BCNU Update Magazine Dec 2015-Jan 2016 by BC Nurses' Union

ST BR A E FF A IN K G TH SE R TT O LE UG M H EN T

MENTAL HEALTH: TRAUMAINFORMED CARE MODEL BRINGS HOPE TO PATIENTS

SHARING OUR SUCCESS: NURSES ARE SEEING THE RESULTS OF PROVINCIAL STAFFING GRIEVANCE SETTLEMENT

UPDATE 1

1,600+

WWW.BCNU.ORG

BRITISH COLUMBIA NURSES’ UNION

NEW NURSE POSITIONS TO BE CREATED ACROSS THE PROVINCE BY MARCH 31

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JOINT

EFFORT

BCNU stewards are using joint occupational health and safety committees to make their worksites safer for nurses and patients

1/11/2016 2:36:23 PM

NEW POSITIONS ACROSS BC Agreements made between BCNU, the Health Employers’ Association of BC and the province’s health authorities have resulted in significant commitments to create new regular nursing positions by March 31. Fraser Health Interior Health Island Health Provincial Health Services Vancouver Coastal Health Northern Health Providence Health Care TOTAL:

400 positions 300 positions 290 positions 238 positions 235 positions 100 positions 100 positions* 1,663 positions

Employers will implement an expedited process to fill the vacancies created as a result of this settlement. After consulting with BCNU, they may opt to pursue some of the following measures: • Conduct a health authority-wide job fair where every nurse in the health authority can apply for vacant positions for which they have the required qualifications. • Alter posting requirements and timelines. • Offer regular vacancies to regular employees within a particular department or unit on the basis of seniority without posting the vacancy or conducting an interview. • Provide casual employees with priority access to temporary appointments of up to 12 months duration within the unit or department in which they work. • Appoint newly graduated nurses directly into temporary vacancies where no casual employee currently working within the unit or department has applied.

HOW DOES THE NEW STAFFING SETTLEMENT AFFECT YOU? TALK TO YOUR STEWARD OR REGIONAL CHAIR. *80 positions plus up to 20 more based on additional regularization need.

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BREAKTHROUGH STAFFING SETTLEMENT BRINGS NURSES CLOSER TO SAFE PATIENT CARE

New agreements commit health authorities to hire more nurses, increase specialty education, and strengthen community care. THE FIGHT FOR SAFE PATIENT care has been a long one. But thanks to the determination and dedication of nurses around the province, the BC Nurses’ Union has succeeded in reaching an agreement that finally compels employers to follow through on the staffing commitments they made to nurses in the last round of collective bargaining. The latest deal commits health authorities to fill over 1,600

new nurse positions across the province by March 31, 2016. “We have come so far and I am so proud of the thousands of BCNU members who worked to get us where we are today,” says BCNU President Gayle Duteil. “To all those nurses working 16-hour days, or who are working short in ERs and ORs, and to those community nurses with overwhelming caseloads, I want to let you know that

the staffing commitments we have secured mean that relief is on its way.” The deal was reached during discussions held in Victoria between BCNU, the Ministry of Health, the Health Employers Association of BC (HEABC) and health authority CEOs. It includes an arbitrated consent award and a series of agreements with each health authority. Duteil says this latest settlement is a testament to what nurses can do when they act with a common purpose and keep focused on the goal of safe patient care. “When the employer wasn’t living up to the terms of the staffing language continued on inside back cover

PM 40834030

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BREAKTHROUGH STAFFING SETTLEMENT ACHIEVED

JOINT CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED TO FILL NEW VACANCIES

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contained in the 2012 Nurses’ Bargaining Association (NBA) provincial contract, we flooded them with grievances and reached a provincial grievance settlement for improved staffing last April, and we continued to flood them with notices of complaint under the new process,” she says. “We told them they would need to create regular positions to fix the problem, or the health care system would forever be running on OT and struggling to maintain baseline. We told them they must create 2,125 new registered nurse positions before April 2016, and now we are on our way,” she says, noting that the 1,600 new positions come on top of the 600 new nurse FTE positions added to the system since 2012. Agreements with each health authority were reached in December, committing them to create the required regular nursing positions according to the size of the populations they serve (see sidebar for approximate numbers of positions by health authority). Specifically, health authorities will create regular RN and/or RPN positions in all sectors, for baseline, relief (regular and vacation), specialty education backfilling, and to support the strengthening of community care. Health authorities will also advance-hire RNs and/or RPNs in order to ensure that existing staff will be available to be trained to work in specialty nursing positions. In addition, the health authorities will cover the expense of nurses’ specialty education in exchange for an 18-month return-of-service commitment as a regular employee in the speciality for which they were educated. The deal includes several ongoing accountability measures to ensure that employers comply with their commitments. Health authority CEOs will provide monthly progress updates to the Provincial Nursing Settlement Steering Committee established under last April’s provincial staffing grievance settlement. NursingHealth Authority Committees (N-HAC) will also work collaboratively to identify and determine where new nursing positions will be distributed under a new expedited process. Employers will share data with BCNU, and the arbitration panel created under the April 2015 agreement will continue to be responsible for resolving any disputes that arise. The arbitration panel also issued a consent award to BCNU in recognition of the uncer-

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tainty created by the volume of disputes around the province, and to allow the negotiation process to move forward. As part of the award, HEABC will remit $1,900,000 in damages to BCNU, along with a further $500,000 in funding to Health Match BC to aid in marketing, recruitment and retention initiatives needed to

This settlement “secures the positions we have been demanding and addresses the most significant remaining obstacle to negotiating a new provincial contract.

BCNU PRESIDENT GAYLE DUTEIL

”

secure the specialty nurses that will be necessary to fill positions. The consent award also recognizes that the job security of existing BCNU members is of paramount interest to all parties, and requires health employers to consult BCNU prior to planning any significant change-management initiative. Duteil is grateful for the determination required of so many individual members and stewards who never gave up the push for safe patient care despite their difficult working environments. “I’m so proud of how far we’ve come. This settlement secures the positions we have been demanding and addresses the most significant remaining obstacle to negotiating a new provincial contract,” she says. “The wage gap between RNs and LPNs is too wide. Now we can move forward with a focus on melding the Facilities Bargaining Association and NBA contracts to help secure the compensation LPNs deserve.” There is no doubt that much work lies ahead. “This agreement is certainly an excellent beginning to 2016, but it also provides employers with just three months to create and fill a significant number of new positions,” notes Duteil. “Now, as before, BCNU will be there to keep the health authorities accountable to all nurses and we will not rest until the agreed-to positions are actually filled.” update

The more than 1,600 additional nurse full-time equivalent positions created under the new staffing agreement means that as many nurses as possible must be identified to match and fill the vacancies that have been created. BCNU will be collaborating with provincial health employers and Providence Health Care to ensure that all nurses are aware of the opportunities that have been created. NURSES CURRENTLY WORKING IN CASUAL POSITIONS will be contacted to assess their interest in accepting regular positions. Databases will be used to track responses, including those of LPNs, and Nurse-Health Authority committees (N-HAC) will identify regular positions and match candidates accordingly. SPECIALTY EDUCATED NURSES from outside the province will be recruited to help address the need for more than 2,000 specialty positions over the next two years. BCNU will engage with Health Match BC to plan this recruitment effort. However, we will continue to focus our efforts on supporting BC nurses to access specialty education and will work with the Ministry of Health, health authorities and the BCIT school of nursing to address the shortfall in specialty nurse graduates in BC. NEW GRADS AND STUDENT NURSES IN THEIR FINAL TERM will be contacted to assist with recruitment into regular positions.

WANT MORE INFORMATION ON THE CAMPAIGN TO HIRE MORE NURSES? Visit the BCNU website for up-to-date information, subscribe to BCNU’s weekly member e-news, talk to your steward or call your regional chair.

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DECEMBER 2015/JANUARY 2016

MENTAL HEALTH: TRAUMAINFORMED CARE MODEL BRINGS HOPE TO PATIENTS

SHARING OUR SUCCESS: NURSES ARE SEEING THE RESULTS OF PROVINCIAL STAFFING GRIEVANCE SETTLEMENT

UPDATE BRITISH COLUMBIA NURSES’ UNION

ON THE ROAD BCNU

EXECUTIVE SHARES BARGAINING AGENDA WITH MEMBERS ACROSS THE PROVINCE

PLUS

WWW.BCNU.ORG

CELEBRATING 10 YEARS OF HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCACY

JOINT

EFFORT

BCNU stewards are using joint occupational health and safety committees to make their worksites safer for nurses and patients

NURSING SCHOOL IS A HARD PLACE TO BE POOR Studying is expensive, and can be a cause of great stress. For many student nurses it means having to choose between paying for tuition and books or paying for rent and food. Poor students can’t rely on family – in fact, they often have family members relying on them. No student should go hungry, and you can help one who’s struggling to make ends meet. BCNU is encouraging members across the province to adopt a student nurse. Let’s help our next generation of nurses and build relationships that show we care.

Contact your regional chair or lobby coordinator to find out how you can support a student nurse in need.

UPDATE MAGAZINE December 2015/January 2016

UPDATE

•

CONTENTS vol 34 no5

december 2015/january 2016

WE REMEMBER BCNU Vancouver Metro region lobby coordinator Brooke Raphael and Burnaby nursing sister Shirley Ridalls attend Remembrance Day ceremony at Victory Square.

UPFRONT

Check In

The latest news from around the province.

11 Targeting Workplace Violence

New curriculum and action plans help keep members safe.

13 Road Show

BCNU executive provides members with fall bargaining report.

15 Sharing Our Success

Members are seeing the results of the provincial staffing grievance settlement.

30 Safe and Compassionate Practice

Trauma-informed care model is good for patients and nurses.

34 Equity Champion

Celebrating 10 years: an interview with BCNU Human Rights and Equity chair Mabel Tung.

DEPARTMENTS

5 PRESIDENT’S REPORT 26 MEMBER PROFILE 32 PRFS IN THE WORKPLACE 36 YOUR PENSION 37 COUNCIL PROFILE 38 WHO CAN HELP? 39 OFF DUTY PHOTO: TREENA VEGER

FEATURE

JOINT EFFORT

BCNU stewards are using joint occupational health and safety committees to make their worksites safer for nurses and patients. COVER PHOTO: PETER HOLST

Support is just a phone call away

Violence hotline is now live. Find out more on p. 11

BC Nurses’ Union

UPDATE MAGAZINE

MISSION STATEMENT The British Columbia Nurses’ Union protects and advances the health, social and economic well-being of our members, our profession and our communities. BCNU UPDATE is published by the BC Nurses’ Union, an independent Canadian union governed by a council elected by our 43,000 members. Signed articles do not necessarily represent official BCNU policies. EDITOR Lew MacDonald CONTRIBUTORS Juliet Chang, Laura Comuzzi, Sharon Costello, David Cubberley, Gayle Duteil, Gary Fane, Shawn Leclair, Michelle Livaja, Robert Macquarrie, Courtney McGillion, Catherine Pope, Dan Tatroff, Patricia Wejr

www.bcnu.org

PHOTOS David Cubberley, Shawn Leclair, Lew MacDonald, Robert Macquarrie, Dan Tatroff

FEB 29 & MAR 1, 2016 SHERATON VANCOUVER AIRPORT HOTEL 7551 WESTMINSTER HWY, RICHMOND

KNOWLEDGE WORK: NURSING, PROFESSIONALISM AND THE LABOUR OF CARE

CONTACT US BCNU Communications Department 4060 Regent Street Burnaby, BC, V5C 6P5 PHONE 604.433.2268 TOLL FREE 1.800.663.9991 FAX 604.433.7945 TOLL FREE FAX 1.888.284.2222 BCNU WEBSITE www.bcnu.org

Knowledge Work: Nursing, Professionalism and the Labour of Care is a twoday conference that takes a critical look at the meaning of care in a health care system increasingly driven by a logic of ‘efficiency’ and ‘productivity’. In this challenging context, how can nurses draw upon their professional identity and unique body of knowledge

to provide quality care – care that places residents, clients and patients at the heart of nursing labour? Join your colleagues and leading nursing researchers in this celebration of the nursing profession and the kind, compassionate, and often invisible labour of care nurses perform on a daily basis. No salary reimbursement.

EMAIL EDITOR lmacdonald@bcnu.org MOVING? Please send change of address to membership@bcnu.org Publications Mail Agreement 40834030 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to BCNU 4060 Regent Street Burnaby, BC, V5C 6P5

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

UPDATE MAGAZINE December 2015/January 2016

GAYLE DUTEIL

TOGETHER WE WILL SUCCEED

PHOTO: ALEXIS SULLIVAN WALTERS

HIS PAST FALL, I, ALONG WITH MANY MEMBERS OF BCNU’s provincial council and bargaining committee, hosted meetings at health care worksites across the province. I had conversations with thousands of our members working in acute, community and long-term care. From Victoria to Terrace, wherever I visited I was inspired by the dedication and professionalism nurses bring to their jobs every day despite the difficult and trying working conditions they face, whether it is working short or simply not having enough nurses to treat the number of patients in their care. I also want to acknowledge those members who took the time to call in and meet with me during the union’s new telephone town halls held in December. Unmanageable workloads and excessive amounts of overtime was the universal theme I heard. It seems the 16-hour shift is the new normal in BC. Your stories worry and sadden me. I shared these stories with negotiators from the provincial government and the Health Employers Association of BC when we met last September, October and December. I told them that it’s unacceptable to rely on you working excessive amounts of overtime, to rely on you working for free, and to rely on you working on your days off. The BCNU bargaining committee put forward over 40 proposals to address the critical need for safe patient care. From workload, to violence protection, to increased scope of practice, to benefit improvements, our arguments made it clear what BC’s nurses expect and deserve in the next Nurses’ Bargaining Association collective agreement. Now it’s up to the government and employers to listen to nurses’ stories before they come back to the table in 2016.

