Across the province many Healthy Babies Healthy Children programs are welcoming public health nurses who have been working in vaccine clinics or in case and contact management back to home visiting. Teams are also orienting new nurses to this multi-faceted program for pregnant individuals and families with young children. The PHN-PREP research team is collaborating with Public Health Ontario to evaluate the reinstatement of Healthy Babies Healthy Children services to families across Ontario. In our interviews with managers, one sentiment we frequently hear is that “nurses are returning to a changed program.” This means that returning (or new) nurses are learning new protocols for connecting with families through virtual and modified modes of in-person contacts and enhancing their skills to identify, assess and respond to the increased health and social needs of families. Recently, we spoke with nurses and managers from across the province and asked them to share their what information and strategies they are including in their new program orientation packages! We summarized these tips and highlight them in our new PHN-PREP resource, “(Re) Orientation Checklist for Public Health Nurses in Home Visitation Programs.”
