The Report

The Report: September 2011 vol.32 num.3 HSA PRESIDENT REID JOHNSON ON EFFORTS TO RAISE PROFILE FOR HEALTH SCIENCE PROFESSIONALS WORKING ALONGSIDE DOCTORS AND NURSES The Report: HSA is launching two ad campaigns in September. Tell us about them. Reid Johnson: Every year we place print ads in papers around the province promoting our involvement in Run for the Cure, and...

The Report: September 2011 vol.32 num.3 AS THIS ISSUE OF THE REPORT WAS GOING TO PRINT, HSA members who work in the community social services sector were preparing to vote on a tentative agreement reached after almost two years at the bargaining table. The agreement, like every other provincial public sector agreement in BC in the past two years, was...

The Report: June 2011 vol.32 num.2 CHILD AND YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH CLINICIAN Colette Barker has two jobs. One is with adults; one is with children. One deals with parenting; the other with youth sexuality. Both fully engage Barkers passion for helping people whose needs are easily overlooked or misunderstood. For instance, there are persistent misconceptions about children with sexual behaviour...

The Report: June 2011 vol.32 num.2 On the heels of a difficult ratification vote, HSA members from around the province gathered to do as theyve done for 40 years ... work together to meet the future challenges of an ever changing health care system. -OVER THE NEXT TWO DAYS, we will be focusing on the future of our union. Where...

The Report: June 2011 vol.32 num.2 What is an attendance promotion program? Employers are increasingly using programs intended to reduce the amount of money they lose on the sick days taken by their employees. These programs have been around for a long time, and while at first they consisted largely of individual meetings with employees who seemed to be using...

The Report: June 2011 vol.32 num.2 HSA invited Andre Picard, health reporter for the Globe and Mail, to deliver a keynote address on the future of public health care in Canada. His speech touched on several recommendations for improving the system. Thank you for the kind introduction. But I recently changed my bio, courtesy of a politician who was angry...

The Report: April 2011 vol.32 num.1 WHEN I BECAME PRESIDENT OF HSA IN APRIL OF 2007 I made a commitment to leadership that relies on hearing, understanding, communicating, and acting on the priorities of the community that is our membership. I still stand by those words. Over the last few months, whether at ratification vote meetings around the province, in...

The Report: April 2011 vol.32 num.1 MEDICAL RADIATION TECHNOLOGIST Christin Lumsden credits an innovative school program for pointing her in the direction of a job she loves. She considers herself lucky to have found a profession that perfectly fits her interests: its varied, offers meaningful human relationships, lets her use sophisticated technology, and provides many opportunities for continual learning and...

The Report: April 2011 vol.32 num.1 IN AUGUST OF 2009, a violent patient at Eric Martin Pavillion punched a pyschiatric nurse. Then he kicked her. Then he beat her head repeatedly against the hard floor. The nurse was so severely injured she may never work again. After another violent incident just a few months later, in March, the patient was...

The Report: December 2010 vol.31 num.6 DELEGATES TO THE 2010 HSA CONVENTION in Vancouver asked a number of questions about WorksafeBC. What are the most common injuries for HSA members and are we reducing the number of time loss incidents? The most common injuries are repetitive strain and injuries related to lifting or positing patients and clients. In most work...