Lois Ann Fairley

Lois Ann Fairley
Born Lois Ann Cowan
(1931-07-06)July 6, 1931
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Died July 19, 2007(2007-07-19) (aged 76)
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Cause of death Cancer
Occupation Nurse, Patient care advocate, Ontario labour leader, Community Service activist
Years active 1955–1993
Employer Hôtel-Dieu Grace Hospital
Organization Ontario Nurses Association
Spouse(s) Henry William Grant Fairley (m. 1955–2007)
Children
  • Grant D. Fairley
  • Brian M. Fairley
  • John A. Fairley
Parent(s) James Alexander Cowan and Grace Fenwick Williams
Relatives

Lois Ann Fairley (born July 6, 1931 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) was a Canadian nurse, a patient care advocate, an Ontario labour leader, and a community service activist.[1]

Personal life

Lois Ann Fairley was born on July 6, 1931 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada to James Alexander Cowan, and Grace Fenwick Williams. She was the granddaughter of the Canadian Presbyterian minister and historian, Hugh Cowan.

She was also the granddaughter of Canadian journalist and historian, Fred Williams; the great-granddaughter of the Victorian era war correspondent, writer and newspaper editor Charles Williams; and the niece of Olympian athlete John Fitzpatrick.

She graduated as a registered nurse at the Grace Hospital and worked there from 1955 until her retirement in 1993. She married Henry William Grant Fairley on 1955.[2]

Career

Nursing

Fairley worked as a registered nurse in her 38 years of nursing career at the Grace Hospital in Windsor, Ontario, Canada from 1955 to 1993. She was noted by her colleagues with her ongoing support for nurses. She served as a head nurse for various departments in the said hospital and acted as mentor to student nurses from St. Clair College and The University of Windsor nursing programmes, and was vocal about the workplace issues such as salary and benefits she knew nurses deserved.[3][4][5][6][7][8]

She was a founding member of the Ontario Nurses Association October 13, 1973. In October 1975, Bernice Hicks became the President and Fairley was elected as the Ontario Nurses Association President-elect. In November 1976, Lois Fairley became President of the Ontario Nurses Association. In January 1977, the Ontario Nurses Association and the Ontario Hospital Association agree that "province-wide bargaining is desirable." During her presidency, the pivotal declaration on the importance of nurses in patient care is released. The ONA Health Review is entitled "Let Us Take Care" and achieves widespread and positive media coverage for nurses in the profession. 120,000 copies are distributed in the first-printing. "The public and media respond with calls with more money for mental health programs, a halt to the decline in health care and an end to abuse in hospitals." Nursing gains a positive reputation in the public. Her term is ended in November 1977 and she is replaced by the next Ontario Nurses Association President Sharon Thompson. Fairley also served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario. She served from 1984-1986 as the RNAO member-at-large for socio-economic welfare. She also championed "Project Turnabout", a support group to help nurses struggling with drug and alcohol addiction.[3][9][10]

Others

She was also involved in a number of charitable and community fund-raising and support programs in Windsor and Essex county including hospice. A room in the Windsor-Essex County Hospice Village is named in her honour. Some of her summers were shared serving children as the camp nurse Forest Cliff Camp, Forest, Ontario where her camp nickname was "Shots."

Recognition

Following her death in 2007, an award for nurses was named after her, the Lois A. Fairley Nurse of the Year Community Service Award. The award was given to nurses in Windsor and Essex area in recognition for the care and compassion to patients, and contributions to the field of nursing. The award is given by the Windsor – Essex Chapter of the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario.[11][12]

Lois A. Fairley Nursing Award recipients since 2008[11][13]
Year Recipient Organization
2016 Marylynn Holzel[14] Windsor Regional Hospital
2015 Rita Di Biase[15] Windsor Regional Hospital
2014 Eva Lewis Leamington District Memorial Hospital
2013 Shauna Carter Hotel-Dieu Grace Hospital
2012 Ursula DeBono Windsor Regional Hospital
2011 Carole Gill The Hospice of Windsor-Essex County
2010 Terry Johnston Windsor Regional Cancer Clinic
2009 Georgina Kelly Hotel-Dieu Grace Hospital
2008 Linda Moroun[16] Windsor Regional Hospital

Death

She died at the age of 76 on July 19, 2007 at the Hospice Village in Windsor, Ontario, Canada after succumbing to cancer.[2][3]

References

  1. ↑ "ONA Past President Passes Away: Nurses Join in Mourning of Lois Fairley, RN". Canada Newswire. July 20, 2007. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
  2. 1 2 "Lois Ann Fairley R.N.". ObitsForLife. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (September–October 2007). "Obituary: Lois Fairley, RN" (PDF). Registered Nurse Journal. 19 (5): 6.
  4. ↑ Gord Henderson (July 15, 1974). "Angry Nurses Seeking Support". Windsor Star. pp. 51–4. Retrieved February 4, 2013. Mrs. Lois Fairley, who represents the Ontario Nurses Association in the tri- county area, said the demonstrations are part of province-wide effort "to ...
  5. ↑ "Hospital Officials Disappointed Over Cutback Order". Windsor Star. January 9, 1976. p. 60. Retrieved February 4, 2013. Lois Fairley, representative of the local Ontario Nurses Association with (ON 1.000 registered nurses in more than four city hospitals, said she didn't know ...
  6. ↑ "Chronic Cases Said Cause Of Hospital Bed Shortages .". Windsor Star. April 7, 1977. p. 60. Retrieved February 4, 2013. At least 40 to 50 chronic patients are occupying active beds in Windsor's four hospitals and are contributing to a shortage of active beds, Lois Fairley, President of the Ontario Nurses' Association said Wednesday.
  7. ↑ Chris Zdeb (November 5, 1979). "Nurses: Overworked, understaffed". Windsor Star. Retrieved February 4, 2013. Lois Fairley, a past president of the Ontario Nursing Association and a head nurse of a medical/surgical ward at Grace Hospital, asks the question but isn't sure of the answer. It's like sitting on a time bomb, she says, and nurses are afraid patients may die because they haven't the time -- or the expertise -- to handle an overloaded roster of duties.
  8. ↑ Chris Vander Doelen (November 23, 1985). "Cutbacks at clinic deplored". Windsor Star. Retrieved February 4, 2013. I think it's really a bad move, and I think it's going to affect the community," said Lois Fairley of the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario, which has grieved the change.
  9. ↑ "Our History 1973-1979". Ontario Nurses' Association. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
  10. ↑ "ONA Milestones - A Retrospective 1973-2012" (PDF). Ontario Nurses Association. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
  11. 1 2 "Lois A. Fairley Nurse of the Year Community Service Award". Windsor – Essex Chapter of the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
  12. ↑ "Nominations open for nurse award". Windsor Star. April 13, 2009. Retrieved January 26, 2013.
  13. ↑ "Leamington hospital nurse Eva Lewis wins award". Windsor Star. April 23, 2014. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
  14. ↑ Cross, Brian (April 12, 2016). "For dedication to patients and community, Marylynn Holzel named Nurse of the Year". Windsor Star. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
  15. ↑ Mary Caton (April 22, 2015). "Rita DiBiase wins prestigious Nursing Award for care and compassion". Windsor Star. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Veteran nurse lauded". Windsor Star. Canada. May 17, 2008. Retrieved January 26, 2013.
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