BCNU Update Magazine July-Aug 2014

JULY/AUGUST 2014

UPDATE EXPLORING AGING GIVING PATIENTS A VOICE: LEGAL BCNU STANDS WITH AND MENTAL HEALTH THREAT TO MEDICARE HEATS UP BC’s TEACHERS BRITISH COLUMBIA NURSES’ UNION

NURSING IN THE NORTHWEST

WWW.BCNU.ORG

KOMAGATA MARU REMEMBERED STANDING UP FOR THEIR PATIENTS Vancouver Island members Cheryl Knott (l) and Julie Roman (r) represent the generations of nurses fighting Island Health’s care delivery restructuring.

NURSES go GLOBAL BCNU members make a difference applying their skills in countries around the world.

Come s! join u T AU G U S

3, 2014

Vancouver

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UPDATE MAGAZINE July/August 2014

UPDATE

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CONTENTS vol 33 no 3

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july/august 2014

SOLIDARITY Victoria General Hospital nurse Nancy Simpson joins Victoria teacher Jenn Treble on the picket line.

UPFRONT

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Check In

News and events from around the province.

12 Safety and Health Week

Stewards connect with members across BC.

14 Care Delivery Restructuring Island nurses’ stress is on the rise.

17 Aging Re-Imaged

Eighth annual nursing practice conference explores aging and mental health.

20 Nursing in the Northwest

Members are raising the alarm over inadequate healthcare services in their communities.

35 Giving Patients a Voice

BCNU is fighting the for-profit legal threat to medicare.

DEPARTMENTS

5 PRESIDENT’S REPORT 34 LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT 39 YOUR PENSION 42 BOOK REVIEW 43 STAFF PROFILE 44 COUNCIL PROFILE 45 WHO CAN HELP? 46 OFF DUTY FEATURE

24 NURSES GO GLOBAL BCNU members are making a difference and applying their skills in countries around the world.

Standing up for health care Get a sneak preview of BCNU’s new brand page 10.

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2015 BCNU Convention 4

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

BC Nurses’ Union

UPDATE MAGAZINE

OUR MISSION STATEMENT BCNU protects and advances the health, social and economic well-being of our members and our communities.

BCNU UPDATE is published by the BC Nurses’ Union, an independent Canadian union governed by a council elected by our 42,000 members. Signed articles do not necessarily represent official BCNU policies.

EDITOR Lew MacDonald CONTRIBUTORS Juliet Chang, Sharon Costello, David Cubberley, Gary Fane, Monica Ghosh, Katharine Kitts, Evans Li, Courtney McGillion, Debra McPherson, Kate Milberry, Catherine Pope PHOTOS David Cubberley, Monica Ghosh, Hanif

FEBRUARY 24—26,

register at Delegates should evening of the hotel on the . All members 15 February 23, 20 nd, either as are urged to atte ting delegates observers or as vo 16 regions. from our union’s

Hyatt Regency Hotel, Vancouver

Karim, Katharine Kitts, Lew MacDonald, Doug Payette, Catherine Pope

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 bcnu.org EMAIL EDITOR lmacdonald@bcnu.org

Proposed bylaw and constitutional amendments must be received by the Bylaws Committee at BCNU no later than October 1, 2014.

Please see your steward for the necessary forms. Mail them to the BCNU office, attention Jo Salken, chair of the Bylaws Committee.

Proposed resolutions must be received by the Resolutions Committee at BCNU no later than October 1, 2014. Please see your steward for the necessary forms. Mail them to the BCNU office, attention Liz Ilczaszyn, chair of the Resolutions Committee. * Background information submitted by the mover will no longer be published in the BCNU Update Magazine. This information, along with the recommendation of BCNU Council, will be published in the pre-convention packages.

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

DEBRA MCPHERSON

BCNU IS STANDING UP FOR HEALTHCARE

PHOTO: CHRIS CAMERON

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DVOCACY: IT’S ONE OF OUR PRIMARY ROLES. WHETHER IT BE advocating for quality, safe patient care, advocating for the role of nurses in providing that care, or advocating for the strengthening of medicare, nurses today, more than ever, face significant challenges when it comes to fulfilling our advocacy role.

This was the consensus view at both the Canadian Federation of Nurses Union board meeting and the Canadian Nurses Association biennial convention I attended recently.

Despite being more educated than ever and among the most respected healthcare professionals, nurses seem to be ignored when it comes to influencing public policy related to healthcare.

In BC, our provincial government has chosen to ignore the abundance of research showing that nurses are highly effective providers of quality primary healthcare and has instead opted to waste millions of dollars by putting all of its eggs in the “physician-led primary healthcare” basket – this while other provincial governments across the country seek to utilize healthcare providers to their full scope of practice.

And while health authorities replace nurses with care aides in acute care hospitals responsible for caring for the sickest of the sick, managers now muse about utilizing ambulance attendants to perform community home care visits. Our message to Health Minister Lake: “Hello, what about the proven, cost-effective role that nurses play in both acute and community care?

It’s time to utilize nurses to their fullest scope of practice.”

Nurses’ effectiveness and their impact on the health of communities is nowhere more apparent than in the efforts of BCNU members who have ventured to less developed countries.

With few resources but a head full of knowledge and the opportunity to use it, these members return with a new appreciation of our public healthcare system. Yet, we fight daily to ensure

UPDATE MAGAZINE July/August 2014

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that both our provincial and federal governments remain committed to adequately funding and supporting this system – one that contributes not only to a healthy population, but a healthy economy. The feature article on page 24 of this issue of Update magazine profiles just some of the important humanitarian work our members are doing around the world.

This fall we head back into the courts in the ongoing litigation to ensure enforcement of the Medicare Protection Act in the face of a legal challenge by healthcare privateer Dr. Brian Day. While often not mentioned, it was BCNU’s early advocacy and financial support of patients who were unlawfully billed by private medical clinics that has forced the issue of for-profit healthcare into the public realm and the courts.

The advocacy work to ensure access to healthcare both internationally and in Canada is important. But for our local activists the focus of much of their work over this past year has been the struggle to provide safe, quality care in the face of low staffing, and heavy patient loads in acute care, community and long-term care. This will continue to be their focus for the foreseeable future.

The current situation speaks to our provincial government’s unfortunate and short-sighted attitude towards public sector workers.

Nurses’ fight to control our assignment size parallels the teachers’ fight for class size and resources to deliver quality education. That our government would treat with such disdain the valued providers of two key services that deliver a healthy, educated workforce and support our economy would seem counterintuitive. That is why we must continue to support the teachers in their struggle, in each of our communities.

Our commitment to advocacy continues throughout the summer, and will be seen when the BCNU bus and our members attend the numerous community events this season. Watch for them in your community and join in, because we are in this together – that’s what being a union of nurses is all about.

This is the last column I write as your president. Please allow me to thank you all for your hard work, commitment to BCNU and nursing, and for the privilege of serving you for the last 14 years. It has been an honour. update

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CHECK IN

NEWS FROM AROUND THE PROVINCE

EDUCATION

BCNU STANDS IN SUPPORT OF REFUGEE HEALTHCARE

TAKING A STAND BCNU members joined with healthcare workers across Metro Vancouver to send a strong message to the federal government calling for an end to its cuts to refugee healthcare services.

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ETRO VANCOUVER HEALTHCARE workers and supporters were out in force at a June 16 rally at Vancouver’s Library Square. The event was part of a national day of action in support of refugee care that saw similar protests in 16 cities across Canada.

BCNU members were there to join with fellow healthcare workers and call on the federal government to reverse its cuts to refugee healthcare.

The event, organized by Canadian Doctors for Medicare, was the third of its kind since the federal government made sweeping changes to the Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP) which came into effect in June 2012. Since then, all refugees except government-assisted refugees lost access to medication coverage, vision and dental care. And many have lost all health coverage, including urgent and essential care, except in cases of specific infectious diseases.

“Some of the most vulnerable in our society are denied basic healthcare services for urgent and acute medical needs,” said BCNU Treasurer Mabel Tung. “Cutting refugee claimants off from primary and preventative healthcare is unacceptable – and actually leads to repeated emergency room visits and hospitalizations that increase costs to the health system.”

The government has refused to meet with any national healthcare organization on this issue. update

Members can create personal profiles, upload photos, chat BCNU LEARNING MOVES with friends, send emails and ONLINE! host discussions. This is in BCNU’s move toward e-learnaddition to completing the lesing took a big step forward this sons and other online requirespring with the launch of BCNU ments of their courses. As Education Online, a cuttingBCNU Education Online ramps edge learning management up, more and more courses system that will will be added, complement the and members union’s popular enrolled in the face-to-face LLR program will workshops and get a chance to courses. be part of a new Skillful Steward digital commuOnline is the nity of emerging first course to stewards. be offered, BCNU “Becky Nu” greets visitors Designed to Education to BCNU’s new learning management system. complement the Online is not just three-day infor stewards! person workshop, this course Member courses, such as A serves as a foundation course Brief History of Work, also have in the union’s new Leadership an e-learning complement. & Labour Relations (LLR) BCNU’s goal is to create a digisteward education program. tal learning environment that BCNU Education Online is serves all members and supa user-friendly platform that ports them as they pursue the combines the best of social union education path suited networking and e-learning. for them.

GOOD CAUSE BCNU Treasurer Mabel Tung (r) supported the Kettle Friendship Society at the Scotiabank Half-Marathon in Vancouver June 22. Kettle staff (l-r) Angela Davies, Chris Keough and Diane Dykhausen helped raise $10,000 to send mentally ill adults to camp.

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WORKLOAD SURVEY POSTCARDS ARE IN THE MAIL

A random sample of nurses will be receiving postcards in the mail asking them to participate in an online survey aimed at documenting the impact of workload on their physical, emotional and mental health. Postcards with individual passwords are arriving in mailboxes.

The deadline is July 31. Survey participants will be entered in a draw to win an iPad mini or one of five $100 gift cards!

MAKING NEWS

BCNU in the headlines

trauma bed because there wasn’t one available. She told of another case where When Fraser Health a man came into the ER at Authority officials opened 3 p.m. and four hours later, Surrey Memorial Hospital’s while still waiting to be new critical care tower treated, had a seizure.

June 16, BCNU steward Gail The incidents are just Conlin was there to the latest alert the media’s example of an attention to the overcrowding fact that patients problem that were still being was supposed treated in the to be solved hallway outside the when the hoshospital’s emerpital’s emergency room. gency room “It’s crazy. was expanded Yesterday they in October to Gail Conlin had eight hallway help cope with patients. They an estimated had 67 admits and up to 29 100,000 patient visits every people in the waiting room. year.

It’s been really chaotic,” ER overcrowding is a Conlin told CBC Television. chronic issue at Surrey Conlin described an Memorial. Last November, incident in which a patient BC Health Minister Terry with a life-threatening Lake ordered a full review of brain bleed was not given a Fraser Health Authority.

NEW SURREY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL OVERCROWDING CRISIS

Pharmacare tie-in award

GRIEVANCE REVIEW PROCESS UNDERWAY

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AST YEAR BCNU LAUNCHED A GRIEVANCE over the application of the Pharmacare tie-in for coverage of prescription drugs under the terms of the NBA provincial contract. The matter was referred to arbitration and the consent award that was issued covers all nurses (RN/RPN/LPN). Over 2,800 BCNU members filed grievances under this award by the February 27, 2014 deadline.

A total of $3.5 million has been allocated under the award to remedy grievances. Because of this cap, all grievances must be assessed together.

BCNU staff are working with experts to review all of the grievances and determine which drugs will be fully grandparented and which members will be entitled to an individual remedy. Staff have also been following up with affected members to ensure that the union has all the necessary information to assess an individual’s eligibility for a remedy under the award.

Through the review process BCNU has also identified that some grievances are related to incorrect claims adjudication by Pacific Blue Cross (PBC). BCNU is working directly with PBC to successfully resolve these types of issues and discuss ways in which PBC could improve service delivery to members. update

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TEACHERS MATTER, NURSES CARE

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N AN IMPRESSIVE SHOW OF SOLIDarity, BCNU members have been joining BC Teachers’ Federation members on picket lines around the province to show their support since rotating strikes began on May 26.

The BCNU condemned the government’s heavy handed lockout provisions and decision to dock teachers’ pay during rotating strikes as a devious strategy designed to provoke the fullscale strike that began June 16.

“The question must be asked: is this government intentionally provoking a strike, so it can obtain public support to impose back-to-work legislation?” said BCNU President Debra McPherson.

The BC Supreme Court recently ruled that the government had negotiated in bad faith by

using this strategy in the past, and ruled that class size and composition must be returned to 2001 levels, but the province has appealed the decision.

“The government must make a genuine effort to bargain in good faith, instead of engaging in bogus talks never intended to resolve the dispute,” said McPherson, who added that BCNU council voted to donate $20,000 from the union’s solidarity fund to the BCTF. The teachers’ strike fund has been exhausted and its members are no longer receiving strike pay.

BC teachers have been without a contract since last July. update

1. BCNU Simon Fraser region members join teachers at North Burnaby Senior Secondary on May 28. 2. BCNU Central Vancouver region members received many honks of support as they lined Hastings Street in front of MacDonald Elementary School, June 6. 3. BCNU RIVA region’s Paul Young on the picket line at McNair High School in Richmond, June 11.

4. BCNU South Islands region members on the picket line at Victoria High School, May 29. 5. BCNU Simon Fraser region members and teachers in front of the BCNU bus at Alpha Secondary in Burnaby, May 2. 6. BCNU Central Vancouver region members at MacDonald Elementary School in East Vancouver, June 6.

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UPDATE MAGAZINE July/August 2014

Members celebrate BCNU Day

June 11 is the day BCNU members acknowledge all of the milestones the union has achieved since its formation in 1981. Cake and coffee was served in worksites across the province to celebrate BCNU as it embarks on its 33rd year.

BCNU DAY Kamloops public health nurses celebrate BCNU Day June 11. Back row (l-r): Jennifer Ellis, Carolyn Molsberry, Maureen Grady, Carol Radomske, Debbie Wongs. Front row (l-r): Jackie Drummond, Cathy Wilcox, Sandi Rogers, Christine Penrose, Erin Dell, Tricia Feere, Mary Hunter, Tara Lippmann.

BCNU BUS SEASON IS HERE! National Nursing Week saw Big Blue get rolling across BC The always-popular BCNU bus is on the road again this year, showing up at community events across the province. The bus began its tour with visits to several BCNU regions during National Nursing Week, which took place May 12-18. The week recognizes the thousands of highly skilled professionals in our province and across the country who make the difference between life and death and advocate for safe patient care.

Look out for the BCNU bus at an event in your community this summer!

