National Nursing Week runs May 6 to 12 and this year's theme is “Changing Lives. Shaping Tomorrow.”

Visit Shared Health’s Nursing Week webpage to nominate a nurse, download a Nursing Week themed MS Teams background or read more inspiring stories about nurses from across the province.

Amanda Mann’s childhood was punctuated by interactions with the health system. Frequently in and out of hospital, she had a front-row view of the fast-paced – and often hectic – moments within health care.



“As a kid, seeing the doctors, nurses and health-care workers in very busy and chaotic situations, act in such a calm and confident way really interested me,” Amanda said. “They just knew what to do. I would watch them and think ‘I want to do that one day.'”

As her personal experiences turned into a calling, Mann began to pursue opportunities in health care, volunteering during her high school years in the local candy striper program at Percy E. Moore Hospital in Hodgson. The facility has played a central role in Amanda's decade of nursing and it's where she continues to work today.

“I have been here a long time,” laughed Amanda, who has worked in several roles at the hospital since her volunteer days, including in medical records, as a health-care aide and as an office assistant. “I was drawn to the leadership involved in nursing and decided to go back to school to become a licensed practical nurse and, of course, came back to Percy E. Moore.”

Raised in Peguis First Nation, located on Treaty 1 Land in the Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority, the opportunity work and provide care at the community’s hospital has been a guiding light throughout Amanda’s journey as a nurse.

Read more.

Doris Bear

Health Director

Peguis First Nation

Charmaine Raynor

Home and Community Care Coordinator

Peguis First Nation

Denise Bear

Nurse in Charge

Peguis First Nation

As health director for Peguis First Nation, Doris Bear manages over 80 staff including 14 nurses. There is one thing that binds them all and that influences their care for their clients.

“The important piece of the team is the communication. Nurses all collaborate and work well together. We are working towards improvement and having a heathy community,” Doris said. “Community members look forward to their visits. Our reserve is so widespread. . .they know the issues with each of the clients that they serve.”

One of the nurses on Doris’ team is Charmaine Raynor, home and community care coordinator in Peguis. Prior to becoming an LPN, she worked as a health care aide alongside nurses in Peguis and Fisher Personal Care Home. The work of her nursing colleagues got her interested in the profession but it was her mother’s cancer diagnosis 20 years ago and the care Charmaine provided to her that propelled her to nursing school in her late 30s. 

“I had my aha moment. I give this all to my mother where I am today. She gives me my strength and my push,” Charmaine said. 

Another member of Doris’ nursing team is Denise Bear, nurse in charge in Peguis.

She graduated from RRC Polytech’s inner city nursing program designed to support students with families as her daughter was young at the time.

“I’ve always felt like I have a caring compassion side. It hurts when I see people hurting. I’ve always been interested in science and learning-how the body works and gaining theory. I found it interesting and challenging,” Denise said. 

Read the full story.

To say nursing is in Patrice Lee’s blood would be an understatement.

That’s because she represents the third generation of nurses in her family.

“Both my grandmother and mother were nurses,” says Lee, who is in her 26th year of nursing. “So my decision to go into nursing was a natural one. I couldn’t see myself doing anything else.”

That said, when she graduated from the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology Kelsey campus in Saskatoon (now known as Saskatchewan Polytechnic) in 1998, there weren’t a lot of opportunities for new graduates.

“I ended up getting on at Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon working in the acute medicine unit,” she recalls. “It was a busy unit where I dealt with respiratory issues and kidney transplants. It was a really good experience.”

Two years later, she moved east to take on a new challenge.

“I moved to Winnipeg and landed at Seven Oaks General Hospital in Winnipeg. During my 12 years there, I had lots of different opportunities, including being discharge co-ordinator and working in emergency.”

After doing about 15 years of frontline acute work, she decided to go back to school to upgrade her nursing credentials while still finding the time to practice her profession.

As fate would have it, she would have the opportunity to experience another layer of the profession, this time outside Winnipeg.

“A rural position opened, and I made the difficult decision to leave Concordia and go to Stonewall,” she says. “I was there for five years, and then the opportunity for director of health services with the Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority came open. That’s where I am now. It’s been quite a journey.”

Read the full story published in the Free Press.

