August 1st, 2007 - VANCOUVER. Today Occupational Health and Safety Agency for Healthcare (OHSAH) in BC announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Dr. Jaime Guzman as Chief Scientific and Medical Officer, an interim role he has held since February 16th.

“On behalf of the Board of Directors, I am pleased to welcome Dr. Guzman to the role of Chief Scientific and Medical Officer,” said OHSAH Board Chair Geoff Walsh. “We look forward to his vision, continued leadership and strong contribution to OHSAH as it strives to reach its strategic objectives.”

Dr. Guzman joined OHSAH in August 2006 after concluding his joint appointments at the University of Toronto, the Institute for Work & Health, and the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute. Dr. Guzman trained at the University of Guanajuato, Mexico, and later at the universities of Toronto and Manitoba. Dr. Guzman is a physician and researcher with background in rheumatology and rehabilitation. He has been working in the area of occupational health since 1995.

“I am truly honoured with this appointment and look forward to working with the Board of Directors and my colleague Sid Segal,” said Dr. Guzman. “OHSAH is a leader in applying research to directly benefit healthcare workers in BC and it is a privilege to be here, working with a terrific team and community of dedicated stakeholders.”

His role as Chief Scientific and Medical Officer, Dr. Guzman joins with Chief Financial and Administrative Officer, Sid Segal as co-leaders of OHSAH’s Executive Team. Guzman and Segal share a strong vision of OHSAH’s impact, its contribution and accountability to healthcare, and the importance of measuring and monitoring results.

As Chief Scientific and Medical Officer, Dr. Guzman will continue to work collaboratively with unions, employers, and providers of occupational health services, sharing best practices and the latest research evidence to continuously improve health and safety services provided to healthcare workers throughout the province of British Columbia, Canada.

OHSAH is pleased to announce the launch of a new online tool, WorkShopWeb, designed to streamline the registration process. This is what it will do:

1) Healthcare workers visiting the OHSAH website can view upcoming sessions and request registration;

2) Administrators will receive these requests by email. When they register the participant, an automated confirmation email will be sent.

Access the WorkShopWeb here.
To see available workshops in your area, select your location from the drop-down menu, and click “Register” to request enrollment.

Courses offered this fall include:

Joint Committee Boot Camp (7 hrs)
Hazard Risks + Inspections (3 or 7 hrs)
Incident Investigation (3 or 7 hrs)
Violence Prevention Planning (3 hrs)
Prevention & Management of Aggressive Behaviour (3 hrs)

Check out OHSAH’s fall training
schedule here.

Fall training will take place from September 2007 through February 2008. Additional sessions will be added in response to demand, so check back regularly for updates!

Can’t see a workshop in your area?
Request a workshop here.

If you have any questions regarding the training schedule, please contact Jolene Simpson, Training Coordinator for OHSAH’s Education & Learning Department via email at train@ohsah.bc.ca, or by phone at 778.328.8032.

CSSE Professional Development Conference 2007: Partnerships in Practice
September 9-12, 2007
Victoria, BC

"The theme of this year's conference, 'Partnerships in Practice', reflects on the importance of forging partnerships in the world of occupational health and safety. This conference is unique in its ability to combine a top notch program, professional development opportunities, and the chance for safety professionals to network with their peers."

Emerging Health & Safety Issues from Changing Workplaces: A Canadian Discussion
September 17-18, 2007
Vancouver, BC

"The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) is hosting a tripartite, national event to explore health and safety issues that are emerging from changing workplaces. This two-day event will bring together subject experts, workers, employers and governments to share their knowledge and experience around this pan-Canadian issue, and to discuss problems and solutions."

Our existing Healthcare Education and Training Programs (HELP) are being strengthened with the creation of a full-fledged Education and Training Department within OHSAH. This new group is being managed by Dave Bell, who has just joined us from the Health, Safety and Environment Department at UBC.

Dave, a Certified Industrial Hygienist, has over 25 years of Occupational Health & Safety (OHS) experience including many years of developing and delivering education and training programs to thousands of participants at both the worker and professional level. He is an adjunct professor with the UBC school of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, having taught in the program and assisted with student research projects. He has also provided extensive advice and input to WorkSafeBC in the development of their regulations over the past 10 years. Dave has explained that “Effective education and training is an essential activity in occupational health and safety development. I am excited at the opportunity to work with our stakeholders to build on the success of our existing programs by increasing the quality and scope of our educational services.” He may be contacted by phone at 778.328.8025, or email at davidb@ohsah.bc.ca.

For more about HELP, click here.

The HELP team is always evaluating its training programs to ensure that participants’ needs are met. Last spring, a total of 484 participants were trained and a total of 393 session evaluations (81%) were completed. Overall, the evaluations demonstrated that HELP is delivering training in an effective manner. For example, 96% felt that the course content was explained using real world examples, and 94% felt that the activities and course materials helped them understand and learn the concepts presented.

This fall, HELP will be piloting a three-month follow-up phone evaluation which measures whether there has been any change in behaviour in the workplace as a result of attending HELP’s training last spring. Questions to be asked include:

Did the Joint Committee set specific goals?
Did collaboration between employer and worker representatives improve?
Did the committee participate in more inspections and investigations?

We plan to introduce the follow-up evaluation for all training modules in the future in order to identify training tools, topics, and skills that improve the Joint Committees’ effectiveness in creating a healthy and safe workplace.