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1. BCNU Coastal Mountain region members at the Lynn Valley Days Parade in North Vancouver May 31. Liz Young (l), Mindy Derro (second from left) and Liana Cole (r). 2. BCNU West Kootenay regional executive members visited Grand Forks May 8 to engage the public. Lobby Coordinator Jessie Renzie (second from left), Pat Zorn (centre), regional chair Lorne Burkart, Liane Burdikin and Danielle Gallant. 3. BCNU Simon Fraser region members celebrate Nursing Week in front of the BCNU bus (l-r): Simon Fraser region Lobby Coordinator Maria Huertas, Glenda Creelman and Simon Fraser region co-chair Deb Picco. 4. BCNU Central Vancouver region’s Andrea Noronha (l) and Michael Gartner (r) celebrate Nursing Week at Vancouver General Hospital. 5. BCNU RIVA region members meet in front of the BCNU bus at Richmond General Hospital May 1 (l-r): Rita Hagman, Annelise Henderson, Janet Carver, Paula Lameiro, RIVA Chair Lauren Vandergronden and Marie Mezilas.

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A NEW BRAND FOR THE FUTURE THE BC NURSES' UNION HAS A NEW BRAND – INCLUDING A NEW LOGO, tagline, and key messages that clearly and proudly represent who we are and what we stand for.

The new BCNU brand was shaped with the input of nearly 2,000 members from across BC, and has been unanimously endorsed by BCNU's provincial council.

In the coming months, you will see a stronger image emerge for the BCNU across all of our programs, activities and communications.

ity care. We are steadfast, outspoken defenders of all our members and, as nurses, we are best suited to understanding our work and working conditions. We fight to support what we do best — provide exceptional care to patients.

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BCNU’s strong leadership has produced transformational gains.

Our history demonstrates the strength of effective representation and advocacy. Since the BCNU’s founding in 1981, we have achieved significant advances in our overall standard of living — an investment that attracts new nurses to the profession and also retains experienced nurses — both significant benefits to patients and the health care system.

As our union and the health care system evolve, we will build on our history and continue to stand up for ourselves, our work, and our patients.

04 Using the “N” for nurses and “U” for Union, this brand demonstrates the strength of nurses PLUS their union (N+U) – working together as one.

The plus sign can also be seen as the universal symbol for health care.

The placement of the “U” under the “N” suggests the supporting role that the union plays for the membership.

The letterforms are placed in a circle, which is a symbol for protection, for medicine (e.g. the medicine wheel of first nations people) and a symbol for eternity with no beginning and no end — eternal protection the union offers nurses, and that nurses offer their patients and our health care system.

“Standing up for health care” comes from the Union’s offical song and suggests that what’s good for nurses is good for the health care system.

FOUR THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE BCNU: speaks up - and speaks 01 BCNU out - for nurses and patients.

Through their union, our 40,000 members access collective agreement negotiation and support as well as professional and advocacy services.

As members of the largest nursing organization in BC, we enjoy comprehensive services that address all four domains of nursing — research, clinical practice, leadership and education.

advocacy protects 02 BCNU’s patients and public health care.

As a cohesive voice of the nursing profession in BC, we speak up for safe, quality, public health care.

Appropriate staffing levels, wages that recruit and retain nurses, and better education, all lead to high qual-

BCNU values, respects and protects diversity.

Our membership is large and diverse — including nurses of many different backgrounds and other members who work in health care. We pride ourselves in providing protection, representation and services to all members equally. update

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SAFE CARE ISSUES TOP NBA NEGOTIATIONS INITIAL CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS between the Nurses’ Bargaining Association (NBA) and the Health Employers Association of BC (HEABC) took place May 15 and 16 in Vancouver.

NBA representatives’ top concern going in to the meetings was health employers’ lack of respect for language in the current contract designed to ensure safe staffing levels.

“The failure of the employer to implement contract language to improve the safety of patients, clients and residents in nurses’ care is our number one disappointment,” said BCNU President Debra McPherson. “Resolving this and many other outstanding issues from the last agreement must be tackled before any discussions on new initiatives take place.”

Despite contractual promises to replace nurses when absent, as well as for patient demand, nurses’ representatives say evidence shows this has often not occurred.

They say long-term care nurses have not received access to jobs and training when layoffs took place, which was promised in the last agreement.

During the talks, NBA representatives insisted that the real life day-to-day working experiences of nurses must be heard at the table. To date, however, many nurses’ experiences indicate that they are not getting the required staffing that was agreed to – and patients and nurses are suffering as a result.

The NBA contract covers Licensed Practical Nurses, Registered Nurses and Registered Psychiatric Nurses employed by provincial health authorities. Although the current 2012-2014 Provincial Collective Agreement (PCA) expired March 31, 2014, its provisions remain in effect.

To date, no future talks have been scheduled. update

MESSENGER OF HOPE Clara Hughes arriving at the provincial legislature May 15.

CLARA’S BIG RIDE BRINGS MESSAGE OF HOPE BC NURSES’ UNION MEMBERS cheered on Olympic athlete Clara Hughes as she cycled onto the grounds of the BC legislature on May 15 with a big smile and a message of hope for those who struggle with mental illness.

The event was just one stop in “Clara’s Big Ride” – a 110-day bicycle journey across Canada to raise awareness and help build a country free of the stigma around mental illness.

Speaking to BCNU members and others at the event, Hughes said her ride was symbolic of the struggles of those suffering from a mental illness. “We have a long, long, long way to go but you have to start somewhere.

And it’s a matter of putting one foot in front of the other,” she said. “No matter how much snow or rain or hail or sleet or ice pellets or grizzly bears or dirt roads are in front of us, it makes us not give up. Because I feel like if we do, we’re saying we can’t.”

Hughes’ positive attitude belied her own struggle with severe depression. She said

she turned to athletics as a way to cope with growing up in what she called a seriously dysfunctional home. Hughes has won six Olympic speed skating and cycling medals, but the emotional scars from her childhood remained.

BCNU also hosted a Clara’s Big Ride event in Vancouver on May 17 as part of the union’s Mental Health Strategy launched this year. Speaking at the gala fundraiser for the Kettle Society, which provides housing and support services to homeless people who struggle with mental illness in downtown Vancouver, BCNU President Debra McPherson stressed the importance of destigmatizing mental illness and standing up for patients. “We believe nurses can play a valuable role in promoting mental wellness and advocating for better health services for the public.”

The event raised $90,000, which will go directly to helping the Kettle’s clients.

Clara’s Big Ride wrapped up in Ottawa July 1. update

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SAFETY & HEALTH WEEK 2014

ENSURING A SAFE AND HEALTHY WORK ENVIRONMENT Regional Occupational Health and Safety reps and stewards connect with BCNU members across the province

BCNU MEMBERS TO ATTEND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON VIOLENCE IN THE HEALTH SECTOR Four lucky applicants have been chosen to attend the Fourth International Conference on Violence in the Health Sector. The conference takes place October 22 – 24 in Miami, Florida. The focus of this year’s event is work-related aggression and violence.

The four chosen applicants are: Carol Rocker (Pacific Rim region), Ken Giles (South Islands region), Heather Wiens (Fraser Valley region) and Patti McGhee Gates (Coastal Mountain region).

The group will report back to BCNU with information and ideas learned from leaders in the field from around the world. Kudos to the winners as well as the other applicants who are carrying on the fight to address violence in the workplace. update

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SAFETY FIRST Nanaimo Regional Hospital full-time steward, Linda Crocker toured the hospital with BCNU Pacific Rim region OH&S representative Kelley Charters during North American Occupational Safety and Health Week. Crocker developed a colorful poster board and identified safety issues to take to the hospital’s next Joint Occupational Health and Safety committee meeting.

AFETY AND HEALTH OUTREACH EVENTS WERE ORGANIZED at worksites across the province May 4 – 10 as part of North American Occupational Safety and Health (NAOSH) Week.

BC Nurses’ Union members took part in a range of activities organized

by BCNU regional executives and stewards to encourage dialogue on safety issues important to them. These included bargaining unit meetings, information display boards, lunch and learns, brown bag events and worksite walkabouts.

Marg Dhillon, BCNU Executive Councillor, Health and Safety, attended a number of the week’s events. “I was impressed by the turnout and interest shown by all – members are becoming much more aware of the issues they are facing during their workday and are excited to discuss ways to address their concerns,” she said. “I want to personally thank everyone who organized outreach at their worksites.”

Margaret Wichrowska of Evergreen House hosted the week’s events at Lions Gate Hospital. “I felt privileged to be able to participate – we prepared a poster celebrating

UPDATE MAGAZINE July/August 2014

our nurses in snapshots from the most memorable events of the year, and the brochures and card materials provided

by BCNU were excellent – they were disappearing from the table faster than the pens, flashlights and chocolates,” said Wichrowska. “We want to give the best service but at the same time we are interested in our own wellbeing. We want to reach our retirement age enjoying good health.

Balancing both worlds is the key.”

Over at St. Paul’s Hospital, BCNU Vancouver Metro region chair Colette Wickstrom and full-time steward Meghan Friesen set up a table outside the hospital’s cafeteria on May 8 and took the opportunity to connect with BCNU members during the busy lunch period.

“We were able to connect with many nurses who were very interested and stopped to look, take information and engage in conversation,” reported Friesen, who noted that the hospital’s orientation week was held during the same period, which meant that new hires were stopping on their breaks to chat. “They were eager for knowledge about health and safety issues and information about the union.

Their energy was inspiring and it hit home again that sometimes the simplest efforts reap the biggest rewards.”

Meanwhile, BCNU stewards at Metro Vancouver social service agency SUCCESS held a drop-in where members could speak with Joint Occupational Health and Safety ( JOHS) committee members about reporting safety concerns even when they haven’t caused an injury or illness.

BCNU Occupational Health and Safety department staff were on hand to answer questions about the WCB claims process and the steps members need to take if injured on the job.

“The posters and small gifts from BCNU contributed to the success of the event, as did the snacks provided by our employer,” said worksite steward and JOHS committee member, Sally Chiu. “We also appre-

HAVE YOU EXPERIENCED A VIOLENT INCIDENT AT WORK? HERE’S WHAT TO DO. 1 . Notify your supervisor or manager.

2. Seek first aid or medical attention as soon

as possible. If you need to leave your work area, tell your supervisor. Make sure you say that the incident happened at work.

3. Report the incident as soon as possible,

using the employee incident reporting process for your worksite (i.e. call centre, electronic or paper employee incident report).

4. Start a WorkSafeBC claim for medical

treatment and/ or missed time from work.

Complete a WorkSafeBC Form 6, online (www.worksafebc.com), or by Teleclaim: (1-888-967-5377).

5. Tell your BCNU representative on the Joint

OH&S Committee about the incident.

6. Participate in the incident investigation

with your BCNU representative on the Joint OH&S Committee.

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WORKING WITH A REPETITIVE STRAIN INJURY? HERE’S WHAT TO DO.

1 . Notify your supervisor or manager about all incidents, even if there is no injury.

1 . Seek first aid immediately, when experiencing symptoms.

If you need to leave your work area, tell your supervisor.

2. Seek first aid or medical attention (if required) as soon as possible. If you need to leave your work area, tell your supervisor. Make sure you say that the incident happened at work.

2. Follow up with your doctor as soon as possible.

3. Report using the employee incident reporting process for your worksite (i.e. call centre, electronic or paper employee incident report).

3. Report the incident as soon as possible, using the employee incident reporting process for your worksite (i.e. call centre, electronic or paper employee incident report), even if there is no injury.

4. Start a WorkSafeBC claim for medical treatment and/or missed time from work. Complete a WorkSafeBC Form 6, online (www.worksafebc.com) or by Teleclaim: (1-888-967-5377).

4. Start a WorkSafeBC claim for medical treatment and/or missed time from work. Complete a WorkSafeBC Form 6, online (www.worksafebc.com), or by Teleclaim (1-888-967-5377).

5. Contact the BCNU Joint OH&S Committee representative to discuss your recommendations for changes to your work environment, tools and equipment or work practices that would improve the situation.

5. Tell your BCNU representative on the Joint OH&S Committee about the incident.

When speaking with first aid attendants, your doctor, WorkSafeBC and your steward, tell them:

6. Participate in the incident investigation with your BCNU representative on the Joint OH&S Committee.

• the movements you were doing at or near the time that you felt symptoms. For example, intensive or high volume work duties requiring movement or motions that use the same muscles repetitively or require significant effort.

7. Ask to attend workplace violence training.

After a traumatic incident, seek critical incident response and critical incident stress debriefing (CISD), even if you think you don’t need it. CISD can significantly reduce your chances of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) if provided in a timely manner, optimally within 24-72 hours, following the incident. Places to access CISD include your employer, Workplace Health, the Employee and Family Assistance Program, and WorkSafeBC.

• any recent changes to your work duties or the conditions that you perform them in. For example, increased workload, new equipment, or unfamiliar work.

Delivering quality care means working in a safe and healthy environment. www.BCNU.org

SAFETY – DEMAND IT. IT’S YOUR RIGHT.

Take action NOW • Know how to report incidents and unsafe situations at your worksite.

• Use your right to refuse unsafe work process when an unsafe situation creates an undue hazard to your health and safety.

• Report all incidents and unsafe situations to your manager or supervisor, even if there is no injury.

• Document using your worksite’s OH&S Hazard and Incident reporting system.

• Tell your worksite steward or BCNU Joint OH&S Committee representative. Make recommendations to correct the problem and improve safety.

NEEDLESTICK? PUNCTURE? CUT OR SPLASHED ?

EXPOSURE TO BBF– HERE’S WHAT TO DO.

1 . Seek immediate clinical assessment and/or First Aid following your worksite BBF (blood and bodily fluids) exposure protocols. Anti-retroviral prophylaxis, if required, is most effective when started within two hours of the exposure. If you need to leave your work area, tell your supervisor or manager. Make sure you say that the incident happened at work.

2. Report the incident as soon as possible, using the employee incident reporting process for your worksite (i.e. call centre, electronic or paper employee incident report),even if there is no injury or immediate illness.

3. Let the BCNU representative on the Joint OH&S Committee know what happened.

4. Start a WorkSafeBC claim for medical treatment and/or missed time from work. Complete a WorkSafeBC Form 6, online (www.worksafebc.com), or by phone (1-888-967-5377).

• Follow up to find out when recommendations will be made.

5. Create a permanent record of your exposure.

Complete a WorkSafeBC Exposure Registry Form. Available online (www.worksafebc.com).

• File a grievance if the problem isn’t being corrected.

6. Participate in the incident investigation with your BCNU representative on the Joint OH&S Committee.

www.BCNU.org

ciated the support from BCNU OH&S department staff.”

BCNU’s West Kootenay region conducted an outreach roadshow that saw the region’s OH&S representative Susan Crawford and BCNU OH&S Officer Suzie Ford travel to meet members at various worksites.

“Members were keen to talk about safety issues and had many thoughtful ideas and concerns,” said Crawford. “I was impressed with the noticeable shift in culture – members are more aware of health and safety issues impacting their own health, whereas in the past, members seemed not to think about safety outside of patient safety.”

Sites visited included Nelson Jubilee

A NEW OH&S POSTER SERIES was distributed to worksites across the province ahead of this year’s North American Occupational Safety and Health Week. These posters include information on what to do in the event of a violent incident at work, working with a repetitive strain injury, how to report and resolve health and safety concerns, and more.