It’s an unfortunate fact that most of these stories wouldn’t need to be told if the employer had only lived up to its 2012 contract obligation to create new additional nurse positions over the length of the collective agreement and beyond, to a total of 2,125 FTE positions by March 31, 2016. But I am pleased to report that we have made progress in this area. Thanks to the over 2,800 notices of complaint that members filed through the new fast-track staffing dispute process established under last year’s provincial staffing grievance settlement, a new arbitrated staffing settlement has been reached that now sees every health authority CEO in the province making a personal commitment to hire hundreds of nurses. In total, more than 1,600 new registered nurse positions are to be created before March 31, fully meeting the 2,125 position goal. This is an important date and our expectation is that staffing levels will be met. If they are not, a new collective agreement will be next to impossible to negotiate. In the meantime, there is no longer a reason in this world that every nurse, whether they are a new grad or one who’s experienced, should not have a regular job if they want one. The fact that we, all nurses – LPNs, RNs and RPNs – are together at the bargaining table is significant. We are a powerful voice. We are the strongest union in the province and employers indeed ought to be worried that the NBA contract remains outstanding. I have no doubt that, together, we will succeed in our goal of safe patient care, but to do this we must negotiate an agreement that honours nurses and our commitment to our patients, and no less. I am optimistic, and I know that nurses are now in an excellent position to build on this success in the year ahead. There is a high likelihood that a new NBA contract will be finalized this year. However, it must be one that respects the profession of nursing and provides safe patient care to BC’s citizens. update

CHECK IN

NEWS FROM AROUND THE PROVINCE

SEASONAL POSTCARD

MAKING MENTAL HEALTH A PRIORITY

WATCHING “MO MEN IN NURSING BC” GROW!

CNU MEMBERS WATCHED THE “MO MEN IN Nursing BC” team “grow” through the month of November. The team started out with 10 nurses participating in this year’s Movember campaign, but soon grew to over 23, all cultivating mustaches to help raise awareness and funds for men’s health, including prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health and physical inactivity. BCNU South Fraser Valley region lobby coordinator Walter Lumamba has been leading the furry upper lip efforts on behalf of BCNU’s Men in Nursing (MIN) Caucus for the past three years. Even before the passing of his father last year from rectal cancer, Lumamba was motivated to support men’s health. “As professionals working in health care, we take our health for granted. We need to take care of ourselves too,” he says. “The best thing we can do is to make sure we get everything checked out at least annually.” This Movember, the hairy group raised over $5,000. The Movember Foundation, started by Australians Travis Garone and Luke Slattery, began with 30 mustaches in 2003. To date it has recorded five million participants from 21 countries. update

BCNU’S MENTAL HEALTH STRATEGY MEANS ADVOCATING for patients and families and offering ideas and solutions informed by the frontline experience of our members. The union’s 2015 seasonal action postcard is calling on the province to invest in programs and services that deliver safe, sustainable and quality mental health care now and for the future. TAKE ACTION Use your mobile device to add your voice to the call for better mental health services. Send an important message to Premier Clark this holiday season.

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATORS Members attending the “Communicating: 6 Essential Skills” three-day workshop at the BCNU Burnaby office in November learned how to better communicate confidently with managers, co-workers, patients, and patients’ families.

UPDATE MAGAZINE December 2015/January 2016

SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH

SOCK IT TO POVERTY Nurses collect items to keep patients warm in the long northern winter

VERY DAY NURSES SEE THE DEVASTATING toll that poverty has on their patients. Until governments invest in adequate housing and social supports for the poor, things like warm socks, gloves and toques can make a big difference in people’s lives. BCNU steward Kathy Buell is helping to organize the North West region’s clothing drive in Terrace and says it really helps poor and homeless people when they have items to keep them warm. “We have a long, cold winter in northern BC, so simple clothing items can actually help keep people alive or protect them from frostbite, especially when they’re living outside,” says Buell. “We asked members to donate socks, underwear, feminine hygiene products, toiletries, mitts and gloves at our last regional meeting and members responded strongly.” The region collected three boxes of items at the meeting and Buell says nurses will continue to gather items until December. They have also left donation boxes at places like the Kitimat Hospital, Terrace’s Mills Memorial Hospital and Seven Sisters residential care facility. In Terrace, clothing items are donated to the community services organization that provides meals to the poor. And Kitimat nurses donate items directly to patients who come into the emergency department. Smithers nurses are collecting items at Bulkley Valley District Hospital and Bulkley Lodge. Donations are going to the Broadway Centre Emergency Shelter. “Nurses love to participate in Sock it to Poverty,” says BCNU North West region chair Sharon Sponton. “When our weather turns cold people’s needs become greater because in the North you can’t live on the street the same way people do in the Lower Mainland. For some, warm clothes can make the difference between life and death.” update

“ADOPT A STUDENT NURSE” PROGRAM HELPS FUTURE COLLEAGUES

FTEN IT’S FINANCIALLY TOUGH BEING A student nurse, and BCNU’s West Kootenay region recognized this need and started the “Adopt a Student Nurse” program in 2014. “Student nurses often have huge financial pressures,” says West Kootenay region lobby coordinator Jessie Renzie. “It’s especially true for single parents who are coping with heavy course loads and supporting their children at the same time.” Last year, Renzie’s region decided to help student nurses over the holiday season when cash is tight and family needs are high. It was so successful that they’ve decided to run the program again this year. This September they advertised the Adopt a Student Nurse program at Castlegar’s Selkirk College and asked student nurses to apply to the regional executive with their needs. The executive “adopts” students based on factors like family support, financial need and dependent children. The adopted nurse’s identity stays confidential. Once students are adopted their needs are posted at worksites throughout the region, and nurses who want to help can donate items. This year the West Kootenay region adopted three student nurses whose number one need is gift cards for things like groceries, gas, textbooks and other basic items. Some asked for children’s items like snow pants, warm coats, gloves, rain pants, housecoats, socks, a holiday dress and gently used clothing. And toys were on the wish list for the younger children. “We encourage BCNU members to include handwritten cards and letters with their donations,” says Renzie. “Adopted students really appreciate those written encouragements because they often include personal stories from members about how much nursing careers have meant to them. “It would be wonderful for all BCNU regions to join the program because it’s something tangible we can do for our future colleagues. And the nurses who participate feel great about helping the student nurses and their families.” update THINKING OF THE FUTURE BCNU West Kootenay region lobby coordinator Jessie Renzie initiated the union’s student support program last year.

STATE OF THE UNION

CNU’S STRATEGIC PLAN is an important document. It’s the guidebook that the whole organization refers to when making decisions and taking actions on behalf of its over 43,000 members. This September, BCNU council took the opportunity to review and revise the union’s vision and mission statements contained in the strategic plan. A new strategic direction has now been added to the plan that commits BCNU to being the professional voice of nursing.

FEDERAL ELECTION

PUBLIC HEALTH CARE BACK ON FEDERAL AGENDA Liberal win bodes well – but only if election promises are kept

VISION The British Columbia Nurses’ Union will be the champion for our members, the professional voice of nursing and the leading advocate for publicly funded health care. MISSION The British Columbia Nurses’ Union protects and advances the health, social and economic well-being of our members, our profession and our communities. VALUES The organization’s values – and corresponding statements – provide members, staff and council with behavioural descriptions of how the organization’s core values may be lived within the BCNU.

STR ATEG

Want to know more? Read BCNU’s strategic plan on your mobile device

IC PL AN

RE VIE WE

D SEPTEM

BER 2015

or view on the BCNU website: www. bcnu.org/ about-bcnu

ELECTION SELFIE BCNU South Fraser Valley region lobby coordinator Walter Lumamba caught up with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau while the then-candidate was on the campaign trail in Surrey last October. Lumamba and other BCNU lobby coordinators will be making sure that the new Liberal government follows through on the significant promises it made ahead the 2015 federal election.

CTOBER’S SURPRISE majority election win for Justin Trudeau’s Liberal party has brought palpable relief to many health care workers and public health care advocates who have been fighting to ensure that Ottawa maintain its traditional leadership role in health care. The Liberals made several significant promises during this year’s election campaign. The most important of those was an immediate commitment to invest $3 billion over the next four years to deliver more and better home care services for all Canadians. This includes commitments

to improve access to high quality in-home caregivers, financial supports for family care, and, when necessary, palliative care. Throughout the campaign, the Liberals acknowledged how Canada’s publiclyfunded universal health care system is a source of pride for Canadians. “When Canadians are in good physical and mental health, they are able to work better, be more productive, and contribute more fully to our economy while living healthier, happier lives,” said Trudeau from the hustings. It has now been more than a decade since a Canadian prime minister sat down with provincial and territorial premiers to strengthen medicare and ensure that it can meet current needs and the challenges that come with an aging population. The need for a renewed federal-provincial health accord is greater than ever. Trudeau has promised to negotiate a new health accord with provinces and territories, including a long-term agreement on funding. He also promised to develop a pan-Canadian collaboration on health innovation and improve access to necessary prescription medications. This included a commitment to join with provinces to buy drugs in bulk and reduce the cost governments are now paying. There were also promises to make highquality mental health services more available to Canadians who need them, and to introduce a National Disabilities Act that would help eliminate systemic barriers and deliver equality of opportunity to all Canadians living with disabilities. It’s a time for optimism, but also for diligence. There is no question that health care workers and others will be watching to ensure the Liberals’ promises are kept. update

UPDATE MAGAZINE December 2015/January 2016

Congratulations and thank you to all the participants that helped support this important cause (team captains in bold):

BCNU RUNS FOR THE CURE

2015 event sees record number of participants

CNU MEMBERS FROM AROUND BC stepped up to the challenge to join the annual Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation’s CIBC Run for the Cure on Sunday, October 4. Over 125 BCNU members, along with their families and friends, participated in nine locations around BC to raise more than $15,500 to fund research and support the breast cancer community.

BCNU RIVA region chair Lauren Vandergronden was this year’s BCNU – Run for the Cure team leader. “We have been part of this provincial initiative as a regional sponsor since 2007. But this is by far our largest turnout yet and it’s very impressive,” she says. “We are told that lots of BCNU members participate under different banners, and we hope they’ll consider joining BCNU next year.” update

Abigail, Adacel, Alicia, Alyssa, Amanda, Andrea, Angeli Danielle, Angelo Gabriel, Angelo Nathaniel, April, Ariana Ashley, Audrey, Avery, Bernadeth, Bernadette, Bradley, Brayden, Brooke, Carmalita, Carmelle, Cassandra D, Cassandra L, Catherine, Cathy, Celia, Chauni, Chelsea, Cindy, Claudette J, Claudette R, Connie, Dana, Dawn, Debbie, Debra, DeLorra, Diane, Dustin, Elizabeth, Ellie, Erica, Frankie, Gail, Grace, Heather S, Heather W (Abbotsford), Heather W (New Westminster), Heidi, Howard, Isabella, Jaimus, Janice, Jassi, Jaylian, Jayne, Jennifer, Jeremy, Jill K, Jill R, Jingky, Jobina, Jonathan, Joy, Julia, Justine, Karen Mae, Katherine, Kathy, Kim C, Kim L, Krena, Kristy, Lan, Laura, Lauren, Lindsey, Lisbeth, Liz D, Liz G, Lorraine, Madison J, Madison L, Marilyn, Marlene, Martin, Mary, Matthew, Meghan, Michelle, Mike, Monica, Nancie, Natalie, Natasha, Nicole, Noel, Obhi, Pam, Pat, Rachel, Ravi, Rosalie, Rylan, Rylee, Sanjita, Scott, Shannon, Sharlene, Shawn, Shenell, Shirley, Skye, Stephanie K, Stephanie N, Sydney, Tanya, Tara, Tatjana, Teena, Tracy D, Tracy M, Tracy Q, Travis, Treena, Tyler, Vivian, Walter, Wendy, Yvonne. Bragging rights were up for grabs with some friendly competition. Top Individual Fundraiser: Tracey Quewezance (Thompson North Okanagan region) Top Fundraising Team: Kathy Moore, Team Captain, Kamloops Top Team with the most runners: Lauren Vandergronden and Brooke Raphael, Team Captains, Vancouver

10 OH&S

HEALTHFUL WORKPLACES BEGIN WITH EDUCATION

BCNU plays a key role in the development of provincial violence prevention curriculum

UNION GRIEVES COERCIVE MASK POLICY

CNU HAS FILED AN INDUSTRY Wide Application Dispute (IWAD) in response to health employers’ continuing policy that makes flu vaccinations or wearing masks mandatory for the duration of the flu season. In September, BCNU President Gayle Duteil wrote to BC health employers asking them to revoke their policy in light of a recent arbitration ruling that overturned Ontario health employers’ mandatory vaccinate-or-mask policy. Unfortunately, health employers have responded by refusing to consider revisiting the policy. The response comes at a time when the consensus on the wisdom of mandatory mask policies is being questioned. In October health officials in Saskatchewan announced that health care workers won’t be forced to get a flu shot or wear a surgical mask when caring for patients while authorities review the Ontario ruling. BC’s controversial vaccinate-or-mask policy has been in effect since 2013, and BCNU is legally required to advise members to comply while it’s under grievance. “BCNU has consistently taken a strong position opposing mandatory flu vaccination and we will continue to support our members’ right to make personal and professional decisions about whether the flu vaccine is right for them,” says Duteil. update

HE RECENT $2-MILLION joint commitment to address on-the-job violence at four priority worksites in the province is an important move by the BC Nurses’ Union and health employers that will help make the delivery of care safer for nurses and patients. But the violence reduction plan announced last August is just one of example the ongoing work that BCNU is doing in recognition of the need for safe and healthful workplaces. Violence education and awareness has for years been a top priority for the union, and part of BCNU’s ongoing role as a leader in the area of occupational health and safety. (Article 32 of the Nurses’ Bargaining Association (NBA) provincial collective agreement contains strong language to ensure that members can practice in safe workplaces.) BCNU has played a significant role in the development of the provincial violence prevention curriculum (PVPC) since it’s early development and pilot in 2012. We continue to be involved in a joint advisory committee along with employers and other unions which has recently been updating, revising and standardizing educational materials provided by employers across BC. Violence prevention education is an important part of a system-wide violence prevention program. It provides our members with valuable strategies for assessment, de-escalation and responding to the risk of violence.

