertanps.com