Manor and Jubilee Place, Kootenay Lake Hospital, Kootenay Regional District Hospital in Cranbrook and Poplar Place in Trail.

Regional executive members and stewards in many other BCNU regions also hosted NAOSH week events at members’ worksites. All of those polled were pleased that they were able to connect with BCNU members and other employees in order to introduce themselves and speak with members about safety in the workplace.

NAOSH Week began in 1997 when Canada, the US and Mexico agreed to dedicate one week a year to raise awareness about the importance of safety at work, at home and in the community. update

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VANCOUVER ISLAND

NURSES STRESSED BY ISLAND HEALTH’S CARE DELIVERY RESTRUCTURING Burnout, staff turnover and resignations are on the rise standards,” says BCNU Pacific Rim region chair Jo Salken, who noted that nurses who continue to work under Island Health’s new care model are fatigued and falling ill more often or going on stress leave.

That was the message Salken and other nurses took to Island Health’s May 28 Board meeting in Parksville, along with 3,500 newly signed petitions calling for an independent review of CDMR’s impacts on patient RESOLVE REMAINS STRONG BCNU Pacific Rim region safety. Despite receiving over stewards Kris Vanlambalgen (l) and Kelley Charters (r) deliver 18,500 such petitions to 3,500 newly signed petitions calling for an independent review of CDMR’s impacts on patient safety at Island Health’s date, Island Health maintains May 28 Board meeting in Parksville. Over 18,000 petitions that the care delivered under have been signed to date.

CDMR is acceptable.

“Management keeps pointing HEN A NEW CARE to self-monitoring as proof that CDMR is model doubles nurses’ safe for patients,” says Salken, “but nurses patient loads, it subwitness gaps in safe care on every shift and jects them to condithey live with the toll that working under tions that compromise relentless pressure is taking.” their professional standards. An inability CDMR has nurses struggling to keep up to provide the safe care they’re trained and with the needs of seven to nine high acuity licensed to deliver puts them into a state of patients while they worry about poor surmoral distress, prompting rising numbers to veillance and missed medical cues. Having look for other work. this many patients to attend to often means That’s what’s happening on Nanaimo late medications, missed assessments, Regional General Hospital’s CDMR (Care incomplete charting and a daily grind rushDelivery Model Redesign) units, where ing from crisis to crisis. nurses whose concerns have been ignored BCNU members shared this reality with are starting to vote with their feet. Five an audience of more than 100 who attended nurses have departed over the past nine the union’s May 5 public town hall meeting months on the hospital’s cardiac unit alone. on CDMR in Nanaimo.

“You should expect to see more burnSpeaking at the event, retired RN Diane out and higher turnover when nurses feel Fredericks described the neglectful care her they aren’t able to meet their professional dying father received on a CDMR unit.

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Fredericks noted that despite claims that CDMR improves personal care by adding more care aides, her father often sat unattended in a hallway chair, received next to no assistance with feeding, toileting or mobility, and went twelve days without a shower. “It was difficult to know who was looking after him because the white boards were never up to date,” she said.

Fredericks saw nurses struggling to take their rightful place at the bedside as they tried to provide quality care to many patients at once. “I heard nurses express sadness and concern with their new roles.

I saw hurried activities with endless time spent on computers. I saw the decline of care.”

BCNU Pacific Rim region steward Kris Vanlambalgen told the audience about the

“

Removing nurses from the bedside to a role where there’s more paperwork, farther away from the patient, does not benefit the patient.

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BCNU PACIFIC RIM REGION STEWARD KRIS VANLAMBALGEN

burden nurses shoulder when caring for too many patients: “At the end of our shift, we leave feeling emotionally distressed. We know our patients needed more and that we didn’t deliver it. We know we’ve forgotten things, that things were missed.

“Removing nurses from the bedside to a role where there’s more paperwork, farther away from the patient, does not benefit the patient,” she said.

BCNU steward Kelley Charters explained that nurses and patients are now witnessing the failure to rescue – which means that signs that should have been

UPDATE MAGAZINE July/August 2014

noticed sooner are being missed.

Charters shared the example of a cardiac patient who developed serious heart arrhythmia yet went six minutes without attention because everyone on the ward was too busy to check the monitor’s alarm.

“Patients may get a wash or a walk in the hallway by a care aide, or their bell may be answered more quickly, but if they’re in pain or having complications, if they’re nauseous or having chest pain or short of breath, they’ll wait longer for a nurse to come and see them,” she said.

BCNU President Debra McPherson, who moderated the town hall, described patients subjected to the new care model as “guinea pigs in an experiment”.

“Island Health says that replacing nurses with care aides somehow makes for better care,” she said. “In reality, it complicates timely delivery of nursing care, making it impossible at times to provide adequate surveillance of gravely ill patients.

“When nurses don’t have the time to monitor and assess their patients properly, the potential for adverse outcomes – including death – rises.”

Meanwhile, in Victoria, where CDMR is now forecast to cut nursing hours by 188,000 yearly, the model is being implemented more slowly and the actual number of nurses scheduled to be replaced with care aides keeps shifting.

BCNU members’ resolve to halt CDMR remains strong.

“We’ve definitely delayed it and pared it back from what they started with,” said BCNU South Islands region co-chair Adriane Gear. “Our members’ pushback, the thousands of new petitions, the deteriorating situation in Nanaimo – they’re all having the effect of slowing things down here and making it harder for Island Health to just adopt it.” update

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“ANONY-NURSE” VIDEOS HELP ISLAND NURSES SPEAK OUT safe patient care.

“I fear for my patients’ safety” was repeatedly stated by the nurses, who have been struggling to cope with doubled patient loads.

Some said they weren’t able to meet professional standards, but feared losing their job if they told anyone about it. They also described going home at night, worrying about whether they may have missed something that MASK OF ANONYMITY The nurses who agreed to be interviewed had their identities hidden by pixelation which is a blurring effect could mean the life or death of their faces, used in editing. of a patient at risk. Concerns expressed to management IF YOU SPEND ANY TIME ON BCNU’s were ignored and they were told to “ just Facebook sites, such as Our Nurses work it out.”

Matter, or BC Nurses’ Union, chances are Anony-Nurse targeted a younger demoyou’ve seen Anony-Nurse – a series of four graphic and was only rolled out on BCNU’s short videos featuring real nurses, whose Facebook sites. People who watched the identities are hidden, speaking about video were encouraged to share it and problems at Nanaimo Regional General sign the online petition. The results of Hospital. the campaign have been phenomenal.

Anony-Nurse was born out of a need Hundreds of thousands of people have for nurses from NRGH to tell their stories received the Anony-Nurse videos on their from the front lines, without fear of reperFacebook news feeds and the videos have cussions from management. The videos broken all previous records for the number are designed to engage other nurses and of people who have watched BCNU videos. the public on the issues surrounding the Clearly, the message about CDMR is new care delivery getting out there. More people are startmodel redesign ing to understand the implications of (CDMR) and the Island Health’s faulty plan to save money in problems it’s acute care. causing for Watch Anony-Nurse: www.youtube.com/ nurses and user/TheBCNursesUnion. update

Sign the petition to stop CDMR! VISIT THE BCNU WEBSITE. Sign our petition and join us in demanding that Island Health keep the promise of safe patient care.

Email Island Health

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WORKPLACE VIOLENCE

RECOVERY THROUGH DIALOGUE

Pilot project assists nurses affected by violent work environments

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HE INCIDENT OCCURRED almost three years ago, but the details of that day are as clear to Michael1 as if it were yesterday.

“I was sitting on the patient, holding his wrists. I wanted to speak, but somehow I couldn’t,” he recalls. Focused on restraining the patient, he looked up to see his colleague on all fours in a pool of blood.

Later, at the nursing station, he looked down to see his own shirt soaked in blood.

“It was like I was in a dream, floating.”

Michael had responded to the cries for help of two co-workers trapped in a room with a patient who had fashioned a shank out of the metal frame of his eyeglasses.

Traumatized from the experience, Michael said he wanted to hide, “to fall into a little hole,” but told himself he had to finish his shift.

The nurse has suffered in the years following the incident. “That experience, it stays with you. It changes you,” he says, noting that he has become hypervigilant and fearful since the event.

Michael was grateful for the invitation to participate in an innovative pilot project that BCNU has offered to nurses traumatized at work. Led by Dr. Jeff Morley, a psychologist and retired RCMP officer, the project is aiming to develop resiliency training for nurses using a unique, intensive group process developed in the late ‘90s for use with traumatized war veterans.

Since that time, Morley has adapted the process and run resiliency workshops for over 200 people including police officers, traffic collision analysts, forensic identification investigators, homicide investigators, child exploitation investigators, 911 dispatch-

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Nurses and police often have common clients but police are trained to deal with trauma and violence and have the tools to do so including use of force options. Nurses don’t have those things.

DR. JEFF MORLEY

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ers, corrections officers and military veterans.

The pilot project sees the process being used in healthcare for the first time, targeting nurses who practice in highly volatile and violent work environments. “Nurses and police often have common clients but police are trained to deal with trauma and violence and have the tools to do so including use of force options. Nurses don’t have

those things,” says Morley.

BCNU’s support for the project reflects the union’s commitment to innovation through its Mental Health Strategy. “We are committed to supporting our members who work in areas where they are at high risk for exposure to trauma,” says BCNU President Debra McPherson. “The long-term goal is the creation of healthy healthcare workplaces where everyone’s safety – staff and patients – is assured.”

According to Morley, the key factor in the success of the process lies in group interaction. “Telling our stories serves to help people feel heard, validated and supported to move forward,” he explains.

When Michael agreed to participate in the pilot he admitted he was looking for a “silver bullet” or a “quick fix”. What he found was a sense of affirmation, support and tools to support recovery. “The workshop made me realize I do have options,” he says. “When you’re stuck in that negative cycle it’s like tunnel vision – it’s hard to see the big picture.”

Michael and the other participants will be followed for six months to evaluate the efficacy of this intervention. Morley reports that preliminary results are promising and participant ratings were uniformly positive.

Pre- and post-assessment using the Impact of Events Scale (revised), which measures criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder, have shown that participants have demonstrated decreases in each of the avoidance, intrusion, and hyperarousal scales.

The pilot project was featured at the Creating and Sustaining a Healthy Workplace conference hosted by the Canadian Institute for the Reduction of Pain and Disability (CIRPD) at UBC last June. It was also accepted into the Mental Health Commission of Canada’s knowledge translation project Supporting the Promotion of Activated Research and Knowledge (SPARK).

Once the evaluation is completed, BCNU will be introducing this model of intervention to WorkSafeBC and BC health authorities to ensure that nurses who are traumatized at work get the support they need to recover. update 1 The member’s name has been changed to ensure privacy and confidentiality.

UPDATE MAGAZINE July/August 2014

AGING RE-IMAGED AGING AND MENTAL HEALTH HIGHLIGHTED AT THIS YEAR’S NURSING PRACTICE CONFERENCE

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time they were confronted with their own age and reflected on her own experience at a Shoppers Drug Mart when she was told she was eligible for a seniors’ discount.

OLGA KOTELKO* captivated conference participants by telling her incredible story of a track career that started when she was 77 years old. The 94-year-old Kotelko described her secret to living a healthy and full life which, in her case, includes holding 25 world records and winning over 750 gold medals.

“The secret is a life well-lived,” she explained. “Healthy habits are established at a young age. You must find a balance between routine and spontaneous actions.”

In between her presentation, Kotelko led conference participants in a series of stretches and poses as a way of ensuring everyone got up and moved a little.

“Your body thrives when you move,” she told the room. “I didn’t become the world record holder in high jump by sitting around. You have to get up and get active.

However, you must also keep in mind the importance of resting. Resting is essential for survival.” * We are saddened to report that Ms. Kotelko passed away June 24.

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VER 200 BC NURSES’ UNION MEMBERS CAME TOGETHER IN Vancouver in May for a two-day learning experience focused on aging and mental health – both in the workplace and at home.

The occasion, dubbed “Aging Re-imaged”, was BCNU’s eighth annual Nursing Practice Conference.

This year’s event hosted several keynote speakers, all of whom addressed different topics surrounding caring for the aging and those with mental health issues. Conference participants were also treated to a variety of guest speakers who gave in-depth presentations during breakout sessions on such topics as palliative care for persons with dementia, double duty caregiving, sexual health and intimacy in long-term care.

In her opening remarks, BCNU President Debra McPherson thanked conference participants for the work they do in assisting an aging population and those living with mental health issues. She finished on a lighter note, asking the group if they remember the first

SHARING KNOWLEDGE Keynote speakers Satwinder Kaur Bains and Elisabeth Antifeau are joined by conference organizer Catherine Fast and BCNU President Debra McPherson.

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DIGNITY DENIED Senior in the final stages of dementia kept “alive” against her wishes and those of her family KATHERINE HAMMOND HAS TOLD HER MOTHer’s story many times, but it never gets any less painful.

Fighting back tears during a speech to this year’s BCNU Nursing Practice Conference participants, she described the agony of her mother’s current situation. “I believe my mom’s rights have been trampled upon and the family has been disregarded,” she said.

Hammond’s mother, Margot Bentley, is a retired nurse who once cared for patients with dementia. Well aware of the tortured state they can lapse into, she wrote a living will in 1991, which clearly states that she wants “no nourishment or liquids” if there is “no reasonable expectation of her recovery from extreme physical or mental disability.”

Today, Bentley is 82 years old and in the final stages of dementia at Maplewood House in Abbotsford. There, she is in a semi-vegetative state, kept alive against her wishes by caregivers who force-feed her daily.

The BC Supreme Court has ruled against the family’s desperate plea to adhere to the living will and allow Bentley to die with dignity, or allow her to be moved to a facility where there is respect for a patient’s wishes.

The Fraser Health Authority has fought against every attempt by the family to honour Bentley’s wishes, by engaging the courts and even the police. In an extraordinarily heavy-handed move, the health authority even put a police order on Bentley’s file, requiring that authorities be called if the family tries to remove her from Maplewood.

Hammond said nurses, as advocates for patients, need to be aware of the issues involved in cases like her mother’s, and urged the audience to speak to their patients and families about end-of-life care and planning. “This is a huge human rights issue that affects all of us. We all have the right to determine our own end-of-life care.”

The family is appealing the court ruling.

ELISABETH ANTIFEAU, a registered nurse and home health practice lead for the Interior Health Authority, reminded conference participants to be mindful of the voices of those they care for while focusing on the task at hand.

Antifeau specializes in special populations and end-of-life/palliative care. She acknowledged that mindfulness is becoming more difficult in a complex healthcare system of burgeoning pressures, aging populations and daily workplace stress.

Her presentation, Reflections of Making a Difference: Listening to the Voices of Older Adults with Mental Health Issues, she highlighted the importance of pausing, listening and reflecting on what is really important when caring for vulnerable, older adults.

“Ask them what they need from you,” she explained. “Ask permission to use their first names, speak to them directly and don’t use nurse jargon. It’s important for all healthcare professionals to avoid using KEYNOTE SPEAKERS Cynthia Reid, Meera Dhebar and Maureen McGrath spoke about issues facing LGBT seniors.

