HSA in the news

For most of us, the ability to speak is something we take for granted. For Meara Brown’s patients, however, communication is a skill they must relearn entirely. As a speech language pathologist specializing in laryngectomy care with Island Health, Meara restores voices—both literally and figuratively—by helping people who have undergone the removal of their larynx regain their ability to speak...

Editor’s note: Lisa has been elected to represent HSA Region 5 on the Board of Directors and will join the Board of Directors on adjournment of the 2025 HSA annual convention Friday, April 11. When a child walks into a hospital, it’s not only a sickness or physical condition they’re battling—it’s also their fear and uncertainty. For years, certified child...

For social worker Arby Yeo and crisis intervention support worker Anne Wichmann, joining the multi-union CoDevelopment Canada (CoDev) delegation to El Salvador and Honduras was a chance to witness firsthand the power of international solidarity and the resilience of workers and women in Central America. CoDev, a Canadian organization that partners with grassroots groups in Latin America, has partnered with...

Public health care is one of Canada’s greatest achievements. But our most-cherished social program is under threat. A group of plaintiffs led by Dr. Brian Day, CEO of the for-profit Cambie Surgeries Corporation, is challenging the constitutionality of key provisions of B.C.’s Medicare Protection Act , which protects our universal health care system. The long, costly trial is expected to...

Health Minister Margaret MacDiarmid on Monday announced that new nursing legislation had been signed into law, bringing licensed practical nurses under the same bargaining structure as the B.C. Nurses’ Union. The legislation – Bill 18, the Health Authorities Amendment Act – passed last month over the objections of the Hospital Employees’ Union, which called the legislation a last-minute change prepared...

Vancouver Sun By: Darryl Walker, Barry O'Neill and Bonnie Pearson And Reid Johnson Every day throughout British Columbia, some of our most vulnerable citizens need assistance with basic life issues - women and children fleeing domestic violence; immigrants and refugees looking for jobs or coping with language and settlement issues; people with disabilities who need help with speech, occupational or...

Penticton Herald More than 100 people didn't let a light rain dampen their enthusiasm for the proposed $300-million expansion of Penticton Regional Hospital. The placard-waving crowd turned out for Wednesday's outdoor rally next to the hospital, reiterating previous calls for provincial government money for the project. Dozens of passing motorists honked their horns in support. The rally followed the recent...

Times Colonist (Victoria) Workers who care for some of the province's most vulnerable citizens have reached a tentative two-year deal with the B.C. government. The agreement calls for community social service workers to receive 1.5 per cent wage increases on April 1 and Jan. 1, 2014. In response to one of the unions' key demands, entry-level workers will get an...

castanet.net The public is invited to disco dance for a good cause in Penticton on Thursday night. The South Okanagan Victim Assistance Society is holding SOVAS Goes Disco to benefit its financially challenged men's counselling program. “We are desperate for funding to keep this going,” said Amberlee Erdmann, resource development coordinator for SOVAS. “Our hope is the community comes together...

Prince George Citizen The tentative deal between the Health Sciences Association of BC and the provincial government is set to run until March 2014, an incorrect date appeared in a story in Friday's Citizen. Also the union represents a number of medical professionals including lab and radiation technologists. An incorrect description of their job title appeared in the story.