SafeCare BC has announced the finalists and judges for the Safety Den competition being held on Sunday, May 29 at the BC Care Providers Association Annual Conference in Whistler.
SafeCare BC received several submissions from our members, front-line staff, managers, engineers, students and others to design an innovative new idea that will improve seniors care, promote safe resident handling and/or reduce workplace injuries.
Based on the successful Dragon’s Den TV series, this competition will be a unique opportunity for the long-term care sector.
Finalists
- Valerie Charlton, Registered Physical Therapist at Baptist Housing who uses a “Ball Room Dancing Technique” for assisted ambulation. This simple technique allows the person assisting the client to be fully engaged and actively assisting when performing x1 assisted ambulation.
- Sandy Parise, Development Officer at Nanaimo Travellers Lodge Society who created the Simple Pleasures Project. It is a communications template that gives care workers a quick reference for each resident, allowing easy engagement to gain cooperation in resident handling. This tool is a particular help with casual care workers as agitation and aggression are common when working with the dementia population.
- Sharon Simpson, Director of Communications and Stakeholder Engagement at Menno Place. Her innovative device is a completely efficient Power Laundry Hauler that is designed to move laundry in comfort and safety. It saves time and makes it possible to provide unlimited personal laundry services for independent apartment tenants safely.
Contestants will have a chance to win cash prizes up to $2,000 as well as the chance to further develop their products. We wish the contestants all the very best this weekend and thank them for participating in SafeCare BC’s first Safety Den!
Judges
SafeCare BC has recruited a panel of expert judges they are calling Safety Dragons.
- John W. Lam, Industry Specialist for Health Care, Social Services, and Education for WorkSafeBC
- Jag Tak, 1st Vice President of the Licensed Practical Nurses Association of British Columbia
- Elaine Price, President of the BC Care Providers Association and Director of Operations at Eden Care
Safety Dragons will be judging our contestants on four criteria:
Presentation
- Will it reduce injuries?
- Is it innovative?
- Is it practical?
These industry expert judges bring a wealth of experience to this competition. SafeCare BC is hosting this innovative event is to bring awareness to Musculoskeletal Injuries (MSIs) related to resident handling as they are the number one cause of staff injuries in B.C.’s long-term care sector.
According to WorkSafeBC, these back and other strains in the workplace accounted for 76 per cent of the sector’s injury claims in 2014. The total cost to employers and the seniors care system over the past five years has been more than $85 million.