“

It’s important for all healthcare professionals to avoid using ‘elder speak’ when assisting older patients. It’s not the end until it really is the end.

Give people something to look forward to.

ELISABETH ANTIFEAU

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‘elder speak’ when assisting older patients. It’s not the end until it really is the end. Give people something to look forward to.”

By 2021, adults over the age of 65 will account for 18 percent of the Canadian population and Antifeau reminded the room that seniors who are suffering from mental health issues need to be heard and seen.

MEERA DHEBAR shared her expertise working with older lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) adults during the second day of the conference. The social worker and community activist explained the rewards and challenges that

UPDATE MAGAZINE July/August 2014

come with meeting the needs of queer and transgender adults. She also explained the differences between “gender identity” and “gender expression” and focused on the struggle many transgender people have finding a family doctor.

“About 50 percent of transgender people tell me they’ve had to teach their doctor about trans-competent care,” she said. “It’s important to ask: ‘What do you know?

What information do you have about this patient?’ Sometimes there’s a real difference between the questions that you ask and the real picture of who that person is.”

BCNU LGBT caucus chair Cynthia Reid spoke to the room about the difficulties that many LGBT community members experience when they enter a care facility.

“LGBT seniors are experiencing harsh discrimination in many care facilities, and many choose to go back into the closet so they feel safe,” she said. “A large number of the LGBT population is starting to age and depend on the healthcare system that in many ways isn’t prepared for them.”

The session wrapped up with a screening of the documentary Gen Silent which highlights the fact that thousands of older LGBT people are dying earlier than their straight counterparts because they are isolated and afraid to ask for help.

JUNE SHACKLEY closed the conference with an emotional presentation that of-

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EMOTIONAL PRESENTATION Keynote speaker and RN June Shackley (middle) is joined by her family (l-r): Ron Shackelly, James Clydesdale, Berta Shackley, Robert Clydesdale, Darryl Shackelly and Lana Clydesdale.

fered participants a glimpse into the harsh past of residential schools and the impact had on First Nations communities and people.

Even though it’s been years since the BCNU member was taken from her parents and brought to a residential school outside of Kamloops, she said she can still remember what it felt like as a 5-year-old

SUPPORTING MEMBERS Professional Advocacy Officers Tony Edgecombe and MaryAnn Machado show off their new Licensing, Education, Advocacy and Practice program materials at this year’s event.

to walk up the stairs of the large brick building. She also described the abuse and neglect they were subjected to while students at the school.

“The minute we arrived at the school, we were whisked away from our parents. We were de-loused with DDT, our hair was cut and our clothing exchanged with a uniform and we were given an ID number. Mine was 490,” recalled Shackley. “We were punished if we spoke in our native tongue and many children suffered self-esteem and confidence issues as a result.”

Shackley spoke of her experience surviving and thriving after her childhood experience. After nine years as a student, she went on to pursue a career in nursing but says the residential school experience stayed with her for many years after.

“I had no confidence at all. I assumed I was going to fail at anything I did,” Shackley said. “I was really scared. I thought I’m not smart enough for this, how can I do this? If it wasn’t for my kids being such good kids, I don’t think I would have made it.” update

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NURSING in the NORTHWEST

CALLING FOR ACTION BCNU North West region chair Sharon Sponton leads a march through Terrace on May 31. Nurses are struggling to provide safe care to patients in the community.

BCNU MEMBERS AND SUPPORTERS ARE CALLING FOR ADEQUATE HEALTHCARE SERVICES FOR NORTHERN COMMUNITIES

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EARING RED BCNU SHIRTS AND HOLDING “TAKE Action” rally paddles, a group of BCNU North West region nurses took to the streets in Terrace on May 31 in an organized rally called “Walk with Nurses, Talk with Nurses,” aimed at increasing mental health services for youth in the region.

The group embarked from Mills Memorial Hospital and made their way to the Terrace Farmer’s Market, a popular weekend spot located in the centre of town, which offered the perfect platform for the group to share their message with the general public.

BCNU North West region chair Sharon Sponton was one of a few who helped organize the event. She says organizers feel confident the rally helped spread the word about their

cause, and hopes that it starts a conversation about the challenges northern communities are up against.

“Not only did the rally give us an opportunity to come together as northwest nurses, but it really highlighted the issues that are going on in BC’s north when it comes to healthcare,” said Sponton.

“It was also good to feel the public support behind us as we marched through town – people understand the challenges we are experiencing as healthcare professionals, and they support us.”

The rally brought nurses from

UPDATE MAGAZINE July/August 2014

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UNITED FRONT BCNU members and their families were joined by Terrace community members during their May 23 march and rally.

surrounding northern communities like Kitimat, Smithers and Hazelton, all of which are experiencing increasing cuts to mental health services and budgets.

Each community is bracing for substantial population growth, but all are lacking the facilities and resources needed to treat patients close by. Terrace’s Mills Memorial Hospital is the only acute psychiatric facility in the region, but it only has 10 beds.

Sponton says the limited amount of infrastructure just can’t keep up with demand.

Community health nurse Michael

Prevost was one of a number of participants asked to speak to the crowd gathered for the rally. He has experienced first-hand what it’s like to work in a system that doesn’t allow for the kind of care nurses would like to deliver.

“The delivery of rural healthcare services is complex. Not only do we have to contend with geographic and environmental factors, we also have smaller, less specialized facilities and experience caregiver shortages,” he explained. “When I speak with fellow nurses in Terrace, I hear my colleagues say things like they are discouraged, exhausted and saddened – they are generally frightened.”

At the same time it is experiencing cuts to mental health services, the region is also experiencing an ongoing resource boom which continues to bring a large number of workers to the region, putting pressure on the local hospitals and services. In addition, there have been significant healthcare cuts at the provincial and federal level, which is severely impacting communities.

Rally organizer and Terrace RN Kathy

HEAR MY VOICE Smithers RN Haley Jonstyn joined with nurses and supporters across the northwest May 23.

“

The wait time for mental health counselling can be up to four months – this can be a long time for people suffering from postpartum depression, major depressive disorders, anxiety and addictions.

KATHY BUELL

”

Buell says if things don’t change patients suffering from mental illness will fall through the cracks.

“The wait time for mental health counselling can be up to four months,” says Buell. “This can be a long time for

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MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES: NORTHERN YOUTH FALLING THROUGH THE CRACKS THE PROVINCE’S REPRESENTATIVE FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH, MARY Ellen Turpel-Lafond’s 2013 report Still Waiting: First-hand Experiences with Youth Mental Health Services in B.C. is an indictment of the province’s record on the provision of mental healthcare services.

Turpel-Lafond was tasked with determining how responsive BC’s mental health system is to the needs of youth 16 to 18 (up to their 19th birthday) and their families, and to examine opportunities for both immediate and future improvements to the system.

The Representative reported that in the process of conducting her review, it became WALK WITH NURSES, TALK WITH NURSES obvious that the mental health system for children and youth in BC is actually not (l-r) Freda Edgars, Mikael Jensen, Karita a system at all, but rather a patchwork of services that is inconsistent from region to Klockars and 2-month-old Margie Jensen region and community to community. It is confusing for youth, their families and even took part in BCNU’s May 23 rally in Terrace. the professionals who serve them, and actually getting the required services is often near to impossible.

Turpel-Lafond is especially concerned by the fact that important services – ranging people suffering from postpartum from primary care to acute care and particularly community-based intensive immedidepression, major depressive disorders, ate care – are difficult to obtain. There is no seamless system of supports, leaving many anxiety and addictions.” She says signifiBC families struggling through difficult times, often with their son or daughter caught cant violent episodes on the psychiatric in the revolving door of hospital emergency rooms. unit at Mills Memorial Hospital where Her report concludes that there is a lack of specialized acute care in hospitals for she works have been occurring over the youth with mental health problems depending on their age and where they live. For last few months that are affecting nurses most of BC, there is also a distinct shortage of intensive, community-based intermediand patient safety. “If we are seeing this ate treatment and supports. In short, there isn’t much available between acute care in increase in violence and insufficient serhospitals and existing community services. vices in Terrace, I can only imagine BCNU North West region chair Sharon Sponton what our neighbouring communican attest to the Representative’s findings. “I hear ties, such as Haida Gwaii, Dease from members who are concerned about not being Lake, Smithers, Houston and othtrained to address the issues they are confronted ers are dealing with,” she says. “The with in the ER,” she says, noting that Terrace’s Mills nurses are pleading to stop cuts to Memorial – a major regional hospital – has no Still Waiting healthcare in BC.” mental health facilities for youth. Mills Memorial First-hand Experiences with B.C. Youth Mental Health Services in The rally also brought out Skeena has an adult psychiatric ward with 10 beds. The April 2013 NDP MLA Robin Austin, and Terrace City Councillor Marilyn Davies who congratulated the nurses on their successful rally and CUTS AFFECT EVERYONE reflected on the need to maintain BC’s Representative for Children and Youth has reported that healthcare services. Austin said he the province’s mental health plans to address the federal governsystem is failing youth and their ment’s decision not to renew the families, and that accessing national health accord in the provinnecessary services is often near to impossible.

Read the report cial legislature. update

UPDATE MAGAZINE July/August 2014

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NORTHWEST RESOURCE BOOM SPELLS TROUBLE FOR HEALTHCARE

DEMANDING ACCOUNTABILITY BCNU North West region nurses were joined by Skeena MLA Robin Austin in front of Mills Memorial Hospital during their May 23 rally. Austin was one of several keynote speakers at the event.

closest youth psychiatric facility is in Prince George, over 570 kilometres away – and this has a significant wait list.

It’s a tragic situation. For adolescents and those entering their adult years, this is a prime window for prevention, intervention and treatment. Without a system that adequately addresses their mental health needs in a timely fashion,

that window can be slammed shut, and the consequences can be life-long.

Turpel-Lafond’s findings come despite the fact that one of the goals listed in the Ministry of Children and Family Development’s current Service Plan is for child and youth mental health services to “offer a wide range of mental health interventions to promote mental health, provide early intervention and intervene appropriately to address mental health concerns for children, youth and their families.”

In fact, a single set of core services does not exist across the province. What is available in each region, and in some cases each community, is different. Where services are similar, delivery mechanisms may differ. This has led to frustration and difficulties for desperate families in need of help.

It is clear that current treatment and supports are not meeting the mental health needs of BC’s youth. update

While cuts to mental health services for youth is a primary concern for North West region nurses in Terrace, the issue of healthcare shortages throughout BC’s northern communities is front and centre as the region braces for a surge in population and growth in both its natural resource and business sectors.

Enbridge’s controversial Northern Gateway pipeline project, if constructed, could deliver oil-sands bitumen from Alberta and bring job growth to the area, while three proposals to establish a liquefiednatural-gas (LNG) refinery could attract another 5,000 people to move to the area.

BCNU North West region Lobby Coordinator Kathy Buell says that while nurses in her region have experienced government cuts to healthcare budgets in the past, the northwest is expected to grow to a point that will eventually surpass current safe staffing levels if nothing is done.

Currently, residents of Kitimat, Smithers and other smaller, northwest communities already lack the healthcare services they require.

Terrace’s Mills Memorial Hospital is the only option for people in need of care.

In addition to population expansion and a resource boom waiting to happen, attracting nurses to the area, and getting them to stay, is often the hardest challenge facing northern communities. Buell says for many, the cost of living and lack of full-time employment often forces qualified nurses to search for opportunities elsewhere. update

FEATURE

PUTTING DREAMS INTO ACTION Nanaimo RNs Mandy Wakelam (l) and Laura McIntyre (r) were so inspired by their 2012 visit to Myanmar they decided to start up their own health education project to assist nurses and other healthcare workers in the isolated country.

NURSES GO GLOBAL

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BCNU members are making a difference applying their skills in countries around the world

ALL OF THE WORK THAT BCNU DOES ON BEHALF OF ITS MEMBERS is, ultimately, about promoting the value of nursing. It’s about making the case to employers, government and the public that investment in healthcare benefits everyone, and that those who provide that care are, to coin a recent advertising meme, “priceless.”

It can sometimes be easy to forget the importance of healthcare in a developed county like Canada. We only need to look at the social conditions of the majority of the world’s population who lack proper access to care to be reminded of the value of Canadian healthcare workers.

BCNU values the work of members who volunteer their time to provide healthcare services to people and communities in need outside of Canada. This feature profiles just a few of the BC nurses who are committed to sharing their skills with healthcare workers and their patients in developing countries.

All of the nurses profiled in this feature have benefited from BCNU’s Humanitarian Mission Fund which supports members participating in humanitarian work around the world.

This fund is available to all BCNU members in good standing and can be provided to an individual who takes part in a humanitarian project or a group of members serving on a mission.

Read these members’ stories and think about how you could make a difference too.

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FEATURE

LAURA MCINTYRE AND MANDY WAKELAM Myanmar Medical Initiative Creating Partnerships Between International Healthcare Providers and the Citizens of Myanmar

A LEARNING JOURNEY RN Laura McIntyre, RN Shannon Cragg, RN Mandy Wakelam and Dr. Ben Ho pay a visit to the Venerable Ashin Nyanissara (Sitagu Sayadaw). The high-ranking monk helped fund and create more then 24 non-government hospitals and clinics across Myanmar that offer free or low-cost healthcare.

THE MATTER-OF-FACT MANNER in the way Nanaimo’s Laura McIntyre describes her volunteer work belies the amount of creativity and initiative involved in setting up her project.

In November 2012, she, along with fellow emergency room nurse Mandy Wakelam, travelled to Myanmar (formerly Burma) to explore the southeast Asian country now emerging from economic isolation after years of military rule.

returned in November 2013 with a forThey happened to be staying in a hotel mal invite from the Sitagu Association to near the primary residence of U Ohn work within its 24 hospitals and clinics Maung, a former political figure who now across the country. works to fund the construction and staffing McIntyre says they visited three of hospitals and clinics in the country. He clinical sites, and while they were able invited the nurses to spend a day with him, to support the local people with some visiting a non-profit clinic and orphanage. material resources, they mainly focused U Ohn Maung works with the Sitagu on educational support.

Association, the largest Buddhist humani“The reception was incredible,” she tarian organization in Myanmar. The assosays of the welcome they were given by ciation does a wide variety of humanitarian hospital staff. “There’s a vast opportunity work, including the operation of clinics to create long-term projects between the and the provision of medical care.

24 different hospitals, and in addition to McIntyre and Wakelam were educational support, we also observed impressed with what they saw. the need for visiting surgical teams and “U Ohn Maung said, ‘you know you ophthalmologists.” can come back and you could do someThe Nanaimo group also visited two thing big here’,” recalls McIntyre. of the many Sitagu hospitals that focus “It just sat with us for a little while,” on general surgical care, and which said McIntyre of the proposal. “Then mainly rely on visiting international a couple of months after we returned surgical teams to operate on patients, home we thought this could be someas there are very few resident surgeons thing, and if we don’t pursue it we will and no trained operating room nurses in probably regret it later on.” the country.