An emergency department nurse at Selkirk Regional Health Centre is among 40 Red River College Polytechnic (RRC Polytech) grads being highlighted in a campaign promoting alumni who are working across a wide range of career paths.

Melissa Williams is a registered nurse who started working at Selkirk Regional Health Centre in 2022 upon graduation from RRC Polytech’s bachelor of nursing program. She is currently pictured on a billboard on Selkirk’s Main Street across from Dairy Queen.

“The reason I did this campaign was to help with the recruitment of new nurses to our region,” Melissa said. “I have always been a nurturer and wanted to take care of people. I am also very fascinated with learning about medicine and the human body. My mother was also a nurse so health care is in the family and comes naturally to us.”

She wanted to work at Selkirk Regional Health Centre because it’s the regional centre for patient care. When she encounters a nursing colleague who also graduated from RRC Polytech, she says she feels a kinship.

“I am usually impressed with their level of experience and critical thinking skills. I have found most RRC grads to be very well educated and experienced from their previous clinicals,” Williams said. 

Partnerships with educational institutions and communities are proving valuable in encouraging people to pursue careers in health care and take positions in Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority (RHA).

“Providing training opportunities in Interlake-Eastern RHA and opening our facilities to learners exposes them to our staff, our facilities, our processes and our culture. These are among our best opportunities to attract new staff,” said Tanya Cheetham, regional lead acute care, public health and chief nursing officer.

Over the next two months, dozens of billboards will be visible in Winnipeg and Portage la Prairie in addition to the one in Selkirk. Print and online ads are also part of this campaign.

Read more.

Pictured left to right: Sara-Lea Fehr, SRHC emergency department education coordinator; Jennifer Lindenschmidt, regional acute care educator; Melissa Wiebe, regional acute care educator; and Marie Grandmont, WRHA regional emergency nurse educator at the ENPC Instructor Course.  

Working with acute care leads, Interlake Eastern Health Foundation successfully applied for and received a grant from RBC Foundation as part of their “Supporting Nurses” initiative.

This grant will support training at the instructor level for IERHA educators, who are then able to take the trainings into the community and provide training for staff closer to home.

Educators recently participated in Emergency Nursing Pediatric Course (ENPC) instructor course and are now certified as instructors to deliver this training in the region.

Do you know someone who is currently completing education towards a health-care profession?

IERHA offers an opportunity to apply for student education funding to help recruit and retain health-care workers in our region.

Full-time and part-time students who are pursuing a career in health care may be eligible for a pre-determined monetary amount per academic year.

Applicants must be currently completing an accredited education program leading to a degree, diploma or certificate in a health-care profession.

Applicants shall be considered based on the following:

• An employee of the Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority who holds an FTE
• Self-identifying Indigenous students
• Residents of Interlake-Eastern region

In support of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada Report and in order to meet the Interlake-Eastern RHA objective of a population-based regional representative workplace, comprised of an appropriate Indigenous workforce of 27%, the following shall apply:

Except where provided otherwise in a Collective Agreement, where candidate qualifications and experience are determined to be equal by the employer, first consideration shall be given to Indigenous (First Nations, or Inuit) applicants.

Provision of funding is conditional upon a return-of-service agreement, based on full-time hours for that classification for each year assistance is provided.

More information is available in this student education funding brochure or on StaffNet.

Applications are accepted from April 1 to June 30 each year. Click here for the application form. Successful candidates will be determined by a selection committee.

The acute care education team along with clinical process improvement facilitator Steve Klassen recently visited Eriksdale Hospital to provide mock code blue education. This includes scenarios that a rural ER may encounter. It is an opportunity to have a safe learning environment and to work and grow as a health-care team. From left to right: Jessica Bullen, acute care educator; Shanley Sigfusson, LPN, senior practicum student; Patty Anderson, LPN, Eriksdale; Ellen Reiman, acute care educator; Rebecca Desjarlais, CRN, Eriksdale; Dr. Faragalla; Steve Klassen, clinical process improvement facilitator.

1.Staff should only access a patient/ client’s Personal Health Information if they need to know it to do their job.

Always consider the "need to know" rule before accessing patient information:

• LOOK only if you need to know.
• ASK only if you need to know.
• TELL only if they need to know to do their job.

This applies to all electronic records, paper records, and verbal reports.

