Year: 2007
Location: Edmonton
Profile: Karen Kuprys is a gerontology nurse who was a leading United Nurses of Alberta activist from 1993 to 2021 when she became secretary-treasurer of the Alberta Federation of Labour. Thanks to the Klein cuts, Kuprys was unemployed for six months after graduating as an RN in 1993. Hired by the Youville Home in St. Albert, where she worked for the next 28 years, Kuprys became a specialist in gerontology and an activist on behalf of long-term care patients. For 14 years Kuprys worked night shifts as the only RN along with 4 nursing attendants. She then began working as a day nurse for 30 residents with 3 hours dedicated daily to giving morning medications to residents. When she began her night shift work, Kuprys broke out in a rash daily before work for 6 months. With most patients in LTC suffering from dementia, the issue of aggressive patients who bit and hit healthcare staff was stark. But understaffing meant that finding proper placement for aggressive residents was poorly addressed. Kuprys lauds UNA for its untiring lobbying efforts. UNA members rewarded her activism by naming her their 2020 Bread and Roses award winner for her leadership and advancement of social justice.
Keywords: Aggressive residents in long-term care; Bread and Roses award, UNA; Gerontology nursing; Klein cuts; Long-term care; Secretary-treasurer; Shortstaffing in long-term care; Youville Home.
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See also: Alberta Federation of Labour; Occupational Health and Safety in Alberta; United Nurses of Alberta; Women and Work in Alberta