The theme in Canada for Black History Month 2022 is February and Forever: Celebrating Black History today and every day. Canada’s heritage has been shaped by Black people and their communities since the early 1600s with the arrival of Mathieu Da Costa, a navigator and interpreter, and the first man of African heritage to visit and live in Canada. It is important that we honour the enormous contributions made by Black people throughout Canadian history and acknowledge that those contributions continue to be made within Canadian society and healthcare daily.
At Nurses Specialized in Wound, Ostomy and Continence Canada, we celebrate resiliency, innovation and determination as we work towards establishing an inclusive and diverse culture where each and every individual has the opportunity to thrive. We commit to improving wound, ostomy and continence care by promoting cultural competency, which is the ability of healthcare providers to offer services that meet the unique linguistic, social and cultural needs of the patients in our nursing specialty.
We acknowledge that what happened in the past has shaped and directed where we are heading in the future. Therefore, it is of paramount importance that we recognize the importance of Black History Month in February and every day to support our path towards inclusivity and diversity and the end of anti-Black racism and discrimination in Canada.
