IBAO makes donation to Ontario nurses

The Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario (IBAO) has announced that it has made a donation of $110,000 to the Registered Nurses’ Foundation of Ontario (RNFOO).

In a release, the association said that it made the donation on behalf of its members across the province of Ontario. RNFOO offers scholarships, grants, and awards to Ontario nurses and nursing students.

“We are so grateful for this generous donation—it will go a long way toward supporting future nurses and helping today’s nurses continue their education—making improvements in patient care,” said RNFOO president Margaret Blastorah. “As we all know, Ontario is experiencing a critical nursing shortage, so it’s never been more important to encourage more people to become nurses and enable practising nurses to realize their full potential.”

RNFOO was chosen as IBAO’s official charity partner during the association’s annual convention last October. It was also during the event where the funds were raised – a portion of every registration to the IBAO Annual Convention was set aside for the donation.

During the annual convention, RNFOO joined the Awards of Excellence Gala to share more about its cause with attendees. Convention attendees were also offered the opportunity to contribute more via donations.

During the CEO panel at the event, IBAO CEO Colin Simpson announced that there will be an additional contribution of $10,000 to the RNFOO in the names of the four CEO panelists: CAA Insurance group president Matthew Turack; Definity Financial president & CEO Rowan Saunders; Intact Financial Corporation Canada CEO Louis Gagnon; and Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Canadian P&C EVP & president Carol Jardine.

“In the past few years, almost everyone has either personally or had someone close to them have some interaction with our health care system,” said Colin Simpson. “It’s crucially important that we support nurses, because they are who care for all of us when we need them—they are truly the immune system of our society.