Health Science Professionals

A serious occupational health and safety issue related to PPE in hospital magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) departments has been uncovered regarding the safety of certain masks and respirators in an MRI setting. HSA has called on health authorities and the Provincial Occupational Health and Safety Committee to provide details on the steps underway to identify and remove any masks or...

TO: HSA members working in Long Term Care In an effort to slow the transmission of COVID-19 in BC’s hard-hit Long Term Care facilities, BC’s Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, issued two province-wide orders aimed at restricting movement of health care staff between Long Term Care facilities. The orders went into effect yesterday, Thursday March 26, 2020 The first...

COVID 19: UPDATE TO HSA MEMBERS The provincial medical health officer has provided regular briefings to BC’s health care unions about the developing situation worldwide related to COVID 19 (Novel Coronavirus). Information from the medical health officers is that Canada is dealing well with this virus. A provincial committee dedicated to coordinating a standardized response across the health authorities in...

UPDATED APRIL 15 URGENT QUESTION ABOUT COVID-19 RESPONSE AT YOUR WORKSITE? EMAIL @email or call 1-604-549-5168 . E-mail and the phone line are being monitored by labour relations experts 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, including weekends. ***NOTE: THIS HOTLINE IS AVAILABLE TO ADDRESS IMMEDIATE CONCERNS ABOUT MEMBERS' SAFETY AND ISSUES ARISING FROM COVID-19 OPERATIONS AT WORK. INFORMATION FOR HSA...

Are you an HSA member with a passion for disability management and rehabilitation? Do you have strong organizational, multi-tasking, and problem-solving skills? Are you employed with the Vancouver Island Health Authority? If so, consider putting in an application for an appointment as an Enhanced Disability Management Program (EDMP) regional representative. Under the direction of the HSA EDMP administrators, the HSA...

When the Nanaimo Child Development Center (CDC) opened over 50 years ago, the preschool was one of its first community programs, said HSA member Kathleen Silvey.

The Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association (HSPBA) and Health Employers’ Association of BC (HEABC) have reached agreement on the details of the HSPBA wage rates negotiated for the 2019-2022 Health Science Professionals Collective Agreement. Wage schedules have been finalized and are now available for members’ information on the HSA website here. ( https://hsabc.org/collective-agreements/health-science-professionals) There are several professions-based wage schedules. Please...

By Anne Leclerc HSA member When a resident dies in long-term care (LTC), this can take a toll on staff who have developed close emotional bonds with them. Our kno wledge-to-action (KTA) research project “Keeping the Light Shining” identified challenges that staff experience when caring for LTC re sidents throughout the dying process and strategies to help alleviate staff stress...

According to research conducted by the Canadian Malnutrition Taskforce, 25 to 50 per cent of patients admitted to a Canadian hospital are malnourished. “That’s a significant portion of people who we serve in our hospitals,” said Jaki Thornhill, HSA member, dietitian and professional practice leader at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver. While there is some variability in this statistic based...

Apply now for HSA professional development funding for health science professionals Last fall, HSA announced a $3 million Professional Development Fund funded by the provincial government aimed at supporting health science professionals to undertake professional development to increase specialization, improve health care service to rural and remote areas of BC, and meet ongoing requirements for professional development. The fund focuses...