Health Science Professionals

HSA REPORT MAGAZINE, APRIL 2016 BY LAURA BUSHEIKIN It's not my business. That's what Marjan Szlivka thought when she first heard that registered psychiatric nurses within HSA were being raided by BCNU. In her work as a physiotherapist at Eagle Ridge Hospital in Port Moody, Szlivka didn't work with RPNs, and their situation wasn't on her radar. But once she...

HSA REPORT MAGAZINE, APRIL 2016 CHANGES TO BC LAW WILL REQUIRE MORE EMPLOYEES TO SUBMIT MANDATORY FINGERPRINTS The Criminal Records Review Act provides for mandatory fingerprinting for those employed by health authorities and who work with children or vulnerable adults. The program requires the employee to submit fingerprints to confirm identity if there is an applicant who has a match...

The Health Sciences Association (HSA) and Professional Employees Association (PEA), the two unions that represent psychologists and psychometrists in BC's public health care system, welcome yesterday's Labour Relations Board (LRB) decision to deny a BC Nurses' Union (BCNU) application to further destabilize labour relations in BC's hospitals. The LRB dismissed BCNU's recent application to move some psychologists and psychometrists (testing...

Health science professionals will soon have greater control over their benefits thanks to a new joint benefits trust. The trustees will become part of an innovative and progressive approach that gives them the flexibility to design a benefit structure that aligns with members' needs. It is fitting that health science professionals were first to sign onto this initiative, given how...

HSA, on behalf of the Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association (HSPBA), has now concluded negotiations for a labour adjustment plan with PHSA . This labour adjustment plan will address the implementation of the PHSA laboratory technical leadership redesign in the most supportive and respectful manner for our laboratory technologists. Lab stewards and members have done an exemplary job at articulating...

HSA REPORT MAGAZINE, OCTOBER 2015 HSA health science professionals dominated the field at the 2015 Providence Health Care research challenge The research challenge, now in its fifth year, supports evidence-based innovation to improve patient care. It provides point of care health care workers with no formal research experience an opportunity to conduct research to inform their work in patient care...

Earlier this summer, unions belonging to the Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association reached a settlement agreement in principle with respect to outstanding grievances about 37.5 hour work week process at Vancouver Coastal Health Authority. As a result of this agreement in principle, schedules will not change, but grievors will receive one of two different possible settlements: A bank of three...

A massive redesign of laboratory services in Interior Health Authority was announced this month by the health authority. Changes over the next two years include consolidation of all services to the Kelowna General Hospital lab, and the expanded use of Point of Care (POC) testing. The changes are expected to affect 23 sites across IHA. This week, a team of...

The 2014-2019 HSPBA collective agreement includes provisions committing the Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association (HSPBA) and Health Employers' Association of BC (HEABC) to establish the Joint Health Science Benefits Trust (JHSBT) for provision of health and welfare benefits. The JHSBT will be governed by a Board of Trustees with an equal number of trustees appointed by HSPBA and HEABC, and...

HSA REPORT MAGAZINE, JUNE 2015 BY DENNIS BLATCHFORD HSA PENSIONS AND BENEFITS ADVOCATE Q: I understand there was a presentation on the new health and welfare trust at the recent HSA annual convention. What were the highlights? Yes, members of the Joint Health Sciences Benefit Trust (JHSBT) Working Group did a report out at the HSA convention in early May...