Learning these strategies enhances professional practice and provides members with tools they can use to improve safety for staff while continuing to provide safe patient care. The current PVPC has been in place since 2012 and with user feedback on the education, the working group determined in 2014 that further work was needed to update the on-line and classroom modules. The classroom modules are restructured to allow for more participation by the attendees. All modules will be available in 2016. The PVPC is now improved and more accessible for BCNU members covered by the NBA provincial collective agreement. In 2012, BCNU bargained improvements to the NBA provincial contract so health employers are required to provide nurses with violence prevention training based on the program designed by the joint committee. These modules are considered a compulsory in-service which means that nurses attending will be paid at the applicable rate of pay. Modules may be completed by members while they are at work where operational requirements allow. If you haven’t been trained in violence prevention, BCNU strongly encourages you to complete this program. Members who experience difficulty accessing the courses or completing the education at work can talk to their manager/supervisor about options, or ask a steward to help ensure they are provided this important safety training at their worksite. update

UPDATE MAGAZINE December 2015/January 2016

OH&S

MAKING THE CALL

Members access new BCNU violence support hotline soon after launch

ITHIN JUST A few days of the October launch of the BCNU Nurses’ Violence Support Hotline, a nurse was assaulted while trying to provide safe patient care. The attack happened in the maximum security unit of Coquitlam’s Forensic Psychiatric Hospital. The nurse, who was sucker punched while trying to de-escalate an argument between two patients, was forced to take time off work to recover. “This is another horrendous example of why BCNU is taking on this issue and demanding that health authorities provide the resources to stop the violence,” says BCNU President Gayle Duteil. The nurse who was assaulted officially reported the incident to their employer’s workplace health call centre as required. He also called the Nurses’ Violence Support Hotline, and was immediately connected to a trained trauma counsellor. Other nurses from Metro Vancouver and across the province have also been accessing the 24-7

service, which is available to any BCNU member who has been assaulted while working. “BCNU offered this service to members so they can obtain immediate 24-7 support if they’ve been assaulted on the job,” says Duteil. “We’re pleased that some are making that call and encourage others to use the hotline, even if they haven’t been physically hurt, as violence can have long-term psychological impacts.” Duteil notes that BCNU’s support hotline should not be seen as a replacement to filing an official report with the employer’s workplace health call centre at 1-866-922-9464. Health care workers are required by legislation to report any incidents to this call centre. This will trigger an investigation and ensure corrective actions. “All violent incidents still need to be reported to the employer’s workplace health call centre, even if there is no injury,” says Adriane Gear, BCNU’s executive councillor responsible for health and safety. “Otherwise there is no official record, no evidence of a problem that health authorities need to fix and the number of incidents may actually appear to decline.” Gear says discussions are underway to make it easier for nurses to report violence. “As nurses, we need to support and encourage one another to report all incidents of violence,” she says. update

VIOLENCE REDUCTION PLAN

HIGH RISK WORKSITE BEGINS TO SEE PROGRESS THE JOINT ANNOUNCEMENT OF A VIOLENCE reduction plan last summer saw BCNU and the health ministry commit to working collaboratively to develop ways to keep nurses safer on the job. Since then, BCNU reps have been working to address violence at high risk worksites in Coquitlam, Abbotsford, Kamloops and Victoria. Violent incidents continue to occur, but some worksites are reporting fewer code whites. One of these is the Hillside Psychiatric Centre in Kamloops, where a disturbing number of nurses have been assaulted over the years. BCNU Thompson North Okanagan region chair Tracy Quewezance says progress is being made. “We’re moving forward slowly. This site has had a lot of problems and there’s still a long way to go. But senior management is open to hearing what the issues are and they fix them quickly.” Hillside is now staffed to baseline, even when occupancy is low. A job fair was conducted and existing staff selected rotation lines. Additional new lines have been posted and the recruitment and hiring process is underway. The 24-7 security officers brought in on a temporary basis are being replaced by newly created psychiatric aide positions. These health care workers have received additional skills training and will support clinical staff when intervening to care for aggressive patients. Half of these positions have been filled and should soon be providing 24-7 coverage. New closed-circuit TV systems and enhanced personal alarms have also been purchased that will increase the number of areas monitored. The new technology is expected to be installed by December 15. Quewezance is reasonably optimistic that these changes will make Hillside safer. “Reactive code whites have decreased, and more proactive code whites are happening before a violent situation occurs,” she reports. “So staff are de-escalating and actually preventing ugly situations from blowing up.” update If you’ve been assaulted, even if not physically hurt, call the Nurses’ Violence Support Hotline. You can key the number into your phone’s contact list now, so it’s there when you need it: 1-844-202-2728

12 JOB SECURITY

BCNU RALLIES BEHIND MEMBERS WORKING IN LONG-TERM CARE

Layoffs part of larger crisis facing seniors’ care in BC

ing care, compassion, friendship and respect to my mom,” she says. “She sees the same staff every day. She is more familiar with them than she is with me. It is just amazing to watch. I think they are irreplaceable.” Guy and her family are disappointed that the Mennonite Benevolent Society has provided no correspondence about this significant change to their mother’s life. “Everything we heard about it has come from the media,” she reports. Discussions between BCNU, QUICK RESPONSE BCNU’s provincial executive led the Fraser Health Authority and the members to rally in support of Menno Hospital staff a employer regarding BCNU memday after they received lay off notices on September 30. bers at Menno Hospital are ongoing. UNDREDS OF BC The Mennonite Benevolent Society has Nurses’ Union members not been the only long-term care employer mobilized in front of Abfacility issuing layoff notices recently. The botsford’s Menno Hospital Care Group company, which owns several on Oct. 1 in support of their long-term care facilities in the province, laid fellow nurses who work at the facility. off four regular and seven casual nurses at The Mennonite Benevolent Society, Vancouver’s Braddan Private Hospital in which runs the 151-bed seniors’ care home, October. gave layoff notices to the 60 full-time and It’s not the first time the investors casual BCNU nurses employed at the facilinvolved with Care Group have been ity two days earlier. Citing budget shortfalls, responsible for laying off long-term nursing the society says it plans to contract out its employees. In May 2013 some of the comservices to non-union employees. pany’s investors laid off 14 BCNU members “Health care officials talk about seniors’ who worked at the Sydney Care facility on care and how important it is, but this is Vancouver Island. not what safe patient care looks like,” said Duteil says she is all too aware that nurses BCNU President Gayle Duteil, speaking working in health authority-affiliated longat the event. “Some of these members have term care facilities are at risk of receiving been at Menno Hospital for 20 to 25 years. layoff notices, and wants BCNU members to They are like family to these seniors.” know that safeguarding jobs is a major priorVancouver resident Bev Guy, whose ity at the bargaining table. “As we move formother has been a resident at Menno ward with the employer we want to ensure Hospital since 2012, agrees that the nursing there are strong job security provisions in staff is more like family. “Nurses are providour contract for all members.” update

CRITICAL INSIGHT Participants in the October 15 “Brief History of Work” course were given a walking tour of key labour history sites by BCNU Human Rights, Equity and Health Policy Officer Hanif Karim.

UNION FUNDAMENTALS FOR UNION ACTIVISTS, THE DAY-TO-DAY work of engaging with managers to protect working and care conditions can sometimes makes it easy to lose focus on the bigger picture. And the history of workers’ struggles to secure the working and living conditions the majority of us enjoy can too easily be forgotten. That’s where BCNU’s “Brief History of Work” course comes in. It introduces participants to the role of activist and advocate that remains so important in the contemporary labour movement. Course participants explore the complex history of labour struggles, racism and workers’ victories through videos, facilitator-led discussions, and small group activities. A historical walking tour of downtown Vancouver is a course highlight. Diane Lingren works at Royal Inland Hospital on the medical-surgical ward for orthopedics and neurology. “I was shocked to learn about how early unions tried to keep people of colour out of BC,” she says. “Because today we are about human rights and equity.” Like other participants, Lingren is hoping to become a BCNU steward. “The course provides valuable knowledge about the start of unions, how we’ve evolved and what we’ve become today.” The next Brief History of Work is scheduled to take place March 8. update

ON THE ROAD

BCNU executive travels the province to share nurses’ bargaining agenda

FACE-TO-FACE Top left: BCNU Vice President Christine Sorensen (r) and Simon Fraser region co-chair Lynn Lagace meet with Burnaby Hospital’s Lindsay Taberner (l) during a recent walkabout at the facility. Top: BCNU President Gayle Duteil meets with members at Surrey Memorial Hospital. Top right and bottom left: Duteil talks bargaining at Victoria’s Royal Jubilee Hospital. Bottom right: Duteil meets with members at Victoria’s Cook Street Community Health Unit.

eeping all members engaged and informed throughout the process of negotiating a new Nurses’ Bargaining Association (NBA) provincial agreement is the union’s top priority. BCNU’s leadership did just that this November when President Gayle Duteil and Vice President Christine Sorensen, along with Executive Director of Negotiations and Strategic Development Gary Fane, travelled the province to report to members at over 60 worksites. BCNU’s bargaining committee has now completed two months of meetings with negotiators from the provincial government, health authorities and the Health Employers Association of BC (HEABC). Union negotiators tabled a number of important proposals though September and October. Now it’s time for health employers to get serious about listening to nurses’ concerns. Parties are scheduled to be at the bargaining table again early next year. In the meantime, Duteil, Sorensen and Fane shared the bargaining agenda that BCNU set out during its meetings with health employers. Duteil told members that she reminded

the employer about its 2012 contract obligation to create 2,125 new full-time registered nurse positions before April 2016. “We still don’t have these positions that were promised – and that’s a problem,” said Duteil. She cited employers’ chronic, ongoing dependency on overtime as one of the biggest concerns at the bargaining table, and it’s what the new full-time RN positions were intended to remedy. “We need to see 2,125 nurses in the system,” said Duteil. “We agreed to a 37.5-hour workweek in exchange for those positions – and we’re going to make sure we get them.” Members were also told that BCNU is not interested in following the bargaining pattern and contract terms agreed to by other health sector unions. Duteil said that the pattern of a 5.5 percent wage increase over five years was set when the government first settled with the Health Sciences Association of BC (HSA) in March 2014, and that HSA agreed to these modest terms in exchange for the forgiveness of a $3.8-million debt it owed the government from a previously negotiated joint long-term trust agreement. Duteil also told members that BCNU

has no interest in the Joint Benefit Trust arrangement that has been accepted by other unions. Under the JBT, if the costs of benefits such as prescription drug coverage increase, both employers and employees must pay for the cost of the increase. “BCNU is the last remaining union with 100 percent employer-paid benefits,” said Duteil. “All the other health care unions share the cost and pay 25 percent of their benefit premiums. “We’ve heard loud and clear from members that benefits are a very important issue, especially after the debacle of the pharmacare tie-in negotiated during the last round,” she said. “I suspect the government will offer all kinds of incentives to get us to sign on to the Joint Benefits Trust – but I tell you: we will not be doing that.” Members were also told that job security is one of the highest priorities for the BCNU bargaining committee, and that despite the current nursing shortage, health employers continue to make nurses’ working lives far too precarious. “The government wants to transition patients out of hospitals and into

BARGAINING FOR SAFE PATIENT CARE

the community and residential care to keep them out of the ER. And that’s not bad thing. We’re not opposed to keeping patients in the community where they are comfortable,” said Duteil. However she said that the policy should not come at the expense of job security, and that any acute care bed closures or layoffs must be matched by investments in community care. Duteil assured members that she’s all too aware that long-term care positions are at risk of being contracted out. She reminded them about Abbotsford’s Menno Hospital that recently, and without warning, issued layoff notices to 63 nurses. “Nurses who have been at that facility for over 25 years were expected to apply for their old jobs but with $10-an-hour-less pay, no sick time and no pension.” Duteil also acknowledged that new grads are not finding positions in the midst of a nursing shortage, and that much of the problem can be seen in the many postings and vacancies in rural and remote communities. “People are not going to move to Dawson Creek for a casual position,” she noted. “Employers haven’t seemed to figure that out yet.” Duteil reminded members that rural

retention and recruitment and job security go hand in hand. “They just built a new hospital in Fort St. John. Why didn’t they build a 20-unit housing complex for nurses and physicians to live in?” she asked. “A onebedroom apartment in Fort St. John costs $1,800 a month to rent. You’re not going to get a new grad going for that.” Members also heard that community nursing issues are going to be high on the agenda in this round of bargaining – especially as the health care system shifts away from acute care hospitals. BCNU Vice President Christine Sorensen described to members how community nurses are frequently required to travel vast distances while carrying extreme caseloads. “Community nurses are also working in isolation, we don’t know where they are half the time, and they are out there using pen and paper,” she explained. “We need to provide them with the mobile technology to use at the point of care so we can find them – the workloads are high and the safety issues are high.” Members were told about the union’s commitment to increase nurses’ scope of practice, and that includes LPNs, RNs and RPNs. “This is the first time in Canada

that scope of practice has been put on the bargaining table,” said Duteil. “Your current scope of practice allows you to do lots of things, but it’s health authority policies that limit it,” she noted. “We would like to see LPNs have a greater scope. In Alberta they do a lot more. And we also want to see consistency. Often on one floor LPNs can do one thing, and on another floor, they can’t,” she said. Duteil reminded all members that success at the bargaining table will require a loud voice and collective action. That could come in the form of a large and strong strike vote and creative forms of job action. She also noted that employer’s continual use of overtime would work to nurses’ advantage in negotiations. “They rely on you working excessive amounts of overtime. They rely on you working for free, and they rely on you working 16-hour shifts on your days off,” said Duteil. “But just by withdrawing overtime we would put employers into a panic. We could say that there will be no OT next Thursday unless it’s approved by BCNU, and I suspect we’d be bargaining until four in the morning on Wednesday night.” Duteil said there are many ways to apply pressure, and all kinds of creative job action, such as the removal of non-nursing duties. But to be successful, members must do it together. “The fact that we, all nurses – LPNs, RNs and RPNs – are together at the bargaining table is significant,” said Duteil. “We are a powerful voice and the strongest union in the province – and employers have a right to be worried about the fact that they don’t have a contract with nurses. “They’ve never seen a force like ours before – and we’re bargaining for safe patient care – that’s the message British Columbians will hear.” update

MAKING CONNECTIONS Top left: BCNU Vice President Christine Sorensen meets with members at Coquitlam’s Eagle Ridge Hospital. Top right: BCNU President Gayle Duteil talks bargaining at Victoria’s Royal Jubilee Hospital. Bottom Left: St. Paul’s Hospital nurses welcome union president Gayle Duteil. Bottom right: Vice President Christine Sorensen talks to members during a walkabout at Burnaby Hospital.

