A pseudo police officer, construction worker, care aide, and stumped Vancouverites gathered at Robson Square yesterday to take part in “The Risk Factor”, a contest put on by the SafeCare BC and part of the Be Care Aware campaign. Participants attempted to determine which profession is most at risk of getting injured on the job, with the challenge proving harder than most would anticipate.
“We are very pleased to support SafeCare BC’s Be Care Aware campaign,” says Daniel Fontaine, CEO, BC Care Providers Association. “It is an important step in helping to foster a culture of safety in care homes throughout BC.”
The event stemmed from a larger initiative by SafeCare BC, the province wide injury prevention organization for health care staff in continuing care. Earlier this summer, SafeCare BC launched its Be Care Aware campaign bringing light to the fact that continuing care staff are four times more likely to be injured on the job compared to the provincial average. This high rate of injuries among continuing care staff has far-reaching implications, affecting everything from staff retention and facility costs, to staff quality of life and quality of patient care.
“We want to use this campaign to help educate care staff about the serious risks of injury they face and how they can reduce that risk by using the right tools and techniques,” says Jennifer Lyle, Executive Director for SafeCare BC. “In Alberta, by focusing on this important issue, they were able to reduce injury rates for their care staff by 64% over a five year period.”
SafeCare BC was established in early 2014 as a response to the staggering number of injuries among staff in the continuing care sector. The organization aims to tackle high injury rates by:
- Offering online/in-person learning for health care professionals working in the continuing care sector
- Improving health and safety protocols within the workplace
- Providing management with training on creating and fostering an organizational culture of safety
- Providing materials and resources to support safer workplaces.
SafeCare BC will be holding its first-ever dementia care training workshop on September 22nd in partnership with the Alzheimer Society of British Columbia. A second workshop in Kelowna is scheduled to take place on October 14th, 2014.
For more photos from the day, click here.
