Info re: Advocacy about Family Presence during COVID - due May 14, 2020

[A Former User]

All: Patient Critical, a PAN-Canadian advocacy group has initiated this. While PAN is NOT an advocacy group and therefore cannot participate as an organization, some of you may be interested in supporting this as individuals.

"A devastating consequence of Canada's response the COVID-19 crisis is the blanket ban on caregiver and family presence in healthcare. Healthcare workers lack the capacity to take on traditional family and caregiver duties, and patients are suffering increased oversights, accidents and trauma.

Eight weeks into Canada's pandemic response, worst-case models of infection and mortality have been avoided, thanks to government response from the federal to the municipal, a public commitment to social distancing and our heroic front-line workers. But the harm of isolating patients from their caregivers is mounting, and in many healthcare facilities there is no reasonable or timely way for caregivers to appeal for access.

As governments plan how to re-open elements of our communities, now is the time to reaffirm our support of families and caregivers. On behalf of individuals and organizations across the country, we ask that all governments and institutions immediately enact clear and transparent caregiver access and appeal policies. *

To add your organization's name to the above statement, please fill out this online form by Thursday, May 14 at 5 pm ET. Please note that the language in the statement cannot be edited. We'll be releasing the statement publicly on Friday, May 15.

You'll be free to post the statement on your own websites after that. In the meantime, please share the statement with your networks and encourage them to sign on.

You may also appreciate this roundtable podcast with Co-op members Julie Drury, Claire Snyman, Maggie Keresteci and Melissa Jones speaking in their private capacity as caregivers: https://patientcritical.com/podcast/caregiver-family-presence-roundtable/ Together, we can make this happen! Thank you for your support. In solidarity, PJ Mierau"