UPDATE MAGAZINE December 2015/January 2016

READY TO LEARN Targeted labour market development funds negotiated as part of April’s provincial staffing grievance settlement are allowing LPNs to make the transition to RNs. These funds are just part of the solution needed to address BC’s nurse staffing shortage.

$5-MILLION FOR SPECIALTY EDUCATION

SHARING OUR

SUCCESS

Nurses are seeing the results of this year’s provincial staffing grievance settlement

he largest obstacle to the negotiation of a new Nurses’ Bargaining Association provincial collective agreement has without a doubt been health employers’ failure to fully honour the terms of the current 2012-2014 NBA contract. Nurses accepted the 37.5-hour workweek in the last round of negotiations in return for a guarantee that vacancies and absences will be replaced. But they were faced with an employer who argued that, if no nurses could be found, they were under no obligation to staff according to the terms of the contract. BCNU members across the province had no choice but to file thousands of staffing grievances that would force health authorities to acknowledge the need to invest in and adequately train enough

new specialty nurses to properly staff the emergency, operating, perinatal and other specialized units that are working short across the province today. Last April’s provincial staffing grievance settlement was the outcome of those efforts. A new fast-track process has been established to better resolve future staffing disputes. But just as important is the targeted labour development funding from the settlement that’s now being used to help immediately address the nurse staffing shortage. From specialty nurse and RN transition education, to investments in community nursing and rural and remote communities, BCNU members across the province are now sharing the success of this staffing grievance settlement.

A $5-million fund included in the staffing grievance settlement is intended to begin addressing the critical shortage of specialtytrained nurses across BC. Some estimates put this shortage as high as 1,000 nurses, which is why sites like Surrey Memorial Hospital’s family birthing unit have been plagued by workload issues and high turnover. “The shortage of specialty trained nurses is chronic right across BC,” says BCNU President Gayle Duteil. “From ORs to ERs, in cities big and small, and in rural and remote settings, there are just not enough trained nurses to meet contractual obligations to provide safe patient care. “One result of this is nurses working short and working excessively long shifts, which can only wear them out and drive them out,” she says. The $5-million award for specialty training is being used to fund an additional 72 nursing program seats in 2015. BCNU is now directly involved in formulating plans to increase the supply of specialty nurses in high-priority areas to ensure a fair distribution of the benefits across all the health authorities. It’s estimated the $5-million will achieve a 12 to 15 percent improvement in availability in most areas of BC. The need for many more specialtytrained nurses is certainly urgent, but the output is constrained by the province’s

BARGAINING FOR SAFE PATIENT CARE

educational training infrastructure. BCIT is the largest accredited institute providing specialty education in BC. It was funded in 2014-15 to support the health authorities. Other factors must be addressed in order to improve nurses’ chances of entering training for these currently unfilled jobs. A significant part of the training is handson, which means that nurses must be given opportunities to be mentored in the workplace. The large number of sites where specialty nurses are still not being replaced as required by the contract shows the need to dramatically increase the number that are educated each year. While the $5-million is a good start, it’s just the first step. The provincial staffing grievance settlement clearly recognizes the need to substantially expand specialty training spaces and BCNU is pressing this issue in bargaining.

effectively – unless they pay for these tools out of their own pockets. That’s about to begin changing due to a $2-million fund created as part of April’s staffing grievance settlement. This award will be used as seed money to address gaps in mobile technology affecting workload, safety and communications for nurses in public health, home health and mental health. The funding is now being used to purchase smartphones, tablets, laptops

$2-MILLION FOR COMMUNITY NURSING

Community nurses working at pointof-care (in direct contact with clients in their homes) currently lack mobile technology, connectivity and applications to allow them to do their jobs

and other mobile technologies. Current limitations on connectivity mean that point-of-care nursing remains manual and paper-based. “This is laborious and time-consuming for these busy nurses,” says BCNU Vice President Christine Sorensen. “It forces them to endure patterns of work that predate the electronic era.” Sorensen says that without mobile connectivity, nurses must download forms to take to clients, fill them out at their homes, return to the office and enter the data on computers, put it through the Resident Assessment Instrument to get a result, and then return to the client’s home to complete care planning. “Our intent is to use this seed money to streamline the process and get rid of redundant work and travel by ensuring nurses have the equipment to complete their assessments right in the client’s home,” she says. The program will also

SEEING RESULTS April’s provincial staffing grievance settlement addressed BCNU’s most serious concerns over provincial health employers’ refusal to fully honour the terms of the 2012-2014 NBA collective agreement. Funds from the arbitration award are now being used to effect real change. Here’s what we’ve achieved in the last six months:

DAMAGE FUNDS $2-million in grievance settlement cheques were sent to over 1,600 members around the province directly impacted by breaches of the staffing language.

SPECIALTY NURSE EDUCATION $5-million award is now funding training spaces to increase the supply of specialty nurses in high-priority areas.

MOBILE TECHNOLOGY $2-million is now being distributed to health authorities for the purchase of smartphones and other mobile connectivity for community nurses.

UPDATE MAGAZINE December 2015/January 2016

make community nursing much safer because smart technology carries a global positioning system (GPS) that can track each nurse’s whereabouts while they travel. It also means that clients will no longer have access to nurses’ personal cellphone numbers, which happens now because many use their private phones for work purposes. The settlement requires that $2-million in equipment must be purchased by December 31 and assigned to nurses by February 29, 2016. The program covers some 3,374 community nurses in five health authorities. Funds have been divided based on each health authority’s share of community nurses, and employers are required to assume all costs for ongoing maintenance and mobile connectivity. (PHSA/Providence did not request mobile technology support). The parties have also agreed to undertake a comprehensive review of the Resident Assessment Instrument for the purposes of streamlining and updating it. This tool has been in use for a decade now and, while widely accepted as valuable, has not been subjected to any review.

$15,000 GRANTS FOR SERVICE IN RURAL AND REMOTE COMMUNITIES The Northern Health Authority (NHA) and BCNU agreed in September to cre-

RN STAFFING $1-million is now funding RN education at Vancouver Community College. First program cohort began this fall.

ate a new incentive program to assist in recruiting for hard-to-fill nursing positions in rural and remote communities. This new agreement flows from funding secured under this year’s provincial staffing grievance settlement. In recognition of the challenges faced in attracting nurses into smaller rural and remote communities, NHA and BCNU have established a northern remote grant for external hires and internal casuals who are willing to relocate for listed full-time positions. NHA will provide a grant of $10,000 up front in return for a guarantee of a minimum of three years’ service. NHA will in turn guarantee full-time employ-

ment for a period of five years, and will make up to $2,000 a year available for professional development, beginning in the second year (up to a maximum of $8,000). For its part, BCNU council has agreed to provide an additional $5,000 up front per nurse, for as many as 25 hardto-fill hires. “A lot more needs to be done to make working in rural and remote communities more attractive to nurses,” says BCNU President Gayle Duteil. “But these grants definitely move us in the right direction.” NHA covers an area of nearly 600,000 square kilometres (which is larger than France), and is responsible for providing health services in 50 health care facilities in over two dozen communities. The grants are intended to make it easier to attract nurses into smaller rural and remote communities and to offset the lack of professional development opportunities available locally. BCNU remains committed to improving the incentives available to nurses willing to tackle hard-to-fill positions in all rural and remote communities in BC. This issue is being pursued in the current round of negotiations for a new contract. NHA is expecting to post a list of nursing positions to which these grants apply shortly. update

RURAL AND REMOTE COMMUNITIES $15,000 incentive program now in place to help recruit nurses for hard-to-fill nursing positions in rural and remote communities.

MENTAL HEALTH Over $330,000 is now funding personal resilience workshops for members across the province. (See sidebar on page 19 for 2016 workshop schedule)

BARGAINING FOR SAFE PATIENT CARE

REACHING THEIR

CAREER GOALS Staffing grievance settlement provides $1-million for LPN education

FIRST COHORT Anita Azad, Alisa Nand and Viktorija Glambinskaite are among the first group of LPNs who have received tuition for Vancouver Community College’s LPN-RN program. Funding for the nursing school positions was secured as part of April’s provincial staffing grievance settlement.

hen the province’s licensed practical nurses were deciding whether they should become members of the BC Nurses’ Union in 2012, one of the key commitments BCNU made to them was assistance to help build strong nursing careers. Some LPNs want to expand their skills and knowledge within their current classification, some want to become registered nurses or registered psychiatric nurses, while others want to develop careers in research or academia. BCNU has allocated $1-million from

April’s provincial staffing grievance settlement for LPN education. That money created a new cohort of 28 LPNs at Vancouver Community College’s (VCC) RN program. BCNU worked with VCC because LPNs can start their program in their fifth term once they complete pre-requisites and bridging courses. Other schools make LPNs start in their third term, which takes longer and costs more. BCNU hopes to create opportunities like this in other parts of the province. In addition to the tuition support received by the 28 LPNs attending VCC, disbursements of up to $1,500 were also given to more than 150 other LPNs already

pursuing RN or RPN education. “It’s an exciting time for LPNs,” says BCNU Central Vancouver region co-chair Marlene Goertzen, who was one of the key organizers who helped bring LPNs into the nurses’ union. “This funding will help almost 200 LPNs advance their nursing careers in the way each of them wants to develop their practice.” Anita Azad is one of the LPNs who received full tuition to the VCC RN program and she’s very excited to be there. “It’s absolutely amazing,” says Azad. “I still can’t believe I’m this lucky because I didn’t know these types of things happen. It’s such a great opportunity to move forward with my career.” Azad graduated from the University of the Fraser Valley in 2008, where she earned a Certificate in Practical Nursing. She began her nursing career working in long-term care at Abbotsford’s Menno Hospital and later worked at Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre. She now lives in Vancouver and works as a casual for Providence Health Care and at the Provincial Health Services Authority’s Sunnyhill Hospital where she does pediatric rehabilitation. “I really love the diversity of my career so far,” says Azad. “And becoming an RN will help me practice in more areas where I can do a greater variety of work.” Azad says that working in end-of-life care with women in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside (DTES) has been one of the most impactful parts of her practice. “I worked for a small DTES agency that provides housing and clinical care for terminally ill women, and it had a huge effect on me as a person and on the way I deliver health care,” she says. “One of my patients was a homeless woman dying of complications from HIV and Hepatitis C and we spent a lot of time together and made dream catchers,” she recalls. “As she told me about her life, I gained a deep empathy for her and for others in her situation. Sharing the last part of her life was a privilege I’ll always cherish.” Azad also has an interest in working overseas with Doctors Without Borders. “I’ve been to some of their meetings and I’ll have

UPDATE MAGAZINE December 2015/January 2016

a better chance to work with them once I finish my education and consolidate my skills.” Viktorija Glambinskaite is also an LPN who received tuition for the VCC program. “I’ve been trying to get into RN programs since I graduated from high school,” says Glambinskaite. “Some schools like BCIT wanted me to have a degree before I even applied to their program because so many of their applicants already had degrees. So I did an LPN program at Sprott-Shaw College instead and started practicing right away.”

“I love working in high-acuity environments and this funding will help me build the career I’ve always wanted.” LPN VIKTORIJA GLAMBINSKAITE

But Glambinskaite never gave up on her goal. “Right after high school I did all of the prerequisites for the RN program so I’d be ready to start school as soon as an opportunity came up. “My dream is to work in labour and delivery or in neonatal intensive care,” she says. “I love working in high-acuity environments and this funding will help me build the career I’ve always wanted.” Alisa Nand is also excited about the VCC program. She graduated from VCC’s LPN program in 2011 and is happy to be heading

back to school. “Many of the LPNs in the program have been waiting for this for a long time,” she says. “We’ve worked in different areas of nursing and have very clear ideas about where we want our RN practices to be.” Nand has worked in medicine and radiology and thinks the most satisfying part of her job is patient education. “When I see someone leaving the hospital who is confident about caring for themselves, I feel good about that.” Recently Nand had an elderly palliative patient, and friends and family from all over the world came to see him before he died. “He was in a great deal of pain and needed morphine,” says Nand. “But there were cultural barriers to taking morphine because his family didn’t want him confused in the last stage of his life. “I was able to teach the family about pain management so they could better participate in his care. And when he died three days later, the family felt comfortable sharing their grief with me,” explains Nand. “This showed me how important patient and family education is, and it will be a big part of my nursing career in the future.” BCNU South Fraser Valley region co-chair Jonathan Karmazinuk is also an LPN who worked with Goertzen to bring LPNs into BCNU. “As well as providing education funding for LPNs, BCNU is doing a lot in bargaining to advocate for us,” says Karmazinuk. “We want LPNs practicing to their full scope in collaborative relationships with other nurses.” The $1-million negotiated for LPN education is just the beginning. BCNU will continue to look for creative ways to help LPNs expand their horizons and build successful careers. update

SURVIVING AND THRIVING IN TODAY'S HEALTH CARE WORKPLACE Register for one of BCNU’s personal resilience workshops today! The series of fall resilience workshops for BCNU members was made possible with funds from the provincial staffing grievance arbitration award. This popular workshop has been expanded across the province. Now scheduled through the winter, these one-day workshops have received average satisfaction ratings of 9.5 out of 10 by members who attended them in the fall. Workshops are held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. A light breakfast commences at 8 a.m. and lunch will be provided. The workshops are free to selected nurses, but please note that salary replacement and/or travel expense reimbursement is not available. Maximum registration is capped at 20 people – so don’t delay! WORKSHOP DATES Lower Mainland North of the Fraser River January 22, 2016 BCNU Education Centre February 12, 2016 BCNU Education Centre The North January 29, 2016 February 4, 2016

Fraser Valley January 21, 2016

Prince Rupert, Howard Johnson Highliner Hotel Fort St. John, Quality Inn Northern Grand Hotel

Abbotsford, Best Western Bakerview Hotel

North of the Fraser River/Sea-to-Sky Corridor February 11, 2016 Squamish, Sea-to-Sky Hotel The Interior March 8, 2016 March 9, 2016 March 10, 2016

Penticton Ramada Kelowna Four Point Sheraton Kamloops Coast Hotel

Vancouver Island January 13, 2016 January 14, 2016

Victoria Coast Hotel Victoria Coast Hotel

To register please send your name and designation (LPN, RN or RPN), contact information (email address and phone number) to Beth MacPherson at bethmacpherson@bcnu.org.

