HSA welcomes new operating agreement for Starbright CDC

Health Sciences Association of BC welcomes the BC government's decision to support the operations of Starbright Children's Development Centre with a new service agreement. Starbright was facing imminent closure after a pilot project on establishing centralized services for children and youth with special needs was awarded to another agency in January.

"This is very good news," said HSA President Kane Tse. "Not only for the almost 60 specialized health professionals working at Starbright, but mostly for the children and families who depend so much on the services they deliver. This is a real win for the community as a whole."

For the past few weeks, and as soon as the initial closure was announced, HSA engaged directly with government officials at the Ministry of Child and Family Development to urge a solution that would keep Starbright and its staff working to deliver these badly-needed services.

"We're very pleased that the government took the time to listen and respond meaningfully to the concerns raised by the union, the parents and the community as a whole."

HSA is the union representing over 70 specialized health and community social service professions in BC. HSA members at child development centres like Starbright include physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, social workers, infant development consultants, supported child development consultants and many more.