Ontario Nurses’ Association Submission on Rural and Northern Health Care/March 17, 2011 2 6. The need for patient transfers in rural and northern Ontario will be reduced significantly with the establishment of the bundle of basic care elaborated in Recommendations 3, 4 and 5. To respond to patient transfer and transportation needs, which will always exist, a plan must be devised and resourced for [...] Given the need for RNs to be “expert generalists” in rural and northern regions, experienced RNs are particularly important in rural and northern Ontario for the transfer of knowledge and skills to new graduates. [...] A program to recruit and support low-income nursing students already based in rural and northern Ontario, as elaborated in Recommendation 9, is the longer term solution to the shortage of RNs in rural and northern Ontario. [...] ONA commends the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) for focusing on the health care needs of those living in rural and Northern Ontario, communities which have been particularly vulnerable to hospital closures and other forms of health care service reduction in recent years.1 We welcome the creation of a point of accountability within the MOHLTC focused on rural and northern health. [...] Ontario Nurses’ Association Submission on Rural and Northern Health Care/March 17, 2011 5 Recommendation 1. Given the historic role of RNs as key providers of health care in rural and Northern Ontario, the expertise of front line RNs should be made part of the basis for further development of the rural and northern healthcare framework, whether through the Local Health Integration Networks or othe