FEATURE

JOINT SAFETY FIRST BCNU members are leaders when it comes to promoting safe and healthy workplaces. From left: Maples Adolescent Treatment Centre OH&S steward Christine Brisebois, Yale Road Centre OH&S steward Mary Ann Nicholls, BCNU executive councillor responsible for OH&S Adriane Gear, and Richmond Hospital OH&S steward Michael Young.

EFFORT

BCNU stewards are using joint occupational health and safety committees to make their worksites safer for nurses and patients

“

“JOHS” Committee: To some, it’s just another of the many acronyms that nurses are faced with in the course of their work. But for others, these four letters are the key to ensuring that their careers – and those of their co-workers – are as safe and rewarding as can be. All workers in BC are affected by laws that govern the environments where they work. Both the province’s Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) Regulations and the Workers’ Compensation Act contain legal requirements that must be met by all workplaces. It’s not hard to imagine the complexity of rules, policies and procedures that need to be in place to account for the huge and ever-

changing variety of industries and sectors in BC. Health care is the perfect example of a sector that’s as varied as it is vast. So how can employers and workers ensure compliance with the OH&S regulations governing health care? That’s where a Joint Occupational Health & Safety ( JOHS) committee comes in. This committee consists of worker and employer reps working

together to create and promote safe and healthy workplaces. It’s where the job of implementing an effective health and safety program gets done. Any BC employer with 20 or more regularly employed workers must establish and maintain a JOHS committee that meets monthly. If a collective agreement is in place, there may be a requirement to maintain a committee with fewer than 20 workers. At least half the members must be worker representatives, and the committee must have two co-chairs, one selected by the worker representatives and the other selected by the employer representatives. Rules that are on the books are one thing. Rules that are properly adhered to and enforced are often another matter. Fortunately, in BC, a majority of nurses and other health care workers have the benefit of union membership – and this fact alone goes a long way to ensuring that workers’ right to effect meaningful change in their workplaces is protected. BCNU is committed to our members’ safety, and the union provides significant resources to assist members, stewards and OH&S reps who serve on JOHS committees. Stewards receive specialized OH&S training that helps ensure that the duties and functions of JOHS committees comply with the law governing occupational health and safety in BC.

ll of the BCNU stewards working across the province are advocates for their co-workers. Whether it’s handling contract grievances or helping members protect their licences through the professional responsibility form process, they are committed to improving their colleagues’ working lives. But the role of an OH&S steward is unique, and many say they are drawn to the position because of the specific nature of the work involved, or have discovered that

“

Our patients come first – that’s the nature of the profession – but that doesn’t mean we deserve a second-rate work environment.

”

BCNU EXECUTIVE COUNCILLOR ADRIANE GEAR

the role was a good fit for them. For the past nine years, Christine Brisebois has worked in youth forensics at the Maples Adolescent Treatment Centre in Burnaby. The mental health facility provides direct residential and community services for youth and their families, and supports them in caring for and treating troubled youth with significant psychiatric and behavioural difficulties. “At first I didn’t really think I would have much interest working on the JOHS committee,” she says, “but there was a need for a worker rep, so I joined it and right away I found it really interesting.” She describes her OH&S steward work as a lens through which to view issues as preventive, and to stop hazardous situations from happening again. “It involves lots of critical thinking and I just found that pretty interesting.” Michael Young has worked on a medical unit at Richmond Hospital for the past 26 years. He’s an OH&S steward and currently serves as co-chair of the hospital’s JOHS committee. “I’ve always been a safety advocate, but I got motivated to work on the JOHS committee because it can make concrete changes that people can see,” he says. “It’s more tangible to members when the see a new piece of equipment or procedure

that’s resulted from the work of the JOHS committee.” Young contrasts his own work with that of other stewards. “Grievances are by their nature confidential – so the members don’t often know when we’re doing a really good job with grievances,” he explains. “But safety is a very public and concrete way of displaying how the union works for the benefit of the members.” Adriane Gear, BCNU’s executive councillor responsible for health and safety, agrees. “Most OH&S stewards and reps say they enjoy the work they do because it can result in measurable change they can see in the workplace.” Gear says OH&S stewards and reps also appreciate the collaborative approach to the work they do with managers, versus the sometimes more adversarial nature of grievance handling. She argues that in a profession focused on caring for patients, it’s all too easy to forget about the health of workers – and that’s why occupational health and safety in the health care workplace is so important. “The very mandate of the JOHS committee is to ensure that the employer provides a safe workplace for workers – not patients,” she stresses, noting the many other organizational structures in place to serve patients. “As a union of professionals, we need to make sure our members truly believe they have a right to a safe workplace – and that’s a culture shift,” she argues, saying that nurses often put themselves second. “Our patients come first – that’s the nature of the profession – but that doesn’t mean we deserve a second-rate work environment or tolerate risks such as exposure to violence that wouldn’t be tolerated in other industries and professions.” Gear stresses that a safe work environment equates to a safe care environment for patients.

UPDATE MAGAZINE December 2015/January 2016

DUE DILIGENCE A major roof leak at Vernon Jubilee Hospital led BCNU steward Harwinder Sandhu to address the hazard through her worksite joint occupational health and safety committee.

OHS committees are the cornerstone of effective health and safety programs and provide a forum for collaboration, consultation, and participation at the workplace. When committee worker and employer reps agree that a course of action needs to be taken, written recommendations are then made to management. There are many examples that show how workers, using JOHS committees, have secured frontline solutions to make their workplaces safer and healthier. Workers at the Maples Adolescent Treatment Centre have been facing increasing levels of violence in recent years. Last

“

year, it had become so serious that assaults on staff were making news headlines on a daily basis, and many nurses were so seriously hurt that they were off work indefinitely. “Some were injured so badly that they couldn’t return to work again,” says Brisebois. “These were my co-workers, and I wanted to prevent it from happening to anyone else. Most injuries are preventable – even violent ones.” Brisebois says the work of her JOHS committee was essential in achieving many of the safety improvements that are now in place, including security guards that were hired in 2014. “The addition of security guards and the provision of two-way radios is probably the biggest thing that we’ve accomplished,” reports Brisebois. “Prior to these recent violent events we had no security and no means of emergency communication.” Mary Ann Nicholls works on the Patient Assessment and Transition to Home (PATH) unit at Yale Road Centre in Surrey. The 40-year nurse is also an OH&S steward who sits on her workplace JOHS committee. Her worksite is a residential facility located in a low income neighborhood with a high crime rate. Nicholls says the fact that the staff parking lots are isolated and had no security presence during a shift change was becoming cause for concern. “There have been several incidents of staff members being approached by people when entering or exiting the facility, and damage to people’s cars was occurring on all shifts,” she says.

I got motivated to work on the JOHS committee because it can make concrete changes that people can see. RICHMOND HOSPITAL OH&S STEWARD MICHAEL YOUNG

”

WHAT IS A JOHS COMMITTEE? A Joint Occupational Health & Safety (JOHS) committee consists of worker and employer reps working together to create and promote safe and healthy workplaces. The duties and functions of JOHS committees are listed in the Workers Compensation Act and in our collective agreements. JOHS committees meet at least monthly. The number of worker reps on each committee must be equal to or greater than the number of employer reps.

WHY ARE JOHS COMMITTEES IMPORTANT? JOHS committees are a cornerstone for effective health and safety programs, providing a forum for collaboration, consultation, and participation at the workplace. JOHS committees guarantee you the right to participate in health and safety issues at your worksite. It’s through these committees that you and your co-workers can offer frontline solutions to make our workplaces safer and healthier.

HOW IS BCNU INVOLVED? To be effective, JOHS committee members need education and training on a wide range of issues. BCNU's OH&S department offers a helpful one-day course for JOHS committee members, and assists them with research and problem-solving. For further information about Joint Occupational Health and Safety (JOHS) committees such as functions, investigations, inspections, 21-day recommendation letters, and education, please contact JOHSCsupport@bcnu.org.

Her JOHS committee agreed that staff were at risk of being harmed or injured when arriving or leaving work. Nicholls then submitted a draft recommendation letter to the JOHS committee for discussion. Once a letter is sent to management, the process allows for a response within 21 days. However, when the Fraser Health Authority learned that the letter was going to be submitted, it proactively conducted a risk assessment of the facility. Young has worked with his worksite JOHS committee to help educate Richmond Hospital workers on the importance of using the correct accident reporting system. All workplace accidents, near-misses or psychological trauma need to be reported to the employer’s workplace health call centre. However, Young says his JOHS committee discovered that many workers were filling out PSLS (Patient Safety Learning System) reports after serious near misses when they should have been calling the call centre. “The call centre is a accredited by WorkSafeBC, but not PSLS,” explains Young, who says the JOHS found that hospital employees were receiving conflicting information from management on how to report. He says staff in BCNU’s OH&S department provided him with the necessary information that his committee used to effect the needed changes. “The employer has recently started to change the local near miss reporting procedures so that managers and supervisors do not recommend the PSLS system to our members who need to report accidents, serious near misses or psychological trauma.” Young says that the number of calls to the employer’s workplace health call centre has now increased, indicating that reports are now being made correctly. Vernon Jubilee Hospital nurse Harwinder Sandhu is passionate about her role on her worksite’s JOHS committee. The steward works on a surgical specialty unit and became a steward two-and-a-half years ago.

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If our JOHS committee was not there we would have no way to effectively address issues and ensure workplace safety. VERNON JUBILEE HOSPITAL STEWARD HARWINDER SANDHU

“JOHS committees are vital for creating a safe workplace,” she says. We work in busy settings under a lot of pressure and with strict timelines. We work with biohazardous materials, do heavy lifting – there are many risks on a shift that may lead to serious or life-threatening injuries.” Sandhu is proud of her own JOHS committee and the work it is doing. “In Vernon we have a very active and effective JOHS committee,” she reports. “We have two employer reps in addition to worker reps – two from BCNU, two from HEU (Hospital Employees’ Union), two from HSA (Health Sciences Association), plus alternates. Our new BCNU rep on the committee is serving as co-chair. “If our JOHS committee was not there we would have no way to effectively address issues and ensure workplace safety.” This fact was made clear recently when the committee conducted its annual inspection of the hospital and discovered that the lab roof was leaking and exposing staff to biohazardous materials. Workers informed the committee that the problem had been going on for months. “They showed us pictures of how they worked when there was rain or snow, and when water stared to pour in from multiple areas,” says Sandhu. “They were working with umbrellas between their knees as they sat on their chairs in front of their computers.” Sandhu says staff told her they had complained to their supervisor several times and that no action was being taken. “We were shocked and we immediately inquired to find out if acute care services were aware

”

of the conditions.” After not receiving a guarantee of immediate action, Sandhu says she and other worker reps brought a recommendation to the JOHS committee. It stated that the leak was exposing workers to class-A biohazard materials, and that immediate action was required due to the seriousness of the risk. She now reports that work on a new roof was recently completed.

ll of the stewards interviewed say they couldn’t have achieved what they have without the support of BCNU’s OH&S department, which offers a helpful one-day course for JOHS committee members and assists them with research and problem-solving. It also offers a two-day advanced course on how to identify hazards, conduct inspections and investigations, and write recommendations. “Having come from the Union of Psychiatric Nurses, I appreciate that I now have much more support,” says Brisebois [Ed.: UPN merged with BCNU in 2014]. “The staff in BCNU’s OH&S department really are terrific, and if I have any kind of question they are right there to answer it.” She says this knowledge helps increase her confidence in JOHS committee meetings. “I took the JOHS committee training course and the hazard inspection course,” says Sandhu. “They were amazing, and I still refer to those course materials and resources. She says the training has

UPDATE MAGAZINE December 2015/January 2016

allowed her to sharpen her skills and become an effective JOHS member. “I’m thankful to BCNU for the training I’ve received. It’s given me a lot of confidence and I see myself now as someone who’s not afraid to speak up.” Even with the support, there’s no question the work is challenging. “Without the education, training and ongoing support from BCNU’s OH&S department I would likely not be committed to continuing in the role of JOHS committee member,” says Nicholls. Gear was elected to her position last spring and says supporting JOHS committees is one of her highest priorities. “We want to make sure we have BCNU representation on all of the JOHS committees at worksites where our members are working – because there are some gaps,” she says. “It’s about doing that analysis and determining where we can provide the training to make sure JOHS committees are staffed with BCNU members and also doing an effective job.” update Are you feeling inspired by what you’ve read? Curious about how you could help make your workplace healthier and safer? Talk to your worksite steward or BCNU regional chair, and start your OH&S journey today. For further information about Joint Occupational Health and Safety (JOHS) committees such as functions, investigations, inspections, 21-day recommendation letters, and education, please contact JOHSCsupport@bcnu.org.

WHATS MAKES AN EFFECTIVE JOINT OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY COMMITTEE? To be effective, joint occupational health and safety committee members need education and training on a wide range of issues. BCNU’s OH&S department offers JOHS committee members courses on research and problem-solving, as well as on hazards, inspections and investigations. Gerrie Miller works at Campbell River Home and Community Care and is the Occupational Health and Safety rep for BCNU’s Pacific Rim region. Elected this fall, Miller brings extensive experience as an OH&S steward and joint occupation health and safety committee member to her new role. Miller offers her thoughts on the elements she believes are important for a well-functioning and effective JOHS committee. • It should be made up of a group of individuals who truly want to be at the table, and who share a commitment to safety in the workplace. • It provides members with adequate time off to attend the meeting and work effectively. • It should have well-established terms of reference (rules) to guide its activities. • There must be a respectful working relationship among all employer and employee members. • It promotes collaboration and transparency in the sharing of data such as incident reports and findings. • It should include ad hoc members when needed (e.g., members of a workplace musculoskeletal injury prevention program.) • It should ensure all investigations include both the employer and employee reps and allow adequate time and resources for review of all incidents. • Action plans are created and actions are later measured for success.