2.Always LOCK your workstation when you step away from it, even if you are just stepping away for a minute. We have been made aware that there are workstations being left unattended and unlocked. This is creating an unnecessary privacy risk, which could lead to a privacy breach.

Remember – Your user name + Your Password = You! You are responsible for anything done within an electronic system under your name.

3.Scheduled and random audits are performed on all electronic systems routinely to ensure staff are compliant with access to personal health information under PHIA.

Indigenous human resources officer Lori Buors' grandson Armand designed a T-shirt that was worn in a fundraising event in Woodlands on May 2. The event benefits Sam Madden, a Woodlands School student who is awaiting a lung transplant.

So far, the event has raised more than $17,000 and counting. 

In the photo, Armand is pictured on the right alongside Sam.

Read the story in the Stonewall Teulon Tribune.

Thank you to Lori Buors for this submission. 

Send your answers to Samantha Roberts, manager of occupational safety and health, at SRoberts@ierha.ca. The deadline to enter is May 17.

In honour of Mental Health Awareness Month, the Interlake Regional Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) program, is bringing attention to the secondary impacts mental health has on individuals with FASD. FASD is a lifelong, multifaceted neurodevelopmental disability. FASD is a hidden disability that affects the brain and body. It’s the leading developmental disability in Canada affecting 4% to 5% the population. FASD correlation to mental illness is quite high. Read more.

Thank you to Cara-Lee Pollock, occupational therapist and FASD diagnostic coordinator, for this submission. Image retrieved from: Hamilton FASD Collaborative.

May is Vasculitis Awareness Month, a time dedicated to shedding light on the rare forms of vasculitis.

This rare disorder causes the immune system to attack blood vessels. 

Vasculitis is an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation and narrowing of blood vessels (arteries, veins and capillaries). These vessels carry blood to and from the heart and the body’s organs. Learn more.

Thanks for this submission goes to Adeline (Vicki) Reid-Kush, ward clerk at Pine Falls Hospital, who has small vessel vasculitis.

Is your profession or department celebrating an upcoming recognition day? We'd love to share in the excitement! Please send us a brief write-up (250 words maximum) plus a few staff photos for consideration for possible publication in the Wave. Send submissions to ierhawave@ierha.ca.

Required training for Workplace Safety and Health

committee members

The Workplace Safety and Health Committee In-Person Training has added extra workshops due to demand.

• Stonewall & District Health Centre – 8.30 a.m. 4 p.m. on June 6 (Full)
• Beausejour Health Centre – 8.30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sept. 12 (Spaces available)
• Lac Du Bonnet Health Centre – 8.30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sept. 19 (Spaces available)

This course provides workplace safety and health committee members and worker safety and health representatives with an understanding of their roles, duties and responsibilities pertaining to workplace safety and health.

This course outlines the legal requirements surrounding workplace safety and health committees and worker safety and health representatives, as well as the process to address concerns and make recommendations on safety and health issues.

To register, email or call Samantha Roberts, manager occupational safety & health, at sroberts@ierha.ca or 204-485-5386 or sign up at your next WS&H Committee meeting.

ASIST: Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training

June 13 and 14 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Selkirk Regional Health Centre.

Participants must attend the two full days to receive certificate of completion.

Learn more. 

TREKK Virtual Education Sessions

The University of Manitoba and Translating Emergency Knowledge for Kids (TREKK) is providing free virtual outreach sessions for health professionals seeking education and tools for assessing and treating pediatric emergencies in the general ED.

• May 15: Severe Asthma – led by Dr. Darcy Beer
• June 19: Multisystem Trauma – led by Dr. Karen Gripp

Register here for the sessions. For any questions, contact mateja.carevic@umanitoba.ca

Click here to see a poster.

As a member of IERHA, you are eligible for exclusive savings on TELUS products and services.

Click here to see this month's offers.

SoftMoc invites IERHA employees to save on regular and sale priced merchandise.

Learn more about the program.

Bilingual employees that are willing and able to provide service in French are encouraged to wear one of the green Hello/Bonjour identifying items available from French Language Services. Tent and wall cards are also available. 



The following items are available free of charge:



• Lanyard
• Badge pull
• Tent card for desk
• Wall sticker

Email frenchlanguage@ierha.ca to request identifiers and for more information.

We're taking a break from publishing editions in weeks following statutory holidays.

There will be no issue of the Wednesday Wave published on May 22.