Day: October 23, 2015

Seniors Care for a Change – One Year Update

The BC Care Providers Association (BCCPA) provided its members with a one-year progress update on the report it released on July 14, 2014, entitled Seniors Care for a Change. The Seniors Care for a Change report outlined various examples of excessive regulations and other challenges affecting care homes on a daily basis. In particular, the […]

SafeCare BC – Working to Prevent Injuries

In 2013 the continuing care sector in BC spearheaded the establishment of a new safety association committed to reducing and preventing injuries in long-term care homes in the province. To learn more about SafeCare BC and its various programs and initiatives, please click here.

Augustine House Wins Tribunal Ruling on Ceiling Lifts

On September 11, 2015, the Review Board of WorkSafeBC overturned a work order pertaining to preventing musculoskeletal injuries (MSI) when transferring residents in Augustine House, a BCCPA member. The work order charged Augustine House with installing 12 new ceiling lifts in their complex care home in order to facilitate safer resident transfers, at an estimated […]

Meetings with Ministry of Health

The BCCPA meets every four to six weeks with the Ministry of Health to discuss a range of issues facing BC’s continuing care sector. Here are a few of the topics discussed since my last report. 1. Funding lifts – cost pressures – transparency & consistent approach 2. Hiring of Former Health Authority Staff – […]

Two-Day Dialogue – Towards Better Care for Older Adults

The BCCPA was invited by the Deputy Minister of Health to participate in a major two-day forum discussing the future of seniors care delivery in BC. The Minister of Health provided opening remarks whereby he encouraged the assembled group of health leaders to move beyond the discussion phase and into the action phase. Deputy Minister […]

WorkSafeBC Set to Lower Premiums for Long-Term Care Providers

WorkSafeBC has released its preliminary rates for 2016, coinciding with the first of several rate consultation sessions planned this year. The overall story was one of positive news; province-wide trends in lower injury rates and lower claims costs have persisted, as well as better-than-anticipated investment returns. At the Classification Unit level, the preliminary rates spelled […]

Dave Hurford Appointed Acting Executive Director of SafeCare BC

SafeCare BC has just announced that Dave Hurford will be taking over as the Acting Executive Director during Jennifer Lyle’s maternity leave absence. Hurford is no stranger to the continuing care sector having served as the BCCPA’s Director of Public Affairs for a number of years. Hurford will start in his post later this month. […]

Be Care Aware Day & SafeCare BC

The government of British Columbia has proclaimed Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015 as Be Care Aware Day in the province of B.C. This proclamation represents a monumental achievement in raising awareness of the importance of caring for those who care for B.C.’s seniors – one of the main objectives of the Be Care Aware campaign. “We […]

Policy Paper Opinion Piece by Michael Kary

What follows is an opinion piece written by Michael Kary and published on our BCCPA website regarding the release of our policy paper. +++ When Canada’s Medicare system was created 50 years ago, the average life expectancy in Canada was 68.1 years. Today, the average life expectancy is 81.7 years, yet the health system has […]