• An agenda reflecting current trends and needs should be sent out to all committee members at least one week prior to meeting. • Co-chairs should alternate (many committees alternate co-chairs annually: if three unions are at the table, each union rep would sit for a one year term then alternate with a member of another union to take their place). • It should coordinate JOHS education for committee members. • It celebrates successes. Miller says that additional employer supports, such as sponsored JOHS committee co-chair development course and annual JOHS training provide an exceptional learning experience that go a long way to helping JOHS committees meet their intended purpose. “BCNU JOHS training compares to few,” says Miller. “One comes away from such educational experiences with a wealth of knowledge that will enable JOHS reps to support the members as the need arises – there is no dollar value that can be spared when it comes to safety in the workplace.

26 OPEN FORUM FOR BCNU MEMBERS

LETTERS

addressed organizational stressors and recommended skills to make progressive changes. Fostering and building resilience are key skills in sustaining our brothers and sisters in the profession. Thank you for supporting us!

VIOLENCE ISSUE CALLS FOR SERIOUS ATTENTION

Carol Hunter Vancouver

THE ISSUE OF VIOLENCE AGAINST NURSES HAS FOR MANY YEARS BEEN A TOPIC in the BCNU magazine. Recently, incidents are becoming more visible to the public, which has resulted in the government issuing a statement that it is looking into the issue. Four institutions are now reported to be improving security for nurses. Physical violence, as well as verbal abuse, is and has been commonplace for many years. Older nurses have many examples of such incidents. The problem is complex, as patients can be medicated, recovering from anesthetics, intoxicated, on street drugs, mentally ill or simply unhappy about their situation in the health care setting. To excuse any sort of verbal or physical violence for those reasons is not acceptable, yet in many cases it seems to be the model. I object strongly to this and feel there needs to be a serious look at why this violence exists. One issue is the current hiring of contract security for hospitals. Other than wearing a uniform, these low-paid workers offer no enforcement, as they are not allowed to touch a patient. In a violent event, they call 911 for police to respond. This is not the type of protection a nurse needs in an emergency department, for example. There needs to be firm policies in health care settings that are instituted for nurse protection, and this includes strict outlines for the laying of charges and the removal of the nurse from the setting. Guidelines for acceptable behaviour should become part of the admission process. Resourcing nurses’ experiences for quick resolution with a conference would be appropriate. As a retiree among many in BC, I and others could be that resource. Nurses traumatized by patients’ aggressive actions need attention and post-traumatic stress support should be readily available. Wendy Alden North Vancouver

RESILIENCE WORKSHOPS ACKNOWLEDGE NURSES’ RISK

I RECENTLY HAD THE opportunity to attend the Mental Health Strategies resilience workshop sponsored by BCNU. I have been in health care for close to 30 years. I was so impressed by this workshop.

Please join our open forum and send your letters to: editor@bcnu.org The majority of the nurses who attended were veterans in the field as well. By acknowledging occupational risks such as compassion fatigue, post-traumatic stress and occupational stress injury — and identifying the symptoms as well as providing resources — the information was invaluable. This would also be very helpful for

our new recruits. We often associate these risks with visible first responders such as police, firefighters, and members of the armed forces. Nurses are exposed to a lot of human suffering as well, and to finally have this brought forward and acknowledged is wonderful. The workshop also

GRIEVANCE SETTLEMENT A LOST OPPORTUNITY

Re: Provincial staffing grievance settlement I APPRECIATE EFFORTS of the union to deal with this important matter and for negotiating a settlement for the membership. I do, however, have significant concerns with respect to the process. First, it is my understanding that the membership was made aware of the issue through stewards. For those who were asked to sign their names, there was never any discussion about compensation, or that failure to sign the grievance would lead to ineligibility for payment. I believe these issues should have been transparent at the outset, so individuals would have been able to make an informed decision about whether or not to sign the petition. Second, not all members were given the opportunity to sign the grievance, thus leading to a large number of affected members being left out of the settlement. All members should have been advised through communications sent across a number of

STAY CONNECTED months to ensure all of those impacted had an opportunity to take part. Instead, I and many other members only found out about the issue once a settlement had been reached. I believe that only providing some affected members with compensation while leaving others out is divisive, and does not honour all of those who work under the same conditions contrary to the collective agreement. This settlement was a lost opportunity to gain support of many more of our members. It minimizes how widespread the issue of unsafe work conditions actually is, and unfairly compensates only a small portion of the membership involved. It is not reasonable to provide compensation to a select few when a majority of the membership was affected. It is my view the provincial executive has failed the larger membership and did not represent all of us in this matter. I urge them to rectify the situation by pursuing a more inclusive settlement. Georgina Lapointe, RN TST VGH Acute to Community BCNU President Gayle Duteil responds: I WANT TO THANK ALL nurses for providing safe, effective health care in often demanding situations. There is no doubt that we are all in the fight for safe patient care together, and every BCNU member deserves to be fairly

compensated f or the invaluable care they provide to their patients. I know that many of our members are advocating for safe patient care every day and in many ways, from using the PRF process to serving on joint occupational health and safety committees. All of this work is important. However, the staffing grievance settlement was the result of a specific effort, and this settlement acknowledges the role of grievors, witnesses and grievance initiative leaders. Although compensation was not awarded to all nurses, this arbitration settlement will eventually benefit all BCNU members by forcing employers to adequately staff hospitals and meet patient care needs. Members who received settlement cheques must have signed workload grievances or completed grievance information tracking questionnaires prior to March 31, 2015. Those who testified in arbitration, or who were on the list to testify, and those who took a leadership role in the grievance filing process, also received cheques. MENTAL HEALTH MESSAGE IS PERSONAL

This holiday season the BCNU in encouraging members to send seasonal postcards to Premier Christy Clark and Health Minister Terry Lake calling on them to invest in mental health services. BCNU Pacific Rim region member Paul Smith took the opportunity to write them a personal

letter, some of which is printed here. DEAR PREMIER CLARK and Minister Lake, I am writing as mental health patient and a registered nurse. When a patient has been referred to psychiatric services, it shouldn’t take more than 24 hours to be contacted by a mental health nurse and be triaged for the psychiatrist. It took over a month for me! If I, a registered nurse, had difficulty accessing mental health services, I shudder to think what the average mental health patient goes through. Please don’t think that simply having access to a psychiatrist is all that that is needed. It needs to be appreciated just how difficult it is for a patient to get on the proper medication regime. More community mental health nurses would provide the support needed to assist patients through the challenging transitions of mental health medications. At no point during my encounters with the mental health system did a mental health nurse ever contact me. This needs to change. Having a mental health nurse call and assess the side effects to determine if I needed to see the doctor would have helped greatly. I am proud to be a registered nurse. I am also proud to have a mental illness and be a fully contributing member of society. Paul Smith Nanaimo

MOVING? NEW EMAIL? When you move, please let BCNU know your new address so we can keep sending you the Update, election information and other vital union material. Give us your home email address and we’ll send you the latest BCNU bulletins and news releases. And if you’ve changed your name, please let us know.

Please contact the Membership Department by email at membership@bcnu.org or by phone at 604-433-2268 or 1-800-663-9991

MENTAL HEALTH STRATEGY

FRASER HEALTH CUTS HARM YOUNG PATIENTS CLOSURE OF ABBOTSFORD REGIONAL HOSPITAL’S ADOLESCENT PSYCH UNIT HINDERS RECOVERIES, INCREASES COSTS THE FRASER HEALTH Authority’s decision to close the adolescent psychiatric unit (APU) at Abbotsford Regional Hospital is proving to be a dismal failure, according to nurses, who say the move is harming adolescents and increasing the cost of health care and social services. The APU is a four-bed unit designed to provide 13- to 18-year-olds with psychiatric care to help stabilize mental health issues while offering counselling to build new skills and prevent relapses. FHA closed the APU five years ago saying it was underutilized. But since 2012 adolescent psychiatric admissions in the region have gone up by 88 percent and total admitted patient days are now over 1500. That would put the now-closed APU’s four beds at 26 percent over capacity while leaving the seclusion room available for patients who need reduced stimulation and safety. “FHA’s decision to close the adolescent psych unit is proving to be therapeutically devastating and financially unsound,” says BCNU Fraser Valley region chair Katherine Hamilton. “We’re now seeing adolescent psych patients restrained in emergency room beds or transferred to the pediatric ward, and they don’t get the therapeutic interventions they need in either location. This causes readmissions, and

WORTHY INVESTMENT Accessible and comprehensive mental health services are essential to help integrate youth into the community and reduce the need for acute pyschiatric care later in life.

higher health and social services costs.” ARH nurses launched a petition campaign at this year’s Canada Day parade to push FHA to reopen the unit, and have now gathered more than 30 pages of signatures. The campaign will continue to engage parent advisory committees at local schools, youth pastors and the public. Kathryn Dempsey is a patient care coordinator in the ARH emergency department. It’s her responsibility to support ER nurses, facilitate patient flow and advocate for appropriate

inpatient units for admitted patients. “Since Fraser Health closed the APU, the ER nurses are seeing a huge degrading of clinical care for young psychiatric patients,” she reports. “Holding young psychiatric patients in the emergency room is the worst clinical environment for them.” Dempsey says psychiatric patients need a calming environment where their clinical needs can be addressed in a holistic way. This doesn’t happen in the ER because bright lights, noise, distressed trauma

patients, or people under the influence of alcohol and illegal drugs creates a hectic environment. “Since Fraser Health closed the APU it’s very tough to find appropriate placements for young psychiatric patients. They can’t go to an adult psychiatric ward because there may be pedophiles or other inappropriate adults around them,” she says. “And to transfer them to pediatrics they must be non-violent, non-homicidal, not under the influence of illegal drugs, and approved by a psychiatrist and pediatrician.” Dempsey says that sometimes staff must restrain adolescent psych patients on ER cots in an often chaotic environment. “We can’t do anything of long-term therapeutic value for them in the ER because they don’t get the intensive counselling they need to move beyond their current difficulties.” ARH pediatric nurse Joyce Kehler agrees that young psychiatric patients need a tailored environment to help them get well. “Some of the young psychiatric patients admitted to the pediatric ward are depressive or suicidal, and pediatric nurses aren’t trained for intensive psychiatric care,” explains Kehler. “So beyond a daily visit from a psychiatrist and mental health worker, they don’t get a lot of care that has therapeutic value.” Kehler says that many young psychiatric patients should be in a secure unit for their own safety. And they need psychiatric nurses, programming, alcohol and drug counselling and activities that help them build new skills. The now-closed APU was designed to provide

UPDATE MAGAZINE December 2015/January 2016

“Some of these children have terribly sad stories, and they deserve better health care than what they’re getting now.” ABBOTSFORD REGIONAL HOSPITAL NURSE JOYCE KEHLER

exactly this type of care. “Some of these children have terribly sad stories,” says Kehler. “And they deserve better health care than what they’re getting now.” Pediatrics clinical nurse educator Joanne Hamberg agrees. “Basically what we provide is high-cost babysitting in a non-violent environment. The RNs aren’t psych trained, so young psych patients just get daily visits from psychiatrists who manage their medications and a short visit from a mental health clinician. They don’t get the intense therapy or group work they really need.” FHA’s closure of the Abbotsford APU is causing a lot of repeat admissions and the APUs at Surrey Memorial Hospital and BC Children’s Hospital have long waitlists. “When adolescents get successful treatment for psychiatric issues it lowers hospital readmissions, and eventually it will reduce the burden on social services, the courts and prisons,” says Hamilton. “Many of these young people are treatable and can become successful adults rather than living distressed lives. Our region will keep advocating for these young patients until FHA hears the public outcry and reopens Abbotsford’s APU.” update

HERE’S WHO CAN HELP BCNU’s Mental Health Reps offer members support at the regional level. A group of reps attended an information meeting at the BCNU education centre earlier this year. Front row, from left: South Islands region’s Ken Giles, Okanagan Similkameen region’s Natalie Mark, Thompson North Okanagan region’s Chauni Johnson, South Fraser Valley region’s Heidi Lieffering and Coastal Mountain region’s Paddy Treavor. Back row, from left: RIVA region’s John Gojevic, Pacific Rim region’s Michelle Grant, North East region’s Richard Massey, Fraser Valley region’s Suellen Larsen and Dan Murphy, BCNU’s executive councillor responsible for mental health. If you need help or have questions, please contact your current regional Mental Health Rep listed below.

HOW TO CONTACT YOUR REGIONAL MENTAL HEALTH REPS Pacific Rim

Coastal Mountain Patrick (Paddy) Treavor paddytreavor@bcnu.org

Thompson North Okanagan Chauni Johnson chaunijohnson@bcnu.org

Vacant

Fraser Valley Suellen Larsen suellenlarsen@bcnu.org

Central Vancouver

Shaughnessy Heights

Vacant

TBD

Okanagan Similkameen Natalie Mark nataliemark@bcnu.org

East Kootenay Vacant TBD

South Islands

RIVA John Gojevic johngojevic@bcnu.org

North East Richard Massey

Vancouver Metro

South Fraser Valley Heidi Lieffering heidiliffering@bcnu.org

North West Vacant TBD

Simon Fraser Christine Brisebois christinebrisebois@bcnu.org

West Kootenay

richardmassey@bcnu.org

Vacant

TBD

Vacant

TBD

Vacant

TBD

MENTAL HEALTH STRATEGY

HOPE AT HEARTWOOD TRAUMA-INFORMED CARE MODEL BENEFITS WOMEN WHO STRUGGLE WITH DEPENDENCIES AND STAFF WHO CARE FOR THEM PATRICIA KAMARA HAS been delivering care at the Heartwood Centre for Women since the unique facility opened its doors four years ago. The veteran registered psychiatric nurse says Heartwood’s trauma-informed care (TIC) approach benefits both patients who struggle with dependencies and the staff who care for them. “At Heartwood we treat our clients with respect and dignity. We work shoulder-to-shoulder with them,” says the RPN, who has worked at other mental health facilities since immigrating to BC from war-ravaged Sierra Leone. “At some places you’re always looking over your shoulder. Patients are more aggressive, they yell and throw things at you, and management often isn’t supportive of staff,” she reports. “Nurses feel safe here. It helps that we can talk openly with management about any of our concerns.” “Trauma-informed care isn’t just about helping our patients,” says Heartwood program director Denise Bradshaw. “It’s also about treating all of our staff with respect and dignity, and ensuring they are able to deliver quality care.” Bradshaw helped launch Heartwood, which is located in Vancouver at BC Women’s Hospital. She and other mental

health researchers and practitioners were also part of a team that helped develop the Trauma Informed Practice Guide for the BC Provincial Mental Health and Substance Use Planning Council. The guide states that TIC “recognizes the need to respond to an individual’s intersecting experiences of trauma,

mental health and substance use concerns . . . and takes into account an understanding of trauma in all aspects of service delivery, placing priority on the individual’s safety, choice and control . . . creating a treatment culture of nonviolence, learning and collaboration.” Bradshaw says four principles provide a framework for staff

and clients at Heartwood: trauma awareness; safety and trustworthiness; opportunity for choice, collaboration and connection; and strengthsbased skill building. “We always build on their strengths,” says Kamara. “Some are wonderful artists, story tellers or musicians. We focus on what they’re good at, what has worked for them in the past, and what they enjoy.”

