The Report

The Report: June / July 2007 vol.28 num.3by LAURA BUSHEIKIN ngela Bernaldez laughs good-naturedly when shes asked what, exactly,an orthoptist does. Clearly, she is used to meeting people who have noidea what this specialized profession is about.Bernaldez, who works at Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria, is one of approximately 150 orthoptists in Canada, and one of only two employed by...

The Report: June / July 2007 vol.28 num.3 by LAURA BUSHEIKIN ntonieta Xavier wants to talk about her injured right hand. Not to complain, even though the doctors say it is permanently damaged. Nor to brag, even though she successfully persevered with a challenging WCB claim, eventually winning on an appeal. No, Xavier, a community mental health worker with the...

The Report: April / May 2007 vol.28 num.2by CINDY STEWART t is with mixed emotions ... to say the least ... that I write my last column as HSA President.My first few years as president were challenging. It took time for me to really fully apreciate exactly what I had got myself into and realize the full scope of my...

The Report: April / May 2007 vol.28 num.2by JULIO TRUJILLO My partner and I are both HSA members covered by the Health Science Professional contract. Can an HSA member have -dual" dental coverage? That is, if my dental fees go over the limit of my own coverage, can the remainder be paid through my spouses dental plan coverage? No. This...

The Report: April / May 2007 vol.28 num.2 by YUKIE KURAHASHI The David Bland Memorial Award Ater years of complaints about incineration fumes and other air quality concerns in the laboratory, one of her colleagues was diagnosed with cancer. Then another. And another. And yet another. An alarming number of her colleagues were being diagnosed, all within months of each...

The Report: April / May 2007 vol.28 num.2 by CAROLE PEARSON n December 1999, Jennifer Tindale was a recent graduate from a radiation therapy program. At 21, she was active in sports, had a busy social life, plans to buy a new car, and to move into her place. Now, not even 30, she has been off work for six...

The Report: April / May 2007 vol.28 num.2 by MAUREEN HEADLEY his month, on April 28, Canadians will commemorate the Day of Mourning ... a day of remembrance for working people killed or injured on the job. In the Lower Mainland, the Vancouver and District Labour Council, New Westminster and District Labour Council and BC Federation of Labour will mark...

The Report: February / March 2007 vol.28 num.1 by CINDY STEWART his mo nth the Conversation on Health gets going in earnest, with the first two public forums set for Kamloops and Surrey. In addition to the public forums, -health professional" forums are scheduled, as well as smaller focus groups of health professionals. HSA members will be participating in the...

The Report: February / March 2007 vol.28 num.1 by JULIO TRUJILLO Im proud to be a union steward. HSA has given me excellent training incontract interpretation, conducting safety inspections,even conflictresolution and leadership. I find that Im able to help my colleagueswith most of their workplace issues ... but recently Ive encountered asituation thats unwieldy and complex. When should I phone...

The Report: February / March 2007 vol.28 num.1 by CAROLE PEARSON ne in nine Canadian women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. Joan Magee, a lab technologist at Cariboo Memorial Hospital in Williams Lake, never thought she would be one of them.Magee, HSAs Regional Director for Region 8, was at an HSA board meeting last year when a report...