A bipartite HELP Advisory Committee is meeting to review HELP’s courses for Joint Committee training. The revised courses will include more emphasis on fundamental skills such as problem-solving, developing Joint Occupational Health & Safety Committee (JOHSC) goals and timelines, communication, and ways to take action to resolve OHS issues. The revised courses will be used for our fall training program and then re-evaluated by the Advisory Committee.

The Advisory Committee continues to endorse a participatory instructional approach using discussion and scenarios that build on the participants’ own experiences. More scenarios, exercises, and tools will be included which represent real-life OHS issues in different healthcare sectors. Relevant background material will be included in the participants’ manual/handbook for future reference.

Both employer and union members of the Advisory Committee will attend fall training sessions and assist in evaluating both content and delivery. Feedback from Joint Committee participants will also be used to make our training material more tailored to the needs of all healthcare stakeholders. We plan to have the final revised courses available for our spring 2008 training sessions. For more information, please contact Kathryn Wellington, HELP Manager, at kathryn@ohsah.bc.ca.

What are people saying about
OHSAH’s training for Joint Committees?

“I learned a lot. I feel enthusiastic about my role. I had plenty of time for questions. I felt valued in the room.”

“[I] enjoyed the course. It was presented well and gave up the kick to start to perform in a safe and professional manner”.

“I really enjoyed the Boot Camp and would like to sign up for another course at a later date. I would like to have some of my coworkers take this course. I found it very educational.”

Our five courses are focused on occupational health and safety issues faced by JOHS Committees, supervisors, and frontline workers.

For the upcoming British Columbia Healthcare Workplace Health, Safety & Wellness Conference taking place in Kelowna, BC (September 17-18, 2007), OHSAH will be represented by a strong team of healthcare experts who will be presenting several papers and posters related to the work done through, and in association with, the Occupational Health & Safety Agency for Healthcare in BC. Below is a brief listing of the presentations that will be discussed and exhibited during the conference.

- Papers -

Bridging The Knowledge Gap: An Innovative Surveillance System To Monitor The Health Of British Columbia’s Healthcare Workforce
Authors: Tony Gilligan, Hasanat Alamgir
This presentation's objectives are: to create an understanding regarding the significance and use of healthcare surveillance systems (i.e. the WHITE Database); the methods and processes used to design and implement a system; and the barriers to implementation. Also highlighted will be future challenges (i.e. the creation of a data dictionary) for the system's use.

Building Capacity For Change Within Healthcare
Authors: Elizabeth Smailes, Catherine Kidd, Henry Harder
In this session participants will: gain a clear understanding of organizational theory; be able to identify how to apply each step of an organizational change model to their own current and future initiatives; and form networks with others who are implementing interventions or programs within healthcare. Concepts discussed in this session will be presented using an example of a change initaitive currently underway in BC healthcare titled Changing the Workplace: Improving the Mental Health of Hospital Workers.

Are Housekeepers Working In BC Healthcare At Risk For Occupational Asthma?
Authors: George Astrakianakis, Jonathan Mee, Malcolm Steinberg, Annalee Yassi, Paul Demers, Susan Kennedy
This presentation's objectives include: providing information regarding known risk factors related to the development of occupational asthma in association with exposure to cleaning agents; identification of appropriate control measures to minimize the risk of developing occupational asthma in healthcare workplaces; and providing a better understanding of the relation between infection control, housekeeping tasks, and occupational asthma.

- Posters -

Healthcare Education and Learning Program (HELP):

Joint Occupational Health And Safety Committee (JOHSC) Training - Building Capacity To Address Health And Safety Issues In Healthcare
Authors: Kathryn Wellington, Georgina Hackett, Dana Roberts

What Do People Say About OHSAH's Training? Evaluation Process For OHSAH's Healthcare Education And Learning Program (HELP)
Authors: Kathryn Wellington, Georgina Hackett, Salomeh Shajari

Disease Prevention:

What's The Glove Got To Do With It? The Role Of A Glove Management Program In Healthcare
Authors: Yun (Tanya) Tang, Nicole Miller, Cristian Barzan, George Astrakianakis

The OHSAH MSDS Database: Helping Health Authorities Meet WYMIS Requirements
Authors: Nicole Miller, Cristian Barzan, Yun (Tanya) Tang, George Astrakianakis

Prevention and Early Active Return-to-Work Safely (PEARS):

Vancouver Island Health Authority PEARS Pilot Programs: North And South Island
Authors: Shicheng Yu, Maziar Badii, Chris Back, Sheran Bathurst, Diana Kutyn

Interior Health, Kootenay Boundary PEARS Pilot Program
Authors: Maziar Badii, Shicheng Yu, Jennifer Wade, Colleen Yurko, Carole Taylor, Annalee Yassi

Northern Health Prince Rupert PEARS Pilot Program Evaluation
Authors: Chris Back, Salomeh Shajari, Shicheng Yu, Lynn MacDonald

Interior Health Okanagan PEARS Pilot Program Evaluation
Authors: Chris Back, Shicheng Yu, Christopher Misch, Carole Taylor, Annalee Yassi

Surfacing The Program Theory Of An Injury And Disability Prevention Program For Healthcare Workers In BC
Authors: Karin Maiwald, Ilse Mesters, Jaime Guzman, Rob A. de Bie, Eva Schonstein, Annalee Yassi