“Heartwood is about hope. Hope for each woman that walks through our door. Hope that they can achieve their potential.” DENISE BRADSHAW

SAFE AND EFFECTIVE MENTAL HEALTH CARE Heartwood Centre for Women RPN Patricia Kamara and Heartwood program director Denise Bradshaw are proud to be working with a practice model that allows them to make a positive difference in patients’ lives.

Clients, who come from every region of BC, are all dealing with substance use issues when they arrive at Heartwood. Forty percent are First Nations members. Some arrive homeless, while others have been incarcerated or have violent histories. Many have been sexually abused. About 15 percent of clients are professionals, including nurses, doctors and bankers. Kamara says Heartwood

UPDATE MAGAZINE December 2015/January 2016

“It’s a more complete, robust approach to mental health, with safe staffing levels and leadership that cares and listens.” BCNU EXECUTIVE COUNCILLOR DAN MURPHY

nurses provide and coordinate nursing support to clients, including performing assessments, attending to medical concerns and managing medications. They’re part of an interdisciplinary team that includes RPNs, RNs and doctors, psychiatrists, counsellors, social workers, dieticians, art and recreational therapists, social workers, yoga instructors and acupuncturists. Bradshaw explains that new clients spend the first week or two of the program meeting with nurses and other staff, managing withdrawal from substance abuse, identifying and treating mental health issues, and developing stable daily routines. They also attend orientation sessions and learn about nutrition and pain management. Twelvestep meetings are also provided. “We meet with the women frequently, and make program changes based on how they’re doing,” says Kamara. “Everyone’s plan is unique.” Clients receive intensive treatment during the next 10 weeks of the program. Group programs address trauma, substance dependency, and mental and physical health issues. An acupuncturist, expressive art

therapist and yoga instructor help clients develop alternative methods of coping with symptoms and managing difficult feelings. Group meetings and activities are focused on trauma and substance dependency, women’s wellness, mental wellness and substance use, spirituality and recovery, motivational enhancement, smoking cessation, mindfulness, relapse prevention and emotional regulation. “The program at Heartwood is a win-win situation for nurses and their patients,” says BCNU executive councillor for mental health Dan Murphy. “Trauma-informed care speaks to what all nurses want: a safe environment where they can ply their profession in a healthy, holistic way. It’s amazing what nurses can accomplish when they’re given the proper tools and aren’t understaffed.” Murphy says BCNU wants to see more facilities employ trauma-informed care. “It’s a more complete, robust approach to mental health, with safe staffing levels and leadership that cares and listens. There is less nurse burnout and more job satisfaction and job retention,” he explains. “The provincial

government should be more supportive of traumainformed care. The results speak for themselves.” In just four years and with only 30 beds, Heartwood has already helped some 400 women – most who have experienced childhood trauma – overcome substance dependency and start building new lives. See sidebar for more info. Heartwood staff also advocate for their clients in the courts and with social service agencies. “Many are homeless when they arrive,” says Bradshaw. “But we ensure they’re not leaving homeless. Our commitment to them is that we will never discharge a client to the street.” “Heartwood is about hope,” explains Bradshaw. “Hope for each woman that walks through our door. Hope that they can achieve their potential.” “What I enjoy most about working at Heartwood,” adds Kamara, “is seeing how our clients have transitioned during their 90 days here. Most of them reconnect with us after they leave, telling us how well they’re doing and how their lives have changed for the better. That’s so rewarding for the team.” update

TRAUMA IS COMMON IN CANADA Among all Canadians: • 76 percent of Canadian adults report some form of trauma exposure in their lifetime • An estimated 50 percent of all Canadian women and 33 percent of Canadian men have survived at least one incidence of sexual or physical violence Among British Columbians seeking help with substance use and mental health concerns: • 63 percent of women entering treatment for substance abuse problems at Vancouver’s Aurora Centre indicated that they had experienced physical violence and 41 percent had experienced sexual violence • 44.6 percent of participants in the North American Opiate Medication Initiative (NAOMI) in Vancouver reported a history of physical or sexual abuse Among people experiencing homelessness in BC: • 51 percent of homeless people from three BC communities interviewed reported childhood sexual abuse • 55 percent reported physical abuse • 60 percent reported neglect • 58 percent reported emotional abuse Source: Trauma-Informed Practice Guide, BC Provincial Mental Health and Substance Use Planning Council

PRFs

IN THE WORKPLACE

PHOTO: STEVE SCAIA

SAFEGUARDING STANDARDS ONE NURSE’S PRF RESULTS IN IMPROVED NICU TRAINING AT NELSON HOSPITAL A SINGLE PROFESSIONAL responsibility form filed by a concerned Kootenay Lake Hospital (KLH) maternity nurse has improved conditions for moms, babes and staff at the busy Nelson facility. Sky Jennings filed the PRF after completing a stressful night shift at the hospital last year. That evening, she and her co-workers found themselves caring for a sick baby requiring one-on-one attention, another baby on IV antibiotics, and a mom being induced for labour, while also being responsible for the care of other patients on the ward. Jennings graduated from Selkirk College’s nursing program in 2005. She landed her first job at Trail’s Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital (KBRH) on the medical floor. She later moved to the surgical floor, before taking perinatal training in 2013. She then began working on the mat floor in a temporary full-time position at Nelson’s KLH in 2014. Last year’s busy shift made Jennings aware of the amount of training and experience required for the job. Even though the nurses and their patients made it safely through the night, and even though the charge nurse was very supportive, Jennings felt she may not

have been practicing within her scope, and decided to speak out about her concerns. “I was so grateful everything turned out okay,” she says. “But, as I told my manager, I filed the PRF to make sure this wouldn’t happen again.” Jennings’ PRF described in detail her patient safety concerns and included the fact that there was limited nursery training for maternity nurses at the Nelson hospital. Unlike KBRH in Trail, the facility isn’t

a regional hospital, and there was no neonatal intensive care training (only perinatal training) and no designated nursery. In the PRF’s attempted remedy section, Jennings requested that a designated number of KLH maternity nurses have NICU training; at least one nurse on each shift have formal nursery or NICU training; and that there be an appropriate skill mix for each shift. “The great thing is that my manager was so receptive and

WORTH THE EFFORT Castlegar’s Sky Jennings is happy with the outcome of a PRF she filed while working in the maternity ward at the Kootenay Lake Hospital in Nelson.”

awesome,” says Jennings. “I felt safe talking to her. She and the nurse educator were very approachable and willing to cooperate.” Jennings says she was assisted throughout the PRF process by KLH steward Angela Falk and West Kootenay PRF rep Glenna Lynch. “They were extremely helpful and supportive every step of the way.” “I was really impressed with Sky,” says Falk. “Not only did she file the PRF after facing a situation that she felt prevented her from working to her full scope of practice, but she kept on working for positive changes throughout the process. She didn’t give up, and kept on fighting for her patients and co-workers.” Jennings, a resident of Castlegar, now delivers care at KBRH in Trail. Nevertheless, she remained fully involved in the PRF process taking place in Nelson. “Two of my three children were born in Nelson,” she explains. “We always had amazing care from the nurses there. I want to ensure everyone has the tools for that to continue.” The first PRF committee meeting was held in March and the second in October 2015. Falk says all the issues were discussed respectfully, with both sides working to improve patient safety. Although nurses didn’t get everything asked for in Jennings’ PRF, there were a number of big wins: management agreed to continue providing ACORN (acute care of at-risk newborns) training when available; the current four-hour nursery education sessions

Call for

UPDATE MAGAZINE December 2015/January 2016

BCNU CONVENTION 2016 “Two of my three children were born in Nelson and we always had amazing care from the nurses there. I want to ensure everyone has the tools for that to continue.” SKY JENNINGS

have evolved into intermediate level education; drills and code pinks will be run periodically by the perinatal educator; a diversion algorithm is now in place; the KLH manager has agreed to request three days of NICU training when new nurses are doing their practicum; and an experienced RN will be on call for night shifts when only less-experienced maternity nurses are working on the unit. “There is always room for improvement,” says Jennings. “But I feel KLH’s maternity floor is well on its way to bridging the gaps that led to me to file the PRF. That’s why I feel it has ultimately been a triumph. “It was really worth filing the PRF, and I totally recommend the process to other nurses. It may not always be easy, but nursing isn’t an easy profession. We’re often our patients’ only advocate, and PRFs are an efficient way to speak out for them.” update

It’s time to submit your proposed resolutions, bylaws and constitutional amendments

May 17 – 19 Hyatt Regency Hotel Vancouver Delegates should register at the hotel on the evening of May 16, 2016. All members from our union’s 16 regions are urged to attend, either as observers or as voting delegates.

Proposed bylaw and constitutional amendments must be received by the Bylaws Committee at BCNU no later than January 25, 2016. Please see your steward for the necessary forms. Mail them to the BCNU office, attention chair of the Bylaws Committee Michelle Sordal. Proposed resolutions must be received by the Resolutions Committee at BCNU no later than January 25, 2016. Please see your steward for the necessary forms. Mail them to the BCNU office, attention chair of the Resolutions Committee Claudette Jut.

Human Rights & Equity COMMITTEE CELEBRATES 10 YEARS OF ADVOCACY AN INTERVIEW WITH BCNU HUMAN RIGHTS AND EQUITY COMMITTEE CHAIR MABEL TUNG NURSES WORKING IN 2015 still face racism and discrimination on the job every day, says BCNU’s Human Rights and Equity Committee chair and provincial treasurer Mabel Tung. “We still have a lot of work to do to eliminate discrimination in our union, workplaces and society,” says Tung. She cites an example that almost every frontline nurse can relate to. When a patient walks up to a nursing station where several nurses have gathered, Tung says they routinely choose the white nurse to speak to, even if the other nurses are more qualified, and the patient is a person of colour. Tung says nurses of colour can also find it harder to climb the career ladder. She recalls the story of two nurses who applied for a patient care coordinator

position. One was a white man who had graduated from nursing school just two years prior. The other candidate was Filipina with 10 years of frontline nursing experience. The less experienced candidate got the job, but the more experienced nurse chose not to grieve the decision, as she was afraid of being labelled a trouble-maker.

Tung was the only visible minority member of council when she was first elected to the BCNU provincial executive in 2003. The union’s Human Rights and Diversity Committee was formed at the 2005 BCNU convention. It was re-named the Human Rights and Equity Committee in 2012 and now steers the work of

four equity seeking caucuses. These include the Aboriginal Leadership Circle, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Caucus, the Mosaic of Colour Caucus, and the Workers with Disabilities Caucus. Established according to the same principles of the Human Rights Code of BC, they recognize the need to support members who may feel less welcome and find participation more difficult, by giving them a space to speak freely about issues that matter to them. The goal is to empower these members to become more active in the union. The Human Rights and Equity Committee also helps internationally-educated nurses, and assists other groups of union members organize their own networks. To date, BCNU supports the Men in Nursing group, and the Young Nurses’ Network. “I often get asked – why do we still need the Human Rights and Equity Committee when everyone is treated equally?” says Tung. She points out that the words “equity” and “equality” are often used interchangeably. But in fact they have distinct meanings. “Treating everybody equally is only fair if everyone enjoys the same access to resources, opportunities, and power,” she explains. “Unfortunately, this is not the case. In reality, many people experience social and POWERFUL ADVOCATE BCNU Human Rights and Equity Committee chair Mabel Tung is proud of the work the union’s equity caucuses have done to raise awareness about inequality and discrimination over the past 10 years.

UPDATE MAGAZINE December 2015/January 2016

economic inequalities on a daily basis.” Tung says that, over time, these inequalities are reinforced and normalized through social stereotypes and prejudices. “Equity is about striving to level this unequal playing field,” she stresses. “It’s about providing additional and unique supports to those who experience greater social, economic and other challenges in

accessing opportunities, resources and power.” Tung says that today the Human Rights and Equity Committee continues working to address the under-representation of equity-seeking members and other diverse voices in key areas within BCNU, from the grassroots to the elected leadership. “Our work is not done until equity in our membership is achieved.” update

HOW TO CONTACT YOUR HUMAN RIGHTS AND EQUITY REPS

EQUALITY VS. EQUITY BCNU Human Rights and Equity Committee chair Mabel Tung says the meme above perfectly illustrates the need for continued support and advocacy of marginalized union members.

A DECADE OF BCNU’S HUMAN RIGHTS AND EQUITY PROMOTION 2005 Multicultural group formed. 2006 Aboriginal Leadership Circle formed. Currently advocates for equitable and accessible health care for indigenous people; encourages and supports Indigenous peoples to choose nursing as a career 2007 LGBT Caucus formed. Currently advocates for LGBT rights in the workplace and society; LGBT folks in long-term care who face discrimination due to their sexual orientation; and trans rights 2007 BCNU Human Rights and Diversity Committee formed includes the Multicultural Group, Aboriginal Leadership Circle, LGBT Caucus, and Workers with Disabilities Caucus 2007 Multicultural Group renamed Workers of Colour Caucus. Currently advocates for the rights of racialized workers in the workplace; refugee rights and health care; and cultural competent health care delivery 2007 Workers with Disabilities formed – the caucus advocates for workers who may be working with a visible or invisible disability; currently supporting a push to create fragrance-free environments in workplaces 2009 Young Nurse Initiative established. 2009 Men in Nursing Group formed to advocate for men who decide to enter nursing. Currently raises awareness about violence against women in society. 2008 BCNU Bylaws amended to allow for two delegates from each equity caucus to attend the union’s annual convention. 2011 Young Nurses’ Network formed to provide support for nurses under the age of 35 or those nurses who have been in the profession for less than 5 years – recognizing the uniques challenges these nurses face. 2015: The Human rights and equity committee encourages the four equity-seeking caucuses, Men in Nursing and the Young Nurses’ Network to look for opportunities to work together to strengthen human rights and equity in the regions. Today: Collective endeavor (across the caucuses) to promote environmental awareness through promoting the idea of water as a basic human right by discouraging the use of bottled water and advocating for First Nations communities which may not have access to safe water.