The two then decided to return to They took notes and assessed the Myanmar and conduct a primary needs facilities in order to assist with planassessment to determine what kind of ning for future visits. “We observed the assistance they could offer and evaluate operating room in the Sagaing Ayudana the viability of sustainable volunteer Hospital and the Inle Lake Metta medical work within the country.

Hospital and can easily explain the logisOnce their decision was made, the tics of recruiting a surgical team,” says two got busy organizing for their return McIntyre, already imagining nursing trip and quickly recruited another Nanaimo Regional General Hospital emergency room nurse, Shannon Cragg, and Dr. Ben Ho, one of the hospital’s emergency physicians, to their team.

The Myanmar Medical Initiative was born. The four spent most of 2013 organizing, fundraising and raising awareness about their project and its goal of using Canadian resources and knowledge SHARING KNOWLEDGE Nanaimo ER nurse Mandy Wakelam to sustain local medical conducts a daily after-hours education session at Aye Thar Yar’s initiatives. community clinic. A range of areas were covered, from vital signs to assessment skills to shock and respiratory support.

The group of four

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colleagues and others volunteering there.

She says the group saw no end of possibilities for other Canadian international medical personnel to assist Myanmar’s population. International aid agencies have been restricted in their ability to operate in the country, particularly during the last 20 years, which saw the country isolated as a result of the extreme human rights violations of Myanmar’s ruling military generals.

But the situation in the country has changed in recent years, and political reforms are leading to increased aid funding. As Myanmar’s reforms progress, there is likely to be increased opportunity and

“

After we returned home we thought this could be something, and if we don’t pursue it we will probably regret it later on.

LAURA MCINTYRE

”

demand for development partners to support health and education initiatives such as MMI. It’s clear from talking with McIntyre and Wakelam that their chance encounter in 2012 has quickly turned into a life-long mission. They say the group of four already has plans to return in early 2015 and build on the relationships they established during this trip.

“We envision an ongoing project after being immersed in such an amazing culture with the friendliest and most hospitable people in the world!” says McIntyre.

The MMI team is now turning its atten-

ASSESSING NEEDS RN Laura McIntyre, RN Mandy Wakelam, Dr. Ben Ho and RN Shannon Cragg a group of healthcare workers at the Prosperity Dispensary Clinic in Aye Thar Yar a township in Myanmar’s Shan province. The donation-based facility treats between 35 to 140 patients each day.

tion to healthcare professionals in BC and reaching out to potential participants and donors.

“We want to tap into our rural resources here and bring back whatever we think would be useful in a rural Myanmar community for education purposes: slides, handouts, different ways of utilizing things and figure out other supplies that we can take when we go back,” says Wakelam.

McIntyre says the group will be visiting and assessing the needs of new sites on next year’s trip. “Because we have established contacts in the country, it’s easier for us to go to new areas and determine what needs to be brought in the future.”

“In terms of the places that we’ve already assessed, we can easily see sending a couple of paramedics to do some outpost teaching – almost like occupational first aid – basic things like splinting that you don’t necessarily need an RN to teach,” notes McIntyre.

“And there’s one area we can easily send a surgical team – and that’s exactly what they need in terms of hands-on help,” she says, noting that recruitment and coordination of future volunteers is something they plan to focus on.

“We’ve already been reaching out at our Nanaimo hospital and we’ve got a surgical team that we are working on bringing with us,” she says. “Surgical nurses can definitely contact us – we’ve got the means to help them get in and do something.”

“It’s definitely just the beginning,” says McIntyre. “During this recent visit we established key relationships that will allow us to sustain future work and partnerships.

There are so many avenues that this can go and we’re all really committed to seeing it through.”

McIntyre encourages other BCNU members to think about volunteering in Myanmar, but stresses that the focus of MMI is on teaching and mentorship versus direct relief work.

Wakelam agrees. “There’s so much we can do. If someone thinks they have something to offer the project, we’re more than happy to hear from them and are open to what they have to bring to Myanmar.”

A detailed account of McIntyre and Wakelam’s 2013 trip, as well updates on their group’s future plans, can be found on the Myanmar Medical Initiative Blog: www. myanmarmedicalinitiative.org update

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FEATURE

HONOUR TO HELP Burnaby Hospital RN Kathy Bonitz is proud of her team’s work in Ecuador.

KATHY BONITZ Canadian Association Of Medical Teams Abroad Assisting Ecuador’s Poor KATHY BONITZ WAS STUNNED when she arrived at Ecuador’s Quito International Airport last February. Passing through arrivals, the Burnaby Hospital OR nurse found herself being greeted with a hero’s welcome. It was her second visit to the city, and she soon realized that the people cheering were patients she had nursed a year earlier.

“It was so emotional, I felt like a rock star,” she says of the experience.

Bonitz was participating in the Canadian Association of Medical Teams Abroad (CAMTA) 2014 mission to the South American country.

CAMTA was formed in 2001 by a small group of Edmonton-based healthcare practitioners and lay people who had been on previous medical missions to Ecuador to provide orthopaedic surgery to pediatric and adult patients and to provide continuing education on detection and treatment practices for medical personnel in Ecuador.

Around the world, one in every 1000 babies is born with a club foot. In Ecuador, the majority of these children are not treated at birth, making learning to walk difficult or impossible. Ecuador also has

a high incidence of hip dysplasia, a birth defect which can cripple a person by age 30. Poverty and limited access to medical assistance often means children with these conditions live with pain and limited mobility their entire lives.

CAMTA returned to Ecuador last February and March for the thirteenth year in a row. Two separate teams, numbering close to 100 people in total, stayed for a total of 17 days. The goal: perform 44 hip replacements on 35 adults, and 35 surgeries on 27 children.

Bonitz says her positive experience last year inspired her to participate again. Team members volunteer their time and expertise and raise the funds necessary to cover their travel and living expenses. Everything that they raise above that amount helps to pay for medical and surgical supplies and equipment needed for the mission.

“I do baking at work and my partner donates a percentage of his art sales,” says Bonitz. “Almost all the money goes to the mission as there isn’t a lot of administrative overhead.”

This year, Bonitz was part of the second cohort volunteering from February 22 to March 4. “I was on the adult OR team – we do total hip surgeries on adults, and then there’s a pediatric OR team that does assorted things to do with club feet and congential hip deformities.”

Bonitz is clearly proud of her team’s work and how profoundly it affects their patients.

“They were even doing bilateral hip replacements on some of them – and I’ve never seen that in Canada before – and they were up walking around the next day,” she says. “They

HEALING WORK Dr. Marc Moreau cares for a young patient. In Ecuador, the majority of children born with club feet are not treated at birth, making learning to walk difficult or impossible.

had post-op pain, but it was so much less than they’d been having with their conditions that brought them to us – it was just phenomenal.”

Bonitz strongly encourages other BCNU members to consider participating in a CAMTA mission. “It’s an incredible experience to be able to share our nursing skills and knowledge and it also reaffirms for me how important our healthcare system is, which Canadians just take for granted,” she says.

“Most of the people there, they just wouldn’t be able to afford it and they are stuck living with such pain and immobility.” update ON A MISSION RN Tracey Rice unpacks medical supplies brought to Ecuador in hockey bags during this year’s Canadian Association of Medical Teams Abroad 2014.

UPDATE MAGAZINE July/August 2014

RHONDA BENNETT Bangladesh Health Project Strengthening Nursing In Bangladesh FOR MANY NURSES, GETTING involved in international relief and education efforts is something they consider only after they’ve completed their own education and consolidated their practice. For others, like Rhonda Bennett, the opportunity to contribute their skills and life experience is something they take advantage of early on in their career.

Bennett is an LPN who is studying at

READY TO ASSIST Vancouver nurse Rhonda Bennett spent six weeks in Bangladesh this year and says it was an honour to be able to share her education and experience with her nurse counterparts in the country.

Vancouver Community College. She graduated as an LPN in 2009 and worked at Vancouver General Hospital on the medical/surgical ward. She says working as an LPN was a good foundation, but she soon realized she wanted to do more, and has now enrolled in VCC’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN) program.

Bennett visited Bangladesh this spring as part of a student delegation participating in the Bangladesh Health Project. Started in 2003 by volunteers at Vancouver’s MidMain community clinic, project leaders work with the International University of Business Agriculture and Technology (IUBAT), a non-profit independent university established in 1991 in Dhaka, the country’s capital. Volunteers have since launched a nursing school where students graduate with an officially recognized BScN degree. Students progress through four years of three trimesters each, with lectures, labs and workshops as well as practical experience in partner teaching hospitals and community agencies. The long-term goal of the project is to develop future leaders of the nursing profession in Bangladesh who will foster professional nursing and improve population health.

VCC has been partnering with Mid-Main for several years.

The college’s fourth year BScN students have the option of completing half of their final preceptorship by participating in the Bangladesh Health Project. Students participate at their own expense and fundraise to cover the costs of travel and accommodation, with an extra funds going to help students attending IUBAT. Bennett was excited but also nervous before leaving. She had never visited a developing country before and was unsure of the level of culture shock she would experience. With 154 million residents, Bangladesh is among the world’s

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most densely populated countries. Despite significant progress in public health, dayto-day life for many Bangladeshis remains difficult. Improvements to health services are desperately needed.

“At times it was difficult because you want to step in and help, but I also had to realize that you can’t help all 154 million people,” says Bennett. “I found it was important to focus on the positive steps we were making and the results the project has achieved so far in improving healthcare and increasing the number of students enrolled in the nursing program.”

Bennett says she had a rewarding trip.

“Dhaka has been an amazing experience. It is a city that has gone through a huge transition since Bangladesh gained independence in 1971,” she says. “Although poverty is visible everywhere, so is a sense a determination and desire to grow.”

Bennett became immediately aware of the need for nurse education in Bangladesh, where nurses have traditionally been poorly trained, underpaid, and disrespected as professionals. The better hospitals often hire nurses from out of country. Nurse educa-

BC NURSES TALK HEALTHCARE Students discussed health concerns and how to promote nursing as a profession in Bangladesh with Professor AFM Ruhal Haque (second from left), a Bangladeshi member of parliament and member of the country’s Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare. (l-r): Sara Jackson, Haque, Rhonda Bennett, Dory Larue and Dr. Nazmul Huda.

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FEATURE

tors in many other training institutes lack basic resources and may be out-oftouch with the skills to provide patient care.

Nursing leaders, physicians and outsiders report that nursing education in Bangladesh suffers from several problems. Nurse educators may be remote from practice and not current with their clinical skills,

Nurse education in Bangladesh tends to focus on memorization and learning by rote, and many observers have noted that self-directed learning, critical thinking and problem solving are not emphasized.

“We were constantly trying to provide challenges that would force the students to apply the knowledge rather than repeat it,” says Bennett. “Some nurses I spoke to in private hospitals said that they weren’t expected to ‘do that’ (problem solve) in the program. However we emphasized the changing role of nurses and the need to be able to think critically as a professional.”

In Bangladesh, modern teaching resources are available only in English, yet many nurse educators are not fluent English speakers.

“The emphasis on English is designed to provide the students with greater opportunity upon graduation,” explains Bennett.

RHONDA BENNETT “Both internationally and regionally, a strong English foundation is considered and although there has been international ideal.” But she says that while English support for curriculum development, the training is good in theory, it keeps diploma teachers may simply continue delivering nurses (equivalent to LPNs) away from the out-dated lectures. communities where they are desperately “On visits to many places I saw outdated needed. “It would be more efficient to allow techniques such as scrubbing wound beds them to upgrade their English skills if they rather then rinsing with normal saline to decide to pursue their BScN.” protect the granulating tissue,” she reports.

Bennett says other BCNU members “Programs like the Bangladesh Health should think about participating in the Project will help change this – as more and Bangladesh Health Project, especially better educated nurses graduate, the hope student nurses. is that higher professional standards will “The education and training that we follow suit.” receive is an invaluable resource that I was constantly reminded of while there,” she says.

“Sharing that knowledge, education and experience and helping to lay the foundation for a developing country like Bangladesh to improve their health by giving them the ability to take ownership of it in the future was truly an honor.

Bangladesh is a country with a rich history and is SHARING KNOWLEDGE Rhonda Bennett (third from left) extremely different from and other Vancouver Community College nurses after their Canada, so the cultural presentation to the “Golden Girls” – a group of young women learning I received was teaching the importance of education and perinatal care to the rural population of Bangladesh’s Satkhira district. wonderful.” update

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CAITLIN MARYNOWSKI Sustainable Mining Alliance of the Kootenays Shedding Light on Canadian Mining Operations in Guatemala

We were constantly trying to provide challenges that would force the students to apply the knowledge rather than repeat it.

”

EXPLORING CONNECTIONS BETWEEN POWER, POVERTY AND HEALTH Kootenay nurse Caitlin Marynowski at a Guatemala school where she taught hand and oral hygiene to children.

IT’S A LITTLE KNOWN FACT THAT 75 percent of the world’s mining companies are headquartered in Canada. But critics have called the global mining sector Canada’s dirty secret given the industry’s less-than-respectable environmental and human rights record.

All told, almost 1,300 mining companies based out of Canada are investing hundreds of billions of dollars in over 100 countries around the world. Yet the communities located in areas of mineral wealth receive little net benefit from Canadian mining operations, many which have been linked to forced displacement, violence, and

UPDATE MAGAZINE July/August 2014

disregard for indigenous rights. This, along with the environmental devastation that’s been left in the wake of mining companies’ presence has led to a growing backlash.

Critics say that Canadian mining companies can act with impunity overseas, without the threat of any legal repercussions in Canada.

These concerns led fourth year VictoriaSelkirk College nursing student Caitlin Marynowski to join a group of 10 Canadian nurses on an education-and-solidarity delegation to Guatemala in May of last year.

Organized by Sustainable Mining Alliance of the Kootenays (SMAK), and facilitated

by Rights Action, a U.S./Canadian NGO,

“

This trip really taught me the importance of standing up for marginalized populations and I feel that my role as a nurse is to advocate for groups that are silenced.

”

CAITLIN MARYNOWSKI

the trip allowed participants to learn first-hand about Guatemala’s historical, socio-political and human rights situation, including problems caused by mega-development industries such as mining.

Marynowski admits that she wasn’t fully aware of the scale of the impact that Canadian mining practices were having internationally.

“These companies are extracting resources, be it gold, lead or nickel, from already environmentally fragile lands that are further impoverished through cyanide-based, open-pit mining, creating

intense local conflict and turmoil,” wrote Marynowski in her post-trip synopsis, A Lesson in Social Justice and Solidarity. “Today, colonial exploitation is taking place under the guise of large-scale mining operations, the majority of which are operated by Canadian companies.”

Marynowski says time spent in Central America many years ago helped her feel at home in Guatemala while travelling there. However, she does admit the trip had an emotional toll on her.

