Amid the ongoing nursing shortage, a Niagara Falls family is feeling the effects of the crisis.

6-year-old Bianca Guilgotta lives with a tracheostomy tube and her family says a nurse is required to be by her side when school begins.

The province has a mandate for a trained medical professional to assist children like Bianca but the nursing shortage has left her parents, Jessie and Robert, wanting to help Bianca in class themselves, or find someone else qualified to assist their daughter. They fear Bianca will miss the in-person experience for the third year in a row.

“The superintendent at the school says the only way to do that is if the government made a change, so we’re here to pave the way for that,” Robert said.

The Niagara Falls family says when Bianca was four months old she developed a pulmonary hypertension condition and needed a tracheostomy and a ventilator. Today, she can speak and is eager to go back to school but needs the right person to feed and suction her at all times.

The Niagara Catholic District School Board tells CHCH News it won’t comment on the specific matter but adds, “Niagara Catholic fully complies with the Ministry of Education’s guidance on all matters, including PPM 81…”

PPM 81 is a Ministry of Education policy that directs health services in schools. The education body then referred to the Ministry of Health which provides the services.

CHCH News has yet to hear back from the Ministry of Health.