National Nursing Week — The Power of Nurses to Transform Health
Who is Partners In Community Nursing (PICN) and who is this National Nursing Week page for?
TL;DR: Partners In Community Nursing (PICN) is a community nursing and home care organization serving Durham Region since 1998; this PICN Blog page celebrates PICN nurses and speaks to families, caregivers, and people considering nursing roles with PICN. PICN provides community nursing and home care across Durham Region, including Oshawa, Pickering, Whitby and Ajax, and was established in 1998. The National Nursing Week 2025 post on the PICN Blog highlights the nursing team and visiting nurses who deliver pediatric, shift and home-based services to pediatric clients, parents and families, and aims to build awareness, trust and connections to careers and service request pathways.
What nursing services does PICN highlight in this National Nursing Week post?
TL;DR: The post spotlights PICN’s dual programs—overnight Shift Nursing and daytime Visiting Nursing—alongside community services such as pediatric nursing, IV therapy, palliative care, wound and ostomy care, and foot care. The article describes PICN’s community nursing model and names shift-program nurses (night guardians) and visiting-program nurses (road warriors) as core delivery modes. It references pediatric clinical skills and other in-scope services such as IV Therapy, Palliative Care, Wound Care, Ostomy Care and Foot Care, notes services are delivered in homes and schools, and points to the online service request form and contact numbers to initiate care.
Do you offer overnight shift nursing for children with complex needs in Durham Region?
TL;DR: Yes—PICN offers overnight Shift Nursing delivered by shift nurses to provide continuous monitoring and night-time care for medically complex children across Durham Region. Shift-program nurses are part of PICN’s nursing team and deliver shift nursing in the home setting, providing monitoring of vents, oxygen sats, seizure patterns, precise nocturnal meds and feeds, and trend charting to guide daytime caregivers. PICN maintains a 24-hour emergency protocol instructing families to call 911 for life-threatening events and to use the main PICN contact for non-urgent issues; specific scheduling and fees are arranged at intake and are not specified on the landing page.
How can families request PICN services such as palliative care, IV therapy, or visiting nursing?
TL;DR: Families can request services via PICN’s online Service Request Form or by calling PICN’s local or toll-free numbers; Ontario Health at Home can also provide referrals or coordination for palliative care. PICN maintains an online JotForm-based service request form linked from service pages to initiate care for palliative, IV, foot and other services, and lists contact points including the local number 905.665.1711 and a toll-free line 1-800-564-9534. For funded or coordinated palliative assessments, Ontario Health at Home may fund or coordinate service and provides a referral pathway; in emergencies follow PICN’s emergency protocol and call 911.
What qualifications and safety measures do PICN nurses have for caring for medically complex children?
TL;DR: PICN visiting and shift nurses hold specialized clinical skills and receive targeted training such as CAPCE for palliative care, and PICN works with professional associations like NSWOCC for ostomy and wound expertise. Visiting nurses and shift nurses deliver services that require enteral feeding, tracheostomy and ventilator care, central venous line management and home infusion therapy; Program CAPCE enhances competency for palliative care, Org NSWOCC supports ostomy care, and PICN’s clinical approach references evidence-based practice and staff well-being to support safe, family-centred care. The landing page and knowledge graph do not list individual licences; families can contact PICN for credential verification.
Where does PICN deliver care and which communities in Durham Region are served?
TL;DR: PICN serves Durham Region including Oshawa, Pickering, Whitby and Ajax, delivering care in homes, schools, retirement communities and coordinating with hospitals for transitions. PICN delivers community and home care across Durham Region and lists specific cities served; services are delivered in Setting_Home and Setting_School and in retirement communities, visiting nurses practice in these settings, and PICN coordinates with hospitals for inpatient-to-home transitions. The Whitby office is listed as a contact location; coverage details are arranged through the service request form or direct contact.
Why choose PICN’s dual-program model of Shift Nursing (night) and Visiting Nursing (day)?
TL;DR: PICN’s dual-program model combines overnight monitoring and daytime home visits to create an unbroken circle of care that reduces hospital visits, improves family quality of life, and supports both families and nurses. The combined Service_ShiftNursing and visiting nursing model reduces costs through early intervention, improves family quality of life via home and school support, and builds capacity as parents gain skills. PICN embodies values such as flexibility and family-centred care and offers employment pathways like the Visiting Nursing and Shift Nursing programs; specific contract terms or pricing are not detailed on the landing page.
What should families do in an emergency and how does PICN support crisis prevention and after-hours care?
TL;DR: For life‑threatening emergencies follow PICN’s emergency protocol and call 911; PICN maintains 24‑hour support protocols and directs non‑urgent calls to its main contact number. PICN maintains an emergency protocol that instructs clients to use the emergency number 911 for urgent events and to call the main PICN contact for non-urgent support; Principle Crisis Prevention and 24-hour strategies inform their palliative and shift-nursing services to anticipate complications and avoid emergency visits. The landing page emphasizes continuity of care but does not state exact response timelines, so families should confirm on-call details via PICN’s service request form or phone contacts.