“When we visited communities affected by the practices of Canadian mining companies, it was difficult to hear about the fear, devastation and trauma that these projects have caused the people and their land,” she says. “People think that Canadians are so great and so friendly and we pride ourselves on the fact that we do all these great things. But it’s unfortunate to see us using our power in such a way like that.”

Marynowski says the challenges that result from the struggle for justice were made starkly real for the delegation when it met with a woman who was blinded in one eye after being shot in the face for refusing to sell her land to a mining company. She also reports that they were witness to the devastating environmental impact behind Canadian practices, and were shocked to hear that mining companies use 250,000 litres of water every hour, 24 hours per day, seven days per week – enough to support farming practices for a family of four for 30 years.

“I felt a great deal of unease as we heard the stories of those affected by the mines,” she confesses. “These mines that are actively supported by the government of my own country – a country that claims to be among the top leaders in corporate social responsibility.”

Marynowski says her nurse training helped her see how social determinants of

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GLOBAL SOLIDARITY Delegation participates in peaceful protest in the community of San Jose del Golfo, northwest of Guatemala City. Kootenay nurse Caitlin Marynowski (second from right) and others formed a blockade against the lack of consultations and environmental impacts of the proposed El Tambor gold mine. Community members maintain the blockade 24/7 and have faced violent attacks from police and others.

health impact the livelihood of individuals, families and communities.

“It was really interesting to go with a different perspective,” she explains. “Before I was a nurse, I wasn’t looking at it within the context of health. It was eye-opening in a new way. However it was an emotional rollercoaster ride and although the people there were gracious and recognized that we are not our country, it gave me a good idea of how important it is to stand in solidarity with someone.”

Once she graduates, Marynowski says she would like to focus on critical care in the emergency room at Kootenay Lake Hospital, near her hometown of Nelson.

She also has many more travel plans in store for the future.

“I went into nursing so I could travel with it. So, while I plan on starting my career here in critical care, I definitely want to travel in the future and have experiences like I had in Guatemala,” she says. “This trip really taught me the importance of standing up for marginalized populations and I feel that my role as a nurse is to advocate for groups that are silenced.” update

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FEATURE

HOW TO CONTACT THE ORGANIZATIONS

Bangladesh Health Project www.bangladeshhealthproject.com info@bangladeshhealthproject.com Phone: 604-873-3666 BON BERGER MEDICAL CENTRE www.intermenno.net/ bon-berger-medical-centre Delphin Kapasa at cbmbonberger@yahoo.fr, or delpregine@yahoo.fr, Phone: (+243)999958284

Canadian Association of Medical Teams Abroad (CAMTA) www.camta.com info@camta.com Phone: 780-486-7161

Myanmar Medical Initiative www.myanmarmedicalinitiative.org myanmarmedicalinitiative@gmail.com

Sustainable Mining Alliance of the Kootenays (SMAK) www.rightsaction.org Mary Ann Morris at letstalksmak@gmail.com Phone: 250-354-4641

DEBRA VESTRE AND ANNE SCHMIDT

resources. Over there, you don’t waste your resources on patients unless there’s a good chance they’ll survive.”

This harsh reality presented itself in a sad Bon Berger Medical case involving a baby who was born premaCentre ture at the clinic but died soon after.

“The baby was as blue as blue, and they Providing Relief to didn’t put any oxygen on,” says Vestre. “He Kinshasa’s Poor should have had oxygen at delivery and he should have had an IV of some glucose but DEBRA VESTRE REMEMBERS I think they knew that the sour smell in the air when she the little one wasn’t first landed in Kinshasa, the capital going to survive so of the Democratic Republic of the there was no sense Congo, back in 2008. The smell in using their limited of garbage and dirty water stayed resources.” with her for the duration of her Despite the emotwo-week medical mission to the tional toll of the trip, Bon Berger Medical Centre in both nurses say that the southern part of the country. the mission has made “It was very, very overthem better at their whelming for all of us when jobs and given them we first arrived,” recalls the a new perspective on Ridge Meadows Hospital RN. their own lives.

SPECIAL OPPORTUNITY Ridge Meadows RN Debra Vestre says “The smells are overwhelm“It has opened our that volunteering in a poor ing. There’s a sourness of the eyes to how lucky we Kinshasa slum has made her garbage that’s accumulated all are in Canada,” says better at her job and given her a over the place and it’s hot and Vestre. “We’ve also new perspective on life. humid. But we knew this was a formed a connection special opportunity when we were embraced with the clinic and the staff who work there. with open arms by the staff at the clinic.”

An oil painting they gave us is hanging in our Vestre is one of a group of Ridge Meadows staff room at Ridge Meadows.”

Hospital nurses who’ve been travelling to Schmidt agrees that her trip has given her Camp Luka, a slum outside of Kinshasa, the ability to focus on what’s important in every two years since 2008. With a populalife and be grateful for what she has at home. tion of 125,000 people, Camp Luka is home “Despite what they are up against, the to the Bon Berger Clinic which provides people there are always smiling. They appremedical treatment to the local community. ciated even the smallest things we did for The organization, MD Missions, introduced them,” she says. “Nobody grumbled about Vestre and the rest of the group to the oppor- their situation. It made the 19-hour flight tunity and has been working with staff at the and other challenges completely worth it.” clinic for almost 10 years.

Vestre is already planning her next trip to Anne Schmidt, an RN who works with the Bon Berger Medical Centre this October Vestre in the emergency room at Ridge and Schmidt says she’d like to go back once Meadows, travelled to the DRC in 2012. She her children graduate from school. In the recalls the two-week experience as being meantime, they are busy collecting supeye-opening, inspiring, scary and emotional plies and donations which are all making a all at the same time. difference. In 2012, a generous donation of “It just made me realize how truly lucky $3,000 went towards a water reservoir and we are here,” she says. “As a trained profestoilets for the centre. Today, there is running sional, it’s hard to witness people dying from water and a well-stocked supply room with something that would easily be treated here splints, tourniquets and other necessities in Canada. But it all comes down to a lack of that are helping to save lives. update

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DAY OF RECOGNITION Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson declares May 23 “Komagata Maru Day of Remembrance” and recognized the advocacy work of members of the Khalsa Diwan Society.

Detail from the memorial monument at Harbour Green Park in Coal Harbour that reminds residents of a dark period in the city’s history.

DAY OF REMEMBRANCE KOMAGATA MARU INCIDENT’S LEGACY RECOGNIZED 100 YEARS ON ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO THIS May, the Komagata Maru, a chartered Japanese steamship, arrived in Burrard Inlet carrying 376 British subjects from India, mainly Sikhs. Canadian immigration officials refused to let the passengers disembark, forcing them to stay on board for two months, before the ship was forced to return to India, with all but 22 of the original passengers aboard. A riot broke out upon the ship’s arrival in Calcutta, in which 20 passengers were killed.

The Komagata Maru incident has since been remembered as an example of Canada’s racist immigration policies in the early 20th century.

A number of events took place across Metro Vancouver on May 23 to mark the 100th anniversary of the Komagata Maru’s

ill-fated arrival in the city. In downtown Vancouver, a march took take place from the SFU Harbour Centre to Harbour Green Park, while in Surrey a vigil was held at Holland Park.

At the Vancouver event Mayor Robertson proclaimed “Komagata Maru Day of Remembrance” and acknowledged the work of leaders in the Sikh community who continue to fight against discriminatory practices, advance Sikh-related issues and ensure recognition for Sikhs in Canada.

“It was a terrible injustice that the passengers who sought refuge were turned away,” says BCNU Human Rights and Equity caucus chair Mabel Tung. “The people aboard the Komagata Maru were pursuing dreams of a new life in Canada,

BCNU HUMAN RIGHTS AND EQUITY caucus chair Mabel Tung attended a May 23 dinner to recognize the advocacy work of the Khalsa Diwan society in fighting for the recognition of Sikhs in BC.

but they arrived only to encounter racism.”

The Komagata Maru incident highlights Canadian immigration policy at a time when anti-Asian sentiment in Canada, and BC in particular, was high, and Canada was viewed as a “white man’s country”.

A 1910 order-in-council was passed requiring immigrants to come to Canada by continuous journey from their homeland. So, Gurdit Singh chartered the Japanese ship Komagata Maru and sold tickets for a continuous journey from the Punjab state to Canada.

However, a 1908 order-in-council required all “Asiatic” immigrants to be in possession of $200. The Indians aboard Komagata Maru and lawyers who volunteered to assist them argued the provision did not apply to them as they were British subjects. India was still a colony.

However, it was to no avail. On July 23, under the guns of the naval cruiser HMCS Rainbow, the Komagata Maru was escorted out to sea and returned to India. update

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Learning & Development MEMBER EDUCATION

A BRIEF HISTORY OF WORK UNCOVERS GHOSTS, REIMAGINES THE FUTURE BCNU’s EDUCATION DEPARTMENT has launched the flagship course of its new Leadership & Labour Relations steward education program. A Brief History of Work debuted on May 1 – International Workers’ Day – and gave participants the opportunity to engage in a critical exploration of the nature of work in a constantly shifting, globalized economy.

The inaugural day-long course was held at the Chinese Cultural Centre in Vancouver.

Using a series of videos, discussions and in-class activities, course facilitators encouraged members to explore the fascinating, complex and intersecting histories of colonialism, industrialization, capitalism, trade unionism and labour activism.

Participants grappled with ethical considerations related to non-unionized labour around the world, including the deadly shipbreaking industry, the largely female garment industry, and agribusinesses’ promotion of genetically modified organisms.

They also looked at the role of technology and economics in healthcare and the implications for optimal health outcomes.

The course taught members about local history, beginning with British Columbia’s colonial origins, and the important contribution Aboriginal labour made to the budding economy.

Looking back at the way work has shaped the contemporary moment, members were able to see the connection between the role of organized labour in social justice struggles of the past and the battles they continue to fight today. In this way, A Brief History of Work presents the conflicts, contradictions and creativity of work, workplace struggles and worker victories on a continuum rather than as discrete, unrelated historical moments.

Lunch was held at Chinatown’s venerable New Town Bakery, after which members embarked on a one-hour walking tour of Chinatown and the Downtown Eastside,

A TRIP THROUGH THE PAST INTO THE PRESENT BCNU Vancouver Metro region’s Ivy Velasco and Sally Chiu learned about Vancouver’s radical labour history during the union’s May 1 Walking Tour.

stopping at historic locales and uncovering the “ghosts” of Vancouver’s radical labour past. These included the sites of unemployed workers’ occupations, free speech fights and numerous, often bloody, strikes in the mining, fishing and rail industries.

Among the past’s ghosts were the AntiAsian riots of 1907, which shamefully involved the participation of organized labour, and the internment of Japanese Canadians in 1942, which resulted in the destruction of Vancouver’s Japantown.

At the end of the day, members were asked to reflect on the future of the union and consider any actions they could take toward a more progressive and just future – not only for unionized workers, but for everyone. There were many ideas, and people left feeling hopeful, even inspired, that things can change.

A Brief History of Work is open to all members, and is a prerequisite for the Leadership & Labour Relations program. update

MEDICARE

THE FOR-PROFIT LEGAL THREAT TO PUBLIC HEALTHCARE A VOICE FOR ALL PATIENTS BCNU IS IN COURT TO ADVOCATE FOR THOSE FORCED TO PAY UNLAWFUL FEES FOR ACCESS TO NECESSARY PHYSICIAN CARE MARIEL SCHOOFF WAS AT HER wit’s end. The Port Coquitlam store clerk’s doctor told her it would be years before she could see a specialist who could perform the surgery she hoped would finally give her relief.

Schooff has suffered from chronic sinus infections most of her life, and had several unsuccessful surgeries in the past. But now, her symptoms were getting worse. “I didn’t

have any energy, I had to quit my job, the pain was just excruciating,” she says. “I couldn’t concentrate on anything and none of the painkillers worked. I just couldn’t cope any more.”

The surgeon her doctor had recommended was the only ear, nose and throat specialist who was performing the endoscopic nasal surgery she needed at the time.

Unfortunately, Vancouver’s St. Paul’s

WAITING GAME For-profit healthcare proponents claim that their legal challenge is being waged on behalf of patients, but their true goal is the establishment of a US-style private insurance industry that would sell access to physician and hospital care.

NOW SERVING

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“WE ARE GRAVELY CONCERNED ABOUT THE IMPLICATIONS OF DR. DAY’S LEGAL CHALLENGE – IT’S A DIRECT THREAT TO MEDICARE AND THE HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF CANADIANS.” BCNU PRESIDENT DEBRA MCPHERSON

Hospital, where the surgeon worked, was also the only hospital with the necessary equipment, and she was told the wait list could be up to five years long. A devastated Schooff was given another option.

The specialist also worked at Vancouver’s for-profit False Creek Surgical Centre, which had recently purchased the equipment needed for the surgery, and she would be able to have the procedure there – for a price: $5,000.

“I can’t do that – I don’t have that kind of money,” she said, remembering her reaction to the proposal. “But I went home and thought about it for two days and realized that there was no way I could survive five years with that kind of pain.”

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increasingly bold in violating the rules of medicare. And with minimal provincial investigation and no federal action, clinics have expanded both in size and scope.

They openly “extra-bill” or charge patients like Schooff additional fees for services that are publicly funded. The fees are a necessary part of the for-profit medical business, and every year thousands of British Columbians pay fees as high as $20,000 to It wasn’t an easy choice, but six months obtain surgery. later the mother of two young teenage Public healthcare advocates have been children went to her bank, borrowed fighting back. Community organizations against the equity in her house, and got a have responded to the growth of for-profit line of credit to pay for her surgery. clinics by calling on the government to “When I went to the clinic on the day enforce its own laws and ensure that equal of the surgery, I was told the cost had gone access healthcare is a top-of-mind issue at up to $6,125,” says Schooff, recalling the the ballot box. insult added to her injury. “I had already For its part, in 2003, the BC Nurses’ gotten a certified cheque from the bank, Union began advocating on behalf of and I had to come up with the additional patients, like Schooff, who had suffered amount on the day of the surgery before financially. Schooff filed a claim with the they would operate.”

BC Medical Services Commission requestThe operation was successful, but the ing reimbursement for False Creek Surgical experience compelled Schooff to write a let- Centre’s unlawful fees. She also participated ter to the Vancouver Sun about her financial in BCNU-sponsored legal action in 2008 hardship, and how she felt about the fact to call attention to the unlawful activities of that suffering patients were being forced to for-profit clinics in the province and compel pay for medically necessary services that the government to enforce the BC Medicare are covered by the province’s public health Protection Act in the interest of all British insurance plan.

Columbians.

The media picked up her story and Since then, a legal struggle has ensued Schooff soon found herself in the middle that has seen for-profit clinic owners of a debate that strikes at the very heart of unsuccessfully attempt to use the courts to Canada’s healthcare system. oppose a Medical Services Commission The False Creek Surgical Centre was not audit of CSC – BC’s largest for-profit facilthe only for-profit medical facility chargity. When an audit was finally conducted in ing patients unlawful fees for provincially 2012, auditors found that physicians at the insured healthcare services. It along with facility illegally billed patients almost half a other for-profit businesses, most notably Dr. million dollars over a six-month period.

