N.B. nurses travel to Yukon to give COVID vaccines after coming back from retirement
Northern Lights, sled dog racing, friendly people all highlight a work adventure that was once in a lifetime
Beth McGinnis and June MacDonald never imagined coming out of retirement in their 60s would lead them to the Yukon.
But that's where the two Fredericton women found themselves this month, answering a call for help from Whitehorse.
This winter, the latest wave of COVID-19 managed to infect some of Canada's most remote communities and even crossed the Arctic Circle.
In response to rising cases, the Yukon government advertised for nurses willing to fly in, to help with the response.
By the time they saw that ad, McGinnis and MacDonald, both 67, had been "unretired" for nearly a full year.
Since February 2021, they had been working five days a week in various vaccination clinics, mainly in Fredericton.
And according to the Nurses Association of New Brunswick, a lot of nurses, in the face of the pandemic, chose not to stay home.
Over the past two years, the association issued short-term nursing licences, or emergency temporary registrations, to 297 non-practising or retired nurses to assist in COVID-19 relief efforts.
That's what made it possible for McGinnis and MacDonald to return to the frontlines. The chance to take their skills to another part of the country seemed too important to pass up.
"I thought about it for 10 seconds," McGinnis said. "And then I said, 'Let's do it.'"
McGinnis and MacDonald also embraced the idea of going together as friends.
They had known each other for the better part of their 40-year nursing careers and had taught together at the Saint John School of Nursing.
"We're not afraid of hard work," McGinnis said." And we also have a good time."
Reached by video, near the end of their month-long stint, both agreed that the experience was richer than they dreamed.
"I feel very humbled that people trust me to put this vaccine into their bodies and do it right and give them the right information," MacDonald said.
"To come here to the Yukon and have these people be so welcoming, and they're expressing how great it is that we've come to help them with their COVID response — that's just been wonderful."
Two weeks after arriving in Whitehorse, McGinnis flew into Old Crow, home to the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation.
The community of about 250 people lies about 800 kilometres north of Whitehorse and is only accessible by air.
Furthermore, visitors had been banned by a 90-day emergency order issued in November. Only essential workers could make it past the airport.
Despite a high vaccination rate, McGinnis said there were 15 cases in December, and when she arrived, people were still feeling rattled.
"It was a frightful time and they were still speaking about how afraid they were that their community was going to be wiped out," she said.
Her main tasks were to give booster shots to elders and second doses to kids.
She made a lot of friendly phone calls from the old Crow Health Centre, where she had accommodations, along with all the other health-care providers who flew in to work on a rotational basis.
While McGinnis worked in Old Crow, MacDonald was dispatched to Pelly Crossing, home to the Selkirk First Nation.
She drove herself about 300 km north on the Klondike Highway in a four-wheel drive Subaru loaded with emergency supplies, vaccines and a satellite phone.
She had strict instructions not to leave her vehicle in the event of a breakdown, and her trip was monitored, start to finish. If she didn't check in safely along the way, including a stop at Carmacks, she was told a team would be sent down the highway to find her.
"They were so kind to me," MacDonald said. "They were very kind, very welcoming and very supportive.
One of the highlights of the trip was seeing the Northern Lights.
"It was this beautiful green and it pulses," she said. "That's the only way I can describe it."
Return to work in Fredericton
On Thursday, McGinnis and MacDonald were due to board a flight out of Whitehorse at six o'clock in the morning. Assuming no delays, they expected to be back in Fredericton before midnight.
After a short rest, they plan to be back at work in the clinics.
They said coming back to the job, getting re-educated and trained and learning to work with the systems in different jurisdictions, has given them a renewed sense of confidence.
McGinnis said her favourite part is taking care of people.
"At the end of the day, I'm good at this," she said. "I'm not trying to toot my own horn, but I am giving as much as I possibly can."
Both of them also agree the trip to the Yukon was the icing on the cake.
"It's been a wonderful opportunity," MacDonald said. "I can't say enough about the support we've had here and how kind and generous the people are. That's one of the greatest parts of this whole trip is the people that we've met. And we've made some good friends, I think."
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