National Nursing Week

The theme for this year’s National Nursing Week is “The Power of Nurses to Transform Health↗.” This theme resonates with the work being done every day by nurses across our city and reflects the role of nurses at Ottawa Public Health (OPH). 

Nurses at OPH are champions for community health. They contribute meaningfully to improving the health and well-being for the residents of Ottawa. Their dedication, expertise, and commitment make them invaluable assets in addressing the underlying determinants of health within communities and promoting health equity.

Here are just a few examples of how OPH nurses are transforming health:

• Immunization nurses deliver one of public health’s most visible and impactful services every day. Working in neighbourhood hubs, community clinics, and schools across the city, they provide timely, accessible vaccines where they are needed most.
  
  Between March 2025 and March 2026, the team administered more than 35,000 routine vaccine doses to children and youth aged 0–17, approximately 7,000 more than the previous year, helping protect the health of communities across Ottawa.

• Nurses in the Infectious Disease Program manage nearly 8,000 infectious disease cases each year while leading a major initiative to modernize workflows through the implementation of electronic health records. Since 2025, nurses have been planning, developing, and onboarding diseases of public health significance into the system to improve documentation and program efficiency.

• In the Harm Reduction program, nurses work in a highly specialized field that requires clinical expertise, adaptability, and compassion.
  
  Through outreach, mobile services, and clinic care, they support people facing barriers to traditional health services by meeting them where they are without judgment and with deep respect. Every day, they help prevent overdoses, reduce infections, and build meaningful connections to care, strengthening the health and wellbeing of the community.

• Nurses in the Chronic Disease Prevention and System Integration Unit and the Health Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Unit are helping build healthier, more connected communities across Ottawa.
  
  Through programs like Aging Well in Ottawa, they bring preventative care, and wellness supports closer to home, while also strengthening partnerships, advancing health equity initiatives, and improving access to coordinated care in priority neighbourhoods across the city.

This week, we honour the contributions of all nurses at OPH and their achievements as they transform systems, improve access, and shape a healthier future for the residents of our city.