Bancroft council unanimously passed a motion Tuesday to declare May 11th to the 17th National Nurses Week, and 2020 as International Year of the Nurse and Midwife.
National Nursing Week was started in 1985 by the Canadian Nurses Association and has been held every year since across the Country. The World Health Organization declared 2020Â to be the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife earlier this month. Bancroft Mayor Paul Jenkins adds that Hastings County council added personal support workers to their resolution.
Jenkins said during council on Tuesday that there’s “no doubt” people have a new appreciation for nurses. “Many of us already realize the job that they do and the pressures they’re under and the funding that the was lacking in the system,” he added. He said the COVID-19 pandemic has “woken everybody up” to the issues nurses face on a day-to-day basis both on and off the job.
“I admire them for what they’re doing,” Councillor Wayne Wiggins said during the conversation about the motion. “They’re putting their lives on the line to keep us safe.” He said his son-in-law is a nurse and he’s proud of the work he does everybody.
“As we move down the road we have to access our priorities,” he said. Jenkins said he believes changed are coming to healthcare. “Not that this pandemic is positive by any stretch of the migration but I think there are some things that have come out of it that will hopefully bring forward positive change in the healthcare system,” he added.