News & Updates

HSA convention delegates hold rally to Stand up for Medicare

April 16, 2008

The Health Sciences Association of BC (HSA) will kick off its 37th annual convention Friday, April 18, 2008 at the Hilton Vancouver Metrotown Hotel in Burnaby, 6083 MacKay Avenue. Charting our Course is the theme of this years convention, as delegates consider a number of resolutions to set priorities for the unions future. Delegates will also participate in a noon-hour rally to defend publicly funded and delivered health care. Highlights of the Convention include:

Election Campaign School for Women

April 15, 2008

Are you a woman considering either running for elected office, or working in a key position in a future election campaign? If so, then the annual Canadian Women Voters Congress Womens Campaign School is for you.

Rally to Defend Medicare

April 15, 2008

Speak out against the threat to public health care in BC Join us!Friday, April 18 March: noonAssemble beside the Hilton Metrotown6083 McKay Avenue, Burnaby(McKay & Kingsway) Rally: 12:15-1:15pmNortheast corner of Central ParkCorner of Kingsway & Patterson, Burnaby1 block from Patterson Skytrain stationParking available off Patterson

Escalating shortage of lab professionals threatens patient care

April 11, 2008

Ottawa (10 April 2008) ... In the lead-up to National Medical Laboratory Week, Canadas largest organization of health science professionals is sounding alarm bells that accessible and high quality patient care is threatened by an escalating shortage of medical laboratory technologists across the country.

Public health care forum draws standing-room only crowd

April 9, 2008

Just hours after Health Minister George Abbott tabled controversial amendments to the Medicare Protection Act on April 8, more than 200 people attended a public talk by physicians and international policy experts about the dangers of continued health care privatization in B.C. Dr. Michael Klein ... physician, researcher and founding member of the Canadian Doctors for Medicare ... reasserted that health care funding has remained stable as a percentage of both the B.C. and Canadian economies over the past decades.

VIHA trims Alberni lab services

April 4, 2008

Alberni Valley News Microbiology lab services at West Coast General Hospital (WCGH) are being downsized, and two positions have been eliminated as partial service moves to Nanaimo. Management says its streamlining services, but the president of the Hospital Sciences Association (HSA) says savings should be used to deliver local service. The Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA) said the move is a step toward a "hub-and-feeder" system service delivery, and takes effect May 1.

Workshop Reminder

April 3, 2008

There is still room available in the three-day Steward Training workshop on April 28 ... 30, 2008. Please register as soon as possible if you are interested in attending this workshop. Steward Training:April 28, 29 & 30, 2008 Eligible stewards should print a pre-registration form off the HSA website at http://www.hsabc.org/ (go to Member Services, then Education) and return it to the HSA Office (Attention: Karin Herbert) as soon as possible. HSA will call you to confirm your registration.

NUPGE continues campaign to save public medicare system

April 3, 2008

'We can't stand still. We can either go back or we can go forward. The choice we make today will decide the future of medicare in Canada.' - Tommy Douglas Ottawa (3 Apr. 2008) - The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) has issued two new public education tools as part of its ongoing campaign to defend and expand Canada's public medicare system.

Charting our course together

April 1, 2008

The Report: April / May 2008 vol.29 num.1 by REID JOHNSON year ago, delegates to HSAs convention gave me a mandate to lead your union into the future.

Returning to work after a period of disability