HSA REPORT, DECEMBER 2014

Professional recognition days, weeks and months come and go.

Posters go up on bulletin boards, posts go up on social media sites. Maybe there’s cupcakes. It’s a great chance to educate and celebrate the work that makes our health care and community social service systems work, but it’s getting harder to break through the noise and distractions of modern life.

That’s why a group of respiratory therapists decided to do something a little different for October’s RT Week.

HSA REPORT, DECEMBER 2014

By Carol Riviere, Communications

Deep ties to her community and long-time union activism helped HSA vice-president Janice Morrison secure a spot on Nelson city council in the recent municipal election.

Please make a note of our contact information effective Jan. 5, 2015:

Health Sciences Association of BC
180 East Columbia Street
New Westminster, BC
V3L 0G7

New Phone: 604 517 0994 / toll free 800 663 2017
New Fax: 604 515 8889 / toll free 800 663 6119

October 26 to November 1 is Respiratory Therapist week, and to celebrate, HSA has invited Lily Cheung, an RT at Vancouver General Hospital, to take over the HSA twitter feed for a week and post about daily life on the front lines of respiratory therapy. 

   A screen shot of the web site.

On Monday, HSA launched a new series of ads designed to promote the work of our diverse professions.

The series of five ads, appearing on radio stations across the province for the next six weeks, demonstrate how our many professions connect to each other, and how we connect the public to modern health care.

Ebola Backgrounder

There has never been a case of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in Canada.

In areas where Ebola is present, the virus can spread through:

THE REPORT, OCTOBER 2014

BY VAL AVERY, PRESIDENT, HSA

In early September, HSA learned that the BC Nurses' Union planned to execute a swift takeover of the Union of Psychiatric Nurses before moving on to actively raid HSA's registered psychiatric nurses.

This means BCNU organizers will be approaching HSA members at work – and likely at home – and trying to get them to sign a BCNU membership card.

Rest assured they will make big promises. I can't even speculate about the misleading tactics they'll employ.

HSA REPORT, OCTOBER 2014

BY CAROL RIVIERE

Choosing the politicians who govern our communities at the municipal or regional district level, and the school trustees who make decisions that affect our children's education, is a critical issue for working families.

On November 15th, British Columbians will choose the people who will hold these positions throughout the province for the next four years.

BC Health Coalition Chair Edith MacHattie and Dr. Vanessa Brcic of Canadian Doctors for Medicare address the media outside Cambie Surgical Clinic September 29

HSA REPORT, OCTOBER 2014

BY CAROL RIVIERE

DR. Brian Day's attempt to use the courts to bring US-style, TWO-tier health care to Canada was scheduled to go to trial on September 8.

HSA REPORT OCTOBER 2014

My name is Mike Pond. I'm five years sober this week and your union helped save my life.

When I received my Masters in Social Work in 1995, I thought my days as a psychiatric nurse were behind me. But life has a way of throwing us curve balls. After two decades of successfully helping clients battle addictions, I succumbed to one myself. In a catastrophic free-fall, I lost everything: my practice, my home and my family. What made it worse: as a therapist I was ably positioned to watch myself fall and powerless to prevent it.