Managing HR and Supporting Staff through COVID 19: Q&A with Maria McDonald

This email was sent to EDs/Administrative Leads of AFHTO member organizations.
 
1. Managing HR and Supporting Staff through COVID 19: Q&A with Maria McDonald
Over the past 2 months Primary Care has quickly transitioned to provide the ‘new normal’ of care delivery during COVID-19. Teams became virtual overnight, accommodations were made to ensure the safety of staff and patients, and the sector implemented a range of primary care-based initiatives to enable more patients to stay at home and avoid unnecessary hospital visits during this pandemic.

But change is not always easy and as the crisis continues, staff fatigue, anxiety and questions about the future of care delivery are beginning to arise. For many staff, balancing work load and caring for family members is becoming more and more challenging. How do we support staff, recognize their efforts, and provide the flexibility needed while maintaining equity in the workplace? For advice on these questions and more, join us for a one hour webcast hosted by Maria McDonald of McDonald HR Law.

• Date: Thursday, May 14th 1-2 p.m.
• Please register here: *this webcast in intended for EDs/managers only. All registrants will be authorized by AFHTO to attend. Please submit your questions for Maria via the registration link so she can prepare her presentation accordingly.

2. Ontario Health Request for Support
Ontario Health is reaching out to health care organizations asking for assistance in settings with urgent needs. We ask all teams to consider their capacity and identify HR availability to help with the following:

• Provide staff needed to go into LTC homes to do PSW-type work. The greatest need is PSWs but if there are other staff willing to help out from an administrative point of view, it would be helpful. Answering phones and delivering meals are some examples of the types of support that is needed.
• Anyone that is able to support the Northern rural areas is also being requested as the hospitals and LTC homes are at or close to 100% occupancy.

Please fill out this survey identifying name and type of staff available, email address, availability (number of days per week, shift and number of weeks available) and we will coordinate with Ontario Health/Regional tables to facilitate the deployment of people to settings of highest need in each region. We anticipate the pandemic pay order will be applicable to staff redeployed to both hospital and LTC homes. We also suggest that each team connect locally with their hospitals to let them know if they are able to offer staffing if needed.

3. Support for COVID related mental health issues
The Ontario Psychological Association has set up a network of psychologists who can provide no-cost short term mental health support for COVID related mental health issues to both patients and front line workers. Find out more regarding these two opportunities for mental health support (please do not forward this letter).