Retired Montreal nurse wants to help fight COVID-19, but not without being vaccinated
Evelyn Grunstein's first challenge was to just get hired, but then she worried about being exposed to virus
When Evelyn Grunstein heard Quebec needed help on the front lines, she decided it was time to come out of retirement and return to nursing — a job she did for more than three decades in Montreal and around the world.
"Well it was like a call to action. I'm used to that kind of thing," she said.
"I'm used to you know jumping into a trauma situation, last minute, and I never know what I'm going to find there. So this is the same kind of thing. You called, I'm here."
The only problem was, there was no hotline to call or any obvious way to hop back on the front lines.
"I had a lot of work to do to find out where to call in order to apply," Grunstein said. "You can't just call the premier's office and say, 'hey, I'm available'."
Finally, she saw there was plenty of recruiting online, and as soon as she put her name out there, she had several job offers to both test for COVID-19 and join the vaccination campaign.
Grunstein said she was eager to get started, but it's also clear people over 65 years of age are at greatest risk of developing complications or dying from the disease.
Vaccination is a must, Grunstein says
Grunstein is 70, and she realized she would need to be vaccinated if she was going to be out there administering hundreds of tests or inoculations each week.
But the former ER nurse soon discovered that getting vaccinated was no easy task, even if she has job offers pouring in.
"I have the kind of skills people are asking for, and I'm ready, willing and able," said Grunstein, who taught nursing at John Abbott College.
"Some of them hire and they say OK, we'll hire you, but we have no vaccination for you."
WATCH | Retired nurse talks about her urge to return to work:
Just like there is a severe shortage of nurses and other hospital staff, Quebec is lacking in vaccines. Grunstein knows that and she certainly doesn't want to cut in line.
But, she said, she's not going to work without being vaccinated.
Health agencies vaccinate new hires
CBC News reached out to multiple regional health authorities in the Montreal area. In Laval, a spokesperson for the health agency says it has hired retired nurses to help with vaccination and those nurses were vaccinated.
The CIUSSS Centre-Ouest Montréal, on the other hand, doesn't vaccinate nurses who aren't already on staff.
Spokesperson Carl Thériault said the health authority is in the process of vaccinating more than 4,500 health-care workers, including nurses, who are in direct contact with vulnerable patients and long-term residents.
"We do not vaccinate retired nurses who are not members of our staff," he said, describing it as the health ministry's directive.
"However, if retired nurses return to work and are in contact with the clientele mentioned above, they would be eligible for the vaccine."
Until then, Grunstein said she has a message for Quebec Premier François Legault.
"We're at war with the virus," she said. "We need to do whatever we can to win."
Based on a report by Simon Nakonechny