BCNU Human Rights and Equity Committee Mabel Tung, Chair C 604-328-9346 E mtung@bcnu.org Aboriginal Leadership Circle Sherry Ridsdale, Acting Chair E aboriginal@bcnu.org Lori Pearson, Council Liaison C 250-919-4890 E loripearson@bcnu.org Workers with Disabilities Caucus Kelly Woywitka, Chair E disabilities@bcnu.org Roni Lokken, Council Liaison C 250-960-8621 E veronicalokken@bcnu.org LGBT Caucus Cynthia Reid, Chair E lgbt@bcnu.org Tracy Quewezance, Council Liaison C 250-320-8064 E tquewezance@bcnu.org Men in Nursing Group Walter Lumamba, Chair E meninnursing@bcnu.org Lorne Burkart, Council Liaison C 250-354-5311 E lorneburkart@bcnu.org Mosaic of Colour Caucus Jessica Celeste, Chair E woc@bcnu.org Mabel Tung, Council Liaison C 604-328-9346 E mtung@bcnu.org Young Nurses’ Network Catherine Clutchey, Chair E ynn@bcnu.org Jonathan Karmazinuk, Council Liaison C 604-312-0826 E jonathankarmazinuk@bcnu.org

Your Pension SECURING YOUR FUTURE

RETIREE BENEFIT PROGRAM SEEKS MEMBER INPUT UPCOMING SURVEY WILL ASSESS RETIRED MEMBERS’ EXTENDED HEALTH COVERAGE NEEDS BCNU’S RETIREE BENEFIT Program has been a valuable aid to members who are required to pay more for their extended health benefits and dental plans after they retire. Assistance with health insurance premiums is just one of the ways that the program can benefit retirees. Now, the union is surveying all members to make sure the program best meets the need of all. An upcoming survey is being developed, and the results will be used to help guide the plan’s direction. “The union will be sending out the survey via eNews early in the new year,” says Deb Ducharme, BCNU’s executive councillor responsible for pensions. “It’s important all members take this survey as

it will affect their health coverage in retirement.” The Retiree Benefit Program is funded through the conversion of one percent of the market adjustment wage increase that members covered by the Nurses’ Bargaining Association (NBA) received in 2008. Money the program receives is held in a tax-free trust fund. Those retired members who are registered in the program receive funds twice per year, which they use to “top up” their extended health coverage. Upon retiring, BCNU members stop receiving employer extended health coverage and begin receiving reduced coverage under their pension plan (whether it be the Municipal Pension Plan, Public Service Pension Plan or the Canadian

Blood Services Pension Plan). The program was negotiated during the 2006 Nurses’ Bargaining Association (NBA) contract talks. The program started in 2008, received its first funding in 2009 and has been paying out to eligible retirees since that time. Ducharme chairs the program committee that oversees the fund to ensure monies are appropriately invested for growth and safe keeping for the future. Other committee members include BCNU regional chairs and a retired member who acts as a representative for program beneficiaries. “The upcoming survey is an opportunity for both active and retired members to express what they feel is the most effective way to utilize the funds,”

says Ducharme. “We are seeking member input regarding important future enhancements of the program.” Regardless of the survey results, Ducharme says the base extended health and dental coverage provided to members by Pacific Blue Cross (PBC) will not be affected. The PBC plan will remain the same, and funds provided by the Retiree Benefit Program will continue to provide supplementary coverage. At present, only qualified retired members who were covered by the NBA collective agreement, and who were paying into the fund, can access the program. BCNU is working to negotiate all members – including those not covered by the NBA contract – into the program. update

APPLY FOR THE RETIREE BENEFIT PROGRAM TODAY

To receive funds from the program you need to register, and all members in the NBA can apply at any time. To complete an application form visit the BCNU website (member services/retired members). To request a hardcopy form please call 604-433-2268 or email retireebenefit@bcnu.org. To learn more about the program or other pension related matters, contact Deb Ducharme, Executive Councillor, Pensions by email dducharme@bcnu. org or 604-433-2268.

UPDATE MAGAZINE December 2015/January 2016

Council Profile HERE’S WHO’S WORKING FOR YOU

WEALTH OF EXPERIENCE SOUTH ISLANDS CO-CHAIR LYNNDA SMITH

EMPOWERING MEMBERS

“We’re focusing on visiting members who we don’t see a lot, holding mini regional meetings and dinners, and doing basic outreach to let them know we’re here,” says South Islands co-chair Lynnda Smith.

QUICK FACTS NAME Lynnda Smith. GRADUATED Royal Alexandra (Edmonton), 1990; UVic (BSN), 2008. UNION POSITION South Islands co-chair. WHY I SUPPORT BCNU? Because of the topnotch education programs and the excellent support that BCNU offers to its members – I just knew that I wanted to be a part of that and help members access the services BCNU has to offer.

NOMINATIONS CHAIR, communications, steward liaison, PRF advocate, full-time steward – you name the role, chances are, Lynnda Smith, co-chair of BCNU’s South Islands regional executive, has done it. Since taking on the position of co-chair, alongside Margo Wilton, Smith has been taking her experience on the road, committed to helping fellow nurses learn more about the support BCNU offers its members every day – and not just in a time of crisis. “Most of our members don’t know the contract language and really don’t know that BCNU exists. It’s usually not until they need us that they engage,” says Smith. “So our goal is to change that. This year we’re

focusing on visiting members who we don’t see a lot, holding mini regional meetings and dinners, and doing basic outreach to let them know we’re here.” Following in her mother’s footsteps, Smith completed her Diploma in Nursing from the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton, in 1990. Shortly afterwards she moved out to BC as a young mother and recent grad, excited to begin a career that was not only fulfilling, but that came with remuneration that allowed her to support her young family. Unfortunately, major cutbacks to health care budgets across the country in the 1990s meant provincial governments were implementing hiring freezes and offering early retirement

packages to help cut costs. Smith was hired into longterm care, and went on to specialize in gerontology. Fifteen years later, and after having earned a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing, she was laid off and moved back to acute care, working in seniors’ mental health at Victoria’s Royal Jubilee Hospital. While working at the longterm care facility, a BCNU steward encouraged Smith to take some courses and learn about the union. “I just started taking the courses that she was recommending. I saw the calibre of the education and the excellent support that BCNU offers to its members, and I just knew that I wanted to be a part of that and help members access the services that BCNU had to offer,” she recalls. And with that, the seed was planted. Smith joined her region’s executive team in 2002 as nominations chair, and left in 2011 only after being awarded a full-time steward positon. She returned to her executive after being elected regional co-chair in 2014, and has been working hard on a number of campaigns since then. “We are just in the middle of doing a survey of CDMR (care delivery model redesign) sites,” reports Smith. “We’re asking members who were previously employed on a CDMR unit about their experience, and to compare that with their experience today,” she explains. “Bargaining is also a huge part of our planning and efforts. The bargaining process and member engagement is a key priority for us in this upcoming year. It’s just so important for members to be informed.” update

Who Can Help?

BCNU IS HERE TO SERVE MEMBERS

BCNU CAN. Here’s how you can get in touch with the right person to help you. CONTACT YOUR STEWARDS For all workplace concerns contact your steward. REGIONAL REPS If your steward can’t help, or for all regional matters, contact your regional rep. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE For all provincial, national or union policy issues, contact your executive committee.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE PRESIDENT Gayle Duteil C 604-908-2268 gayleduteil@bcnu.org

EXECUTIVE COUNCILLOR Deb Ducharme C 250-804-9964 dducharme@bcnu.org

VICE PRESIDENT Christine Sorensen C 250-819-6293 christinesorensen@bcnu.org

EXECUTIVE COUNCILLOR Dan Murphy C 604-992-7568 danmurphy@bcnu.org

TREASURER Mabel Tung C 604-328-9346 mtung@bcnu.org

EXECUTIVE COUNCILLOR Adriane Gear C 778-679-1213 adrianegear@bcnu.org

REGIONAL REPS CENTRAL VANCOUVER Judy McGrath Co-chair C 604-970-4339 jmcgrath@bcnu.org

Marlene Goertzen Co-chair C 778-874-9330 marlenegoertzen@bcnu.org

COASTAL MOUNTAIN Kath-Ann Terrett Chair C 604-828-0155 kterrett@bcnu.org

SIMON FRASER Lynn Lagace Co-chair C 604-219-4162 lynnlagace@bcnu.org

EAST KOOTENAY Lori Pearson Chair C 250-919-4890 loripearson@bcnu.org

Cam Ward Acting co-chair C 604-240-1242 camward@bcnu.org

FRASER VALLEY Katherine Hamilton Chair C 604-793-6444 katherinehamilton@bcnu.org NORTH EAST Veronica (Roni) Lokken Chair C 250-960-8621 veronicalokken@bcnu.org NORTH WEST Sharon Sponton Chair C 250-877-2547 sharonsponton@bcnu.org OKANAGAN-SIMILKAMEEN Rhonda Croft Chair C 250-212-0530 rcroft@bcnu.org PACIFIC RIM Rachel Kimler Chair C 250-816-0865 rachelkimler@bcnu.org RIVA Lauren Vandergronden Chair C 604-785-8148 laurenvandergronden@bcnu.org SHAUGHNESSY HEIGHTS Claudette Jut Chair C 604-786-8422 claudettejut@bcnu.org

SOUTH FRASER VALLEY Jonathan Karmazinuk Co-chair C 604-312-0826 jonathankarmazinuk@bcnu.org Michelle Sordal Co-chair C 604-880-9105 michellesordal@bcnu.org SOUTH ISLANDS Margo Wilton Co-chair C 250-818-4862 mwilton@bcnu.org Lynnda Smith Co-chair C 250-360-7475 lynndasmith@bcnu.org THOMPSON NORTH OKANAGAN Tracy Quewezance Chair C 250-320-8064 tquewezance@bcnu.org VANCOUVER METRO Meghan Friesen Chair C 604-250-0751 meghanfriesen@bcnu.org WEST KOOTENAY Lorne Burkart Chair C 250-354-5311 lorneburkart@bcnu.org

UPDATE MAGAZINE December 2015/January 2016

Off Duty

MEMBERS AFTER HOURS

COMMITTED TO THE CRAFT PADDY TREAVOR IS A NURSE WHO’S SERIOUS ABOUT HIS BEER IT’S NO SECRET THAT BC’s craft beer scene is exploding. In East Vancouver alone more than eight craft breweries have opened in the last two years. And craft brewers are setting up shop in old buildings and former industrial areas across the province, creating job opportunities in local communities. Paddy Treavor is an RPN at Powell River Hospital and BCNU’s Coastal Mountain region mental health advocate. Treavor isn’t a brewer himself, but he’s been a leader in the craft brewing community long before craft beer’s recent rise in popularity. Craft breweries are small operations. Many only sell in their local markets, and some don’t even have their own bottling equipment. But many of these brewers are winning converts who didn’t consider themselves beer lovers before discovering craft beer’s hidden world of flavour and style. Treavor developed his passion for craft beer in the 1990s when he started volunteering at festivals for Storm Brewing, one of Vancouver’s first microbreweries, and his passion grew from there. “I worked for Storm from 1999 to 2005 and did things like

deliver beer, install and maintain taps, collect money – just about everything but brewing,” says Treavor. “And that’s where I made all of my connections and friendships in the craft beer community.” Treavor is one of the few people writing about the politics of the craft beer industry. Beer and liquor laws have just as much interest for him as the beer itself, and he writes a blog and pens regular submis-

sions for numerous beer trade publications. “The over-pricing of craft beer is just one provincial policy harming the craft brewers in BC,” says Treavor. “It’s the government, not the breweries, that sets the price of beer. And last June when the government raised the prices of certain craft beers, the extra revenue went straight into the government’s coffers.” Some commenters suspect it was the success of craft brewers that was behind that tax hike because it only targeted small businesses and left the prices of larger breweries’ beers unchanged. Treavor’s interest in politics recently led him to run for president of the Campaign

BROTHERS OF THE BREW BCNU’s Paddy Treavor (centre) welcomes Dageraad Brewing’s Ben Coli and Mitch Warner to the October CAMRA Powell River Craft Beer Festival. Treavor has been one of BC’s leading craft beer advocates.

for Real Ale (CAMRA) BC in 2011. “I avoided CAMRA for years because I didn’t see them being effective as consumer advocates,” says Treavor. “But when they got more political I got involved.” Treavor stepped down from CAMRA’s presidency in 2013 because he craved a change from big-city life and wanted a kinder, gentler place to raise his two-year-old daughter. And both of those desires were soon met. “A friend of mine who’s the patient care coordinator at Powell River’s inpatient psych unit asked me to consider working at the hospital,” says Treavor. “I took my family up there a few times to check it out and we fell in love with the place and decided to make it our home.” The move to a smaller community didn’t dampen Treavor’s passion to promote craft beer, and soon after he arrived he worked with friends to set up Powell River’s CAMRA branch. “We started from scratch in a town where craft beer was relatively new and now we have over 100 members,” says Treavor. “We’re bringing more BC craft beer to Powell River and we’re organizing lots of fun events, including two large and successful craft beer festivals.” At this year’s festival in October, Treavor welcomed over 17 brewers from around the province, and was proud to help showcase the local breweries on the Sunshine Coast. update

at work at home on the go

Update Magazine Digital Edition Now itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s easier than ever to stay connected. Try it today at bcnu.org