Brian Day’s Cambie Surgery Centre (CSC), Now, it is CSC that’s on the offensive. had formed the Canadian Independent The corporation has responded to the audit Medical Clinic Association in order to wage findings by suing the province for the right a full-scale campaign attacking medicare laws to continue billing patients for services designed to ensure that patients get access to already covered by public health insurance. care on equal terms and conditions.

This September, Dr. Day’s lawyers will For-profit clinics in BC have grown attempt to convince the court that medicare

UPDATE MAGAZINE July/August 2014

“WE ARE PROVIDING LEGAL SUPPORT TO PATIENTS WHO HAVE SUFFERED FINANCIALLY AT THE HANDS OF FOR-PROFIT HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS BECAUSE WE WANT THE COURT TO HEAR VOICES THAT OTHERWISE WOULDN’T BE HEARD.” BCNU PRESIDENT DEBRA MCPHERSON

rules designed to ensure that necessary health services are provided according to patients’ needs, and not their ability to pay, are unconstitutional, and that physicians should have the ability to provide their services to the highest bidder.

BCNU will be back in court too. A group of union-supported patients, including Schooff, have been given standing as intervenors in the litigation, and they will be providing important affidavit evidence attesting to their negative experiences with for-profit healthcare in BC. Their voices will be a critical counter to CSC’s legal strategy, which has involved lining up other patients who have suffered on waitlists in order to advance its case.

“As healthcare professionals, we are gravely concerned about the implications of Dr. Day’s legal challenge – it’s a

direct threat to medicare and the health and well-being of Canadians,” says BCNU President Debra McPherson.

“Day and his supporters claim to act on behalf of patients, but their real motive is profit.”

McPherson says the union’s legal advocacy in this case is a reflection of the nursing profession’s social equity mandate and the BCNU’s strong support for universal healthcare. She notes that Schooff and other patients could not afford to intervene on their own behalf.

“We are providing legal support to patients who have suffered financially at the hands of for-profit healthcare providers because we want the court to hear voices that otherwise wouldn’t be heard.”

McPherson warns BCNU members the stakes in the case are high, and if Day is successful, Canadian hospital and physician services will be opened up to costly US-style private insurance that will result in costlier and less equitable healthcare for all.

She says the prohibition on

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WORRYING ABOUT WAIT TIMES Cambie Surgery Centre claims that its legal actions are motivated by surgical wait times in the public healthcare system. And the company’s legal strategy involves the telling of the “horror stories” of individual patients who have suffered while waiting for surgery.

An individual’s suffering should be a concern, but contrary to the scaremongering of CSC owner Dr. Day, the evidence tells us that surgical wait lists are being managed effectively, and there is certainly no case for the elimination of medicare laws that Day is calling for.

The most recent analysis from the Canadian Institute for Health Information published last March shows that about 8 out of 10 Canadians receive priority-area procedures – including hip and knee replacements, cataract surgery, hip fracture repair and radiation therapy – within the medically acceptable time frames – results that are largely similar to last year’s findings.

Of course there is still need for improvement.

Challenges have been identified and there are cost-effective positive, public solutions available to address them.

The best examples are some of the innovations in managing publicly funded and delivered surgical care right here in BC and include the Richmond Hip and Knee Reconstruction Project, UBC Centre for Surgical Innovation, North Shore Joint Replacement Access Clinic, and the Mount Saint Joseph Hospital Cataract and Corneal Transplant Unit.

All of these projects have dramatically increased operating room efficiencies and reduced lengths of stay in hospital. They are team-based, viable, economically achievable solutions, and they need to be scaled up now. update

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THE PROBLEM WITH PRIVATE CLINICS For-profit surgical facilities are not the healthcare solution their advocates make them out to be. They’re part of the problem.

Here’s why:

Private clinics COST MORE The international experience with private surgical facilities is that they tend to charge much higher prices for the same surgery in a publicly funded hospital.

Hip replacement surgery in a non-profit hospital in Alberta cost a reported $10,000 in 2006, compared to $20,000 in a for-profit clinic. In Canada’s public hospital system, knee replacement surgery averages $8,000 compared to between $14,000 and $18,000 in a private surgical facility.

Private clinics “CHERRY PICK” For-profit clinics make money by choosing less sick patients and those with fewer complications. Cherry picking occurs because for-profit clinics have a material interest in serving patients who require less complex procedures, whose outcomes are more predictable and whose overall costs are lower. It allows them to minimize their risk and maximize their profit, but it increases the average level of severity among patients who remain in the public system. Consequently, the average cost of treating patients in public institutions rises.

Private clinics INCREASE WAIT TIMES For-profit facilities can provide faster care to those with deeper pockets, but they seriously compromise access for those waiting for care in the public system. Another problem is that parallel private delivery diverts resources away from the public system and into the private one. Doctors and nurses can’t be in two places at once. The more care they provide in the for-profit sector, the less they can do in the public sector. This leads to longer waiting times for patients in the public system.

Private clinics REDUCE SAFETY & QUALITY For-profit providers cut corners to ensure owners obtain their expected returns on investment, and the profit motive may adversely affect patient outcomes. Research shows that patients who use for-profit facilities have significantly higher death rates than those who use non-profit providers. A key reason for poorer quality of care and health outcomes in for-profit facilities is the lower number of skilled personnel employed. It has been estimated that if all Canadian hospitals were converted to forprofits, there would be an additional 2,200 deaths a year.

extra-billing is the essential mechanism that protects medicare, also known as single-payer public insurance, from the private insurance industry. “Dr. Day and his allies want access to more patients who are insured under a US-style private health insurance model – allowing them to earn more money than doctors who only work in the public system.”

“This lawsuit is part of a concerted effort to destroy medicare – a social program valued and supported by the majority of Canadians,” says McPherson, who notes that most Canadians can’t afford the thousands required to pay for a procedure in order to jump the queue. “But if Dr. Day and other promoters of a private health insurance business model succeed in their attack, we could all find ourselves paying expensive premiums for hospital and physician services no longer covered by medicare.”

Regardless of the outcome of September’s trial, this case represents a crossroads for medicare. It is likely that it will end up in the Supreme Court of Canada, and may produce the defining Charter interpretation that would apply across the country on the issues raised in Quebec’s 2004 Chaoulli case. In that judgment, the top court may have recognized that failure to ensure timely access to care endangers Canadians’ well-being. But the judgment said the remedy must be to ensure access for all – not just for those who can “afford to pay” for private care. Three dissenting judges warned that the Charter should not be used to rollback benefits enjoyed by all Canadians, especially the poor.

For her part, Schooff says she is glad the case is finally going to trial – eight years after filling her affidavit. She’s also waiting to be reimbursed for the $6,000 she was illegally billed. “I don’t know if I’ll ever see that money. I’m a senior citizen. I could really use it now.” update

Q&A

UPDATE MAGAZINE July/August 2014

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YOUR PENSION

AN INTERVIEW WITH BCNU PENSION COMMITTEE CHAIR DEB DUCHARME BCNU MEMBERS ARE discussing the subject of pensions these days more than ever before. There is a lot of information available on pensions and the topic of financial planning for retirement is receiving increasing interest.

This is a good thing. A pension plan that guarantees its members a regular income from retirement until death is an important entitlement, and it’s one of the more significant achievements that’s the result of successful collective bargaining.

The more members know about their pension the better. But the volume of information that’s available creates complexity and can bring confusion to those wanting to plan for their retirement.

Deb Ducharme is BCNU’s

Executive Councillor responsible for pensions. She chairs the BCNU Pension Committee and sits as a trustee on the Municipal Pension Plan board.

Those trustees are tasked with ensuring members’ pension contributions are being used to their maximum benefit. An important part of Ducharme’s job is engaging with individual members, all of whom have different levels of interest and knowledge, to explain

how their pension plan works and how to best take advantage of the benefits it has to offer.

To this end, the union has developed a pension workshop to provide members with facts about their plans and help them learn more. Update Magazine sat down with Ducharme to find out more about the workshops and pensions in general.

UPDATE What’s the objective of BCNU’s pension workshops?

DUCHARME Our workshops are designed to provide members with information about their pensions. We want nurses to be aware of the impact their career decisions will have on their pensions.

A large number of the members who attend the workshops are those close to retirement, but we encourage younger members to attend also, so that that they have pension information early in their careers.

We are now developing a workshop for younger members that we will be

MUNICIPAL PENSION PLAN FACTS The Plan is the sixth-largest defined benefit plan in Canada.

The Plan has more than 280,000 members.

The Plan pays out over $1 billion in pensions each year.

The average annual pension paid by the Plan in 2011 was $16,501.

The total assets in the Plan are over $38 billion.

Employers and employees share the cost of the Plan.

Approximately 75 percent of the cost of pensions paid by the Plan comes from investment returns.

Secure your 40 retirement from the starting line Learn more at the

Municipal Pension Plan AGM October 16, 2014 10 am – noon Anvil Centre 777 Columbia St. New Westminster

6 WAYS TO GET THE MOST FROM YOUR PENSION PLAN

1

Register on the pension corporation website and use “My Account”: www.pensionsbc.ca

2 3 4 5 6

Find out if you can purchase service.

Do a personalized pension estimate online.

Nominate your beneficiary.

The Municipal Pension Plan AGM Taking Action Today for a Secure Tomorrow mpp.pensionsbc.ca

Attend a BCNU pension workshop.

In Metro Vancouver?

Attend the 2014 AGM!

piloting this fall in the Fraser Valley.

UPDATE What kind of feedback have you

received from members who have taken a pension workshop?

DUCHARME The feedback has been very positive. Getting informed about issues concerning the purchase of unpaid leave and past service is probably the area members find the most useful.

The workshop outlines information for purchase of service for different types of leave. A member has five years to purchase back any leave but the timelines to trigger the employer obligation to pay their portion are different for different leaves.

Another area is questions about enrollment and status depending on whether a member is working full time, part time or casual. Also, at the end of the year all members receive pension statements that show how much pensionable service has been earned. The pension corporation receives information from employers, and this is not always accurate, so we show members how to check their statement every year to make sure it’s correct.

The sooner members get this information the better. The comment I hear most often at the workshops is “I wish I had known this information earlier”.

UPDATE How often are the workshops held?

DUCHARME They are booked at the request of the members, stewards or BCNU Council. They see a need and contact me. It can be anywhere across the province. Last year we conducted 45 workshops and we are on track to do at least that many this year.

Attending the workshop is entirely voluntary.

We ask that there be a minimum of 10 members interested in attending a workshop, but we’ve done workshops for up to 100 members, so there is a huge range. When a request comes in BCNU covers the cost of materials and we ask the local group to provide a room.

UPDATE How long have the workshops been provided?

DUCHARME BCNU has offered them for years, but we have increased the number in the last few years.

Four years ago we probably held about 20 per year.

Part of it is the demographics of our members and part of it is the increased awareness of pensions.

There have been a lot of stories in the media about

UPDATE MAGAZINE July/August 2014

pensions and people are concerned about theirs.

UPDATE How many of BCNU’s members are in pension plans?

DUCHARME We have over 34,000 members in the Municipal Pension Plan (MPP).

We have over 2,000 members in the Public Service Pension Plan (PSPP). We also have members in the Canadian Blood Services Pension Plan, and then we have a variety of independent contracts with retirement savings plan-type pensions. Our workshops are geared for the majority of those members in the MPP or PSPP. UPDATE There has been a lot of talk lately about defined benefit public pension plans – that they are too rich or they are unsustainable. What is your take on this?

DUCHARME The Independent Small Business Association of Canada and right-wing think tanks like the Fraser Institute have been attacking pensions using generalizations that aren’t

a reflection of the BC plans.

Canadian pension plans have far more stringent rules than those in the US or other parts of the world. The BC family of plans have been under a joint trustee structure for many years, and a lot of the changes that are happening in other provinces are actually bringing their plans into line with rules already in place in BC. For example we call our plans defined benefit plans in that you are guaranteed a pension based on a formula as long as you live, but we are not a true defined benefit plan because inflation indexing is not guaranteed, and your benefit premiums are not guaranteed. Those can be adjusted by the plans based on funding.

The Municipal Pension Plan recently commissioned a Conference Board of Canada economic impact study that clearly showed the value of public pension plans. The authors wrote about the fact that people collecting from defined benefit

plans are often tax payers rather than tax drawers. They also studied the savings patterns between people who are in defined benefit plans and those who are not, and it was quite clear that people who are in defined benefit plans, those who are basically forced to save for retirement, will save more than those for whom saving is optional.

That has huge value at the time you retire. So there is a lot of research that shows good value for the BC plans and a positive impact for both individual members and the economy as a whole.

Our pension is a benefit that we negotiated. It’s part of our salary. The MPP and PSPP have developed a section of their website called Straight Talk which has some really good information based strictly on the data gathered from the plans. It provides members with facts that they can use to defend their plan. update

GEN Y, ARE YOU READY? A 2013 report* by CIBC says the average 35-year-old is saving less than half of what their parents did at the same age. The authors predict that, unless they build up their savings, young adults face at least a 20 percent drop in their standard of living once they retire.

Attend a BCNU pension workshop to learn more about how the Municipal Pension Plan is building some of your retirement savings. *Canadians’ Retirement Future: Mind the Gap by Benjamin Tal and Avery Shenfeld, February 20, 2013

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WHERE DOES THE MONEY COME FROM TO PAY FOR PUBLIC SECTOR PENSIONS? Both employers and employees contribute to the plans, and their contributions are invested.

The plans’ investment income finances about 70 to 80 percent of the benefits paid to members. Contributions from members and employers make up the remaining 20 to 30 percent.

Each generation pays in advance for its own pension benefits, and employers and employees equally share the risks associated with funding the defined benefit portion of the plans.

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BOOK REVIEW

NURSES’ ETHICAL IMPERATIVES SET THEM ON A COLLISION COURSE WITH CURRENT CARE MODELS HAZEL J. MAGNUSSEN IS calling on nurses to be engaged in the shaping of care delivery design, especially when patient safety is at risk. Her new book, The Moral Work of Nursing, is a reflection on issues crucial to nursing, a vocation she defines as a form of moral agency that flows directly from its humane purpose of providing care to those in need.

Magnussen, a lapsed nurse with broad experience in the community, long-term care and public health sectors, describes the challenges the nursing profession faces on its mission to “elevate caring to its rightful place” in healthcare design.

Long held in a subordinate role and marginalized by doctors, administrators and managers, nurses have yet to be invited to shape the way that care is provided.

Magnussen’s reflections are steeped in the idea of “calling” that she argues is embedded in nursing, and which views nurses as healers who must act ethically in order to do their work. Unfortunately, this sets them on a collision course with current care models in hospitals and other settings.

Recalling her own nursing, Magnussen writes that, “caring was a moral responsibility and part of my vocation.” In time

she came to realize that, as moral agents, nurses are also responsible for sounding the alarm when practice conditions threaten their patients’ safety or their own health.

