B.C. Nurses’ Union president Christine Sorenson has resigned as president amid the ongoing pandemic.
Sorenson has resigned due to personal reasons “and to pursue other opportunities,” reads a short statement posted on the union’s website Monday evening (Sept. 20).
Sorenson was elected vice-president of the union in 2012, 2014 and 2017, and later served as acting president before being appointed president in 2018.
Earlier this month, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix announced a vaccine mandate for all health care staff.
The B.C. Nurses’ Union said in a statement to Black Press Media on Sept. 16 that it “cannot support any order which will serve to remove even a single nurse or other health care worker from the healthcare system at a time of severe crisis.”
The BCNU said further that while it “strongly encourages” everyone, nurses included, to get vaccinated against COVID-19, the union “expects government and health employers to avoid any measures that may take nurses away from providing patient care.”
In a separate statement, the BCNU said it expects the province to come up with contingency plans if nurses quit in large numbers, citing pre-pandemic estimates that show B.C. will be 24,000 nurses short by 2029.
– with files from Katya Slepian
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