This imperative to speak out conflicts with a far older tradition traceable to Florence Nightingale, which holds that nurses, while acting humanely and competently, should also remain silent and invisible.

Magnussen illustrates nursing’s turn towards visibility and voice with the story of RN Bonnie Lantz, a nurse leader fired for supporting nurses who spoke out about serious lapses in patient safety at Vancouver General Hospital. Reflecting on her actions 23 years later as president of RNABC, Lantz defiantly asserts that nurses “do have the right to identify issues that prevent us from providing safe care, and we need to be listened to.”

Magnussen also points to the lack of regard for nurses’ unique training, skills and experience in the design of current care models. Ever since the funding cuts and bed-shedding of the 1990s, hospitals have been places of conflict between safe nursing practice and intensified workloads that increase throughput at the expense of patient contact and personalized care.

Among the book’s better chapters, “Moral Distress in Nursing” describes what happens when nurses find themselves in workplaces inadequately staffed to allow them to practice safe care. Magnussen argues that when nurses’ standards are higher than the care they’re allowed to deliver, they’re plunged into a state of moral distress that leads to total burnout, a possibility now haunting the profession. Burnout, the author argues, is “the progressive loss of idealism, energy, and purpose experienced by people … as a result of the conditions of their work.”

Magnussen identifies three typical responses to this state of moral distress: the first is to go numb and withdraw from “ethically challenging situations”.

The second option is to leave the profession entirely. And the third is “to resort to conscientious objection in order to advocate for their patients”.

The first and second options are bad both for nursing as a profession and for patient safety. The third is the path that nurses and their unions are taking across Canada, as it alone holds out hope for better and

The Moral Work of Nursing: Asking and living with the questions Hazel J. Magnussen 2014, Promontory Press, Victoria

safer patient care. It takes courage to tell truth to power, but that is what nurses must find ways to do.

Magnussen’s message is that however impoverished the design of hospitals and other practice environments may be, nurses should continue advocating for safe patient care.

As moral workers they can and should opt to become agents of change for better care.

The Moral Work of Nursing is an excellent read by a nurse who, after a lifetime of experience, still retains the idealism that drew her into nursing in the first place. update

UPDATE MAGAZINE July/August 2014

Staff Profile

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HERE’S WHO’S SUPPORTING BCNU MEMBERS AND LEADERS

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY OFFICER GEORGINA HACKETT WORKS TO MAKE SURE MEMBERS DON’T GET SICK OR INJURED ON THE JOB OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH and Safety Officer isn’t the first job title that comes to mind when listening to Georgina Hackett talk about her education and early career path. But it soon becomes apparent that the Victoria native’s experiences are well suited to her work at BCNU. Hackett received her undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of British Columbia and her Masters of Engineering from the University of Victoria before moving to Los Angeles to work in her chosen field.

“When I was in engineering, I studied ship design and underwater robots. I was on a team that built a submarine for competition,” she recalls. “We raced against other submarines built by teams from all over the world.”

Hackett created a computer program while completing her master’s degree that allowed designers to see how their submarine models moved without having to actually build them. The company she worked for then gave her the task of reconstructing accidents to help determine how someone was injured and how the injury could

A MIND FOR SAFETY An engineering background gives Georgina Hackett a valuable perspective on workplace health and safety issues.

have been prevented.

The information was presented by expert witnesses in legal trials where people were suing for injuries, which then led to changes in laws requiring safer vehicles.

“We ran experiments to see how things worked,” explains Hackett.

“In one project we got to blow things up to figure out how to protect people from bomb blasts.

It was an awesome job.”

Hackett’s shift to the healthcare sector came after she returned to Canada and landed a job with the OH&S Agency for Healthcare in BC (OHSAH).

At first she worked exclusively

on health and safety projects for home and community healthcare workers, conducting research projects, and developing risk assessment tools, guide books, and training modules.

Later, she was part of the team that developed OHSAH’s OH&S services for affiliate employers.

After OHSAH closed in 2010, Hackett says she jumped at the opportunity to work for BCNU when a position became available. “All the pieces from my past experience came together and now I work to help members across BC.”

Hackett’s current BCNU projects include developing OH&S curriculum for BCNU’s new Leadership and Labour Relations program certificate and developing resources for Joint OH&S Committees. She also spends a lot of time providing OH&S training for BCNU members, and enjoys delivering workshops. “I love those light bulb moments when people say ‘I can do this’,” she says.

“Members aren’t always sure about their role on an OH&S Committee at the start – but they leave our workshops excited and empowered.”

Hackett is proud of her teammates. “We have a strong OH&S department at BCNU that advocates for its members’ right to a safe and healthy workplace – we work tirelessly to make sure people don’t get sick or injured on the job.”

“Healthcare is hazardous work,” she stresses. “There are lots of places for improvement, where we can make a difference for BCNU members and their patients.”

Despite the complexity of her job, Hackett says the goal is simple: making sure nurses get home at the end of the day, able to enjoy their lives and families after their shifts. And it’s connecting with individual members to help make this happen that she finds the most rewarding.

“A good day for me is when I am able to provide a member with tools and resources to fix an OH&S issue after they reach out to the department,” she says.

“It’s when I get a call or email the next day and the member says ‘it worked, I fixed it, it’s better now’.

That stays with me.” update

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Council Profile HERE’S WHO’S WORKING FOR YOU

A STRONG VOICE SOUTH FRASER VALLEY CO-CHAIR JONATHAN KARMAZINUK

EMPOWERING MEMBERS

“At BCNU, we are able to talk about the nursing issues that we face, so we know we’re not alone. The health authorities can be stubborn. You can hear that others struggle with the same challenges and work together towards solutions.” says South Fraser Valley co-chair Jonathan Karmazinuk.

QUICK FACTS NAME Jonathan Karmazinuk.

GRADUATED Douglas College 2006.

UNION POSITION South Fraser Valley region co-chair.

WHY I SUPPORT BCNU? As union members we are able advocate for the best care for our patients.

JONATHAN KARMAZINUK knew he wanted to be a nurse since the day he went to work with his RN mother when he was in Grade 9. “I really liked the interactions I saw with the residents at the long term care facility where she worked. I was able to picture myself working in healthcare even at that age,” he recalls.

After completing his nursing studies in 2006, Karmazinuk had difficulty finding work as an LPN. He took what he could get and began working in the Okanagan. “I had just written an exam the day before and then drove out to this private care facility,” he says describing his first day on the job. “After a half-hour orientation, I worked alone for the night shift on my very first day. On that night

shift, three patients fell. It was the shift from hell.”

Karmazinuk was later hired to work in extended care at Delta Hospital and continues there today, now working on the medical floor.

When asked how he feels about being a man in a predominantly female profession, he says he didn’t experience gender as an issue in school since his program was so compressed and intense. In the hospital setting he says there was another male nurse who mentored him early on. “Patients would sometimes accuse male nurses of inappropriate behaviour, so he helped me be aware of my surroundings and how patients and others might feel more comfortable with a situation they may not be used to,” he explains.

In 2009 Karmazinuk began encouraging other LPNs to join BCNU. “When we were finally able to join as full members I was ecstatic,” he says, recalling the successful organizing drive. “I’ve always been an activist in terms of advocating for my patients, so I felt like I had a new hope to finally make progress to advocate for the best care for our patients as members of BCNU.” During the summer of 2011, his colleagues encouraged him to run for a LPN position on BCNU Council. “They said, ‘well now that we’re members, we should have a strong voice’.

So I campaigned and went to as many worksites as I could and was thrilled when I found out I was elected!”

Karmazinuk also won the position of South Fraser Valley region co-chair in BCNU elections last March. He hopes the post will allow him to continue advocating for patients and nurses and says he looks forward to working on issues like LPN scope of practice and the merging of Facilities and Nurses’ Bargaining Association contract language.

Karmazinuk is also keen to support the Young Nurses’ Network. “Three weeks into my first job I had to deal with my first patient death, and I didn’t feel like I had any support. You’re dealing with things that most of the rest of society doesn’t have to deal with. I want to support our new grads and give them a safe forum to discuss these kinds of shared experiences.” update

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Who Can Help?

BCNU IS HERE TO SERVE MEMBERS

REGIONAL REPS VANCOUVER METRO Colette Wickstrom Chair C 604-789-9240 cwickstrom@bcnu.org

BCNU CAN. Here’s how you can get in touch with the right person to help you.

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

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.

CENTRAL VANCOUVER Judy McGrath Co-Chair C 604-970-4339 jmcgrath@bcnu.org

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

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

PRESIDENT Debra McPherson C 604-209-4253 dmcpherson@bcnu.org

EXECUTIVE COUNCILLOR Marg Dhillon C 604-839-9158 mdhillon@bcnu.org

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

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

LPN REPS FRASER HEALTH Jonathan Karmazinuk C 604-312-0826 jonathankarmazinuk@bcnu.org

PROVIDENCE TBA

Diane LaBarre Co-Chair C 604-341-5231 dlabarre@bcnu.org SHAUGHNESSY HEIGHTS Claudette Jut Chair C 604-786-8422 claudettejut@bcnu.org RIVA Lauren Vandergronden Chair C 604-785-8148 laurenvandergronden@bcnu.org SIMON FRASER Liz Ilczaszyn Co-Chair C 604-785-8157 lilczaszyn@bcnu.org Debbie Picco Co-Chair C 604-209-4260 dpicco@bcnu.org

INTERIOR HEALTH Janet Elizabeth Van Doorn C 778-214-4798 janetvandoorn@bcnu.org

VANCOUVER COASTAL Marlene Goertzen C 778-874-9330 marlenegoertzen@bcnu.org

SOUTH FRASER VALLEY Jonathan Karmazinuk Co-Chair C 604-312-0826 jonathankarmazinuk@bcnu.org

NORTHERN HEALTH Louise Weightman C 250-639-6436 louiseweightman@bcnu.org

VANCOUVER ISLAND Barry Phillips C 778-679-9737 barryphillips@bcnu.org

Lisa Walker Co-Chair C 604-880-9105 lisawalker@bcnu.org

FRASER VALLEY Linda Pipe Chair C 604-793-6444 lpipe@bcnu.org WEST KOOTENAY Lorne Burkart Chair C 250-354-5311 lorneburkart@bcnu.org EAST KOOTENAY Patt Shuttleworth Chair C 250-919-4890 pshuttleworth@bcnu.org NORTH WEST Sharon Sponton Chair C 250-877-2547 sharonsponton@bcnu.org NORTH EAST Jackie Nault Chair C 250-960-8621 jacquelinenault@bcnu.org OKANAGAN-SIMILKAMEEN Laurie Munday Chair C 250-212-0530 lmunday@bcnu.org THOMPSON NORTH OKANAGAN Tracy Quewezance Chair C 250-320-8064 tquewezance@bcnu.org SOUTH ISLANDS Adriane Gear Co-Chair C 778-679-1213 adrianegear@bcnu.org Margo Wilton Co-Chair C 250-361-8479 mwilton@bcnu.org PACIFIC RIM Jo Salken Chair C 250-713-7066 jsalken@bcnu.org

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UPDATE MAGAZINE July/August 2014

Off Duty MEMBERS AFTER HOURS

NORTHERN NURSE HELENA HAWES CONNECTS FOODIES ONLINE NORTH WEST REGION LPN Helena Hawes has channeled her love of cooking and caring for others into an inspiring food blog.

Growing up in Smithers, she and her twin sister were in awe of the wonderful meals their Filipina mother created.

After leaving home to study and work, both longed for the comforting foods they grew up with which led to the discovery of a shared love of cooking.

The sisters now share their stories and recipes on Peaches & Cream, a blog they launched in 2012.

Helena left Smithers to study nursing in Terrace and upon her return in 2007, found she was cooking more and more. “I love experimenting with food and test a lot of recipes, so we decided a blog would be the perfect place to chronicle our experiences and creativity with other people.”

Coming home from a nursing shift at Bulkley Lodge or Bulkley Valley District Hospital, Helena finds getting into her kitchen an effective way to unwind.

She credits her adventuresome food tastes to being exposed to her mother’s cooking at a young age. “My mom is a great cook, so we

developed a passion for food early,” she says, likening cooking to nursing. “It’s a lifelong continuous learning experience.”

Helena’s father still grows much of the food featured in

recipes on the blog. “My dad provides us with poultry and eggs and a lot of produce during the growing season, so my challenge is to make good use of all the great ingredients we get.”

Helena says that blogging is a great way to connect with people, notably co-workers, friends and family, and other bloggers. “It’s great getting feedback and suggestions about what they want to see next – we really enjoy connecting with people through the blog.”

As for Helena’s own food theory, she says she’s a firm

believer that everything should be enjoyed in moderation. “I know I have a sweet tooth, so I try and moderate, and exercise, so I can enjoy food and don’t have to feel guilty.”

Helena often plans recipes to make on her days off and shares one or two new posts per week, whenever possible. “It takes time to blog, and although I enjoy it, I try not to feel guilty if I can’t get a post out on time,” she says. “I choose recipes I really want to try. Now and again when something pops into my head and I want to rush home and try it, I write food notes to myself constantly.”

Of the local food scene in Smithers, Helena says that her hometown does a good job of promoting locally produced food, and she tries to feature as many local ingredients as possible in her recipes, which she admits to be easier in the summer than winter.

Of the recipes featured on her blog, Helena says they are generally not too labourintensive. “It’s nice to be able to throw a meal together,” she says. “I think anyone who loves being in the kitchen cooking, who finds it stress relieving or who loves food should visit our blog.” update

ACCOMPLISHED NURSE Smithers food blogger Helena Hawes was the recipient of this year’s College of Licensed Practical Nurses’ award of excellence in leadership – the first northern nurse to receive the honour. Inset: Mom’s Chicken and Summer Berry Salad – just two of the delicious recipes from Hawes’ blog Peaches & Cream. peachesncreamblog.blogspot.ca

BCNU is encouraging members to participate in Ovarian Cancer Canada’s Walk of Hope on September 7.

Your fundraising efforts will help raise awareness, offer hope and support to women diagnosed with ovarian cancer and fund research on early detection and improved treatments.

Participate as an individual, register as a team captain or join a team. You can even start a walk in your own community!

Visit ovariancancerwalkofhope.ca to view a crosscountry map of communities participating in the Walk of Hope and encourage your family to join!

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NOVEMBER 2008 Attended first BCNU regional meeting

When I started working as a registered nurse in 2008 I had questions

about job security and benefits. The information and support I received from my steward helped pave the way for my involvement in BCNU. Union engagement keeps me abreast of professional practice issues while protecting my rights as a worker. For me, being active in BCNU is an integral part of my professional development.

Jose Seva BCNU Coastal Mountain region

FEBRUARY 2009 Joined Men in Nursing caucus

NOVEMBER 2009 Took BCNU “Building Union Strength” course

MARCH 2011 Attended first BCNU convention

MAY 2012 Attended BCNU Nursing Practice Conference

NOVEMBER 2012 Enrolled in BCNU Communicating at Work course for internationally educated nurses

JULY 2013 Participated in rally against Island Health’s care delivery restructuring

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