FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – September 19, 2019

We are pleased to announce the opening of a fourth SafeCare BC Satellite Training Centre at Penticton’s Haven Hill Retirement Centre – the first of its kind in the Interior. This partnership agreement with Haven Hill will increase access and expand health and safety training capacity for continuing care workers in the southern Interior.

“We are pleased to partner with member organizations across the province, so continuing care workers can access local training opportunities,” says Jen Lyle, CEO of SafeCare BC. “With over 350 full-time positions effectively lost last year across the sector because of workplace injuries, health and safety education and training is a key part in reducing workplace injuries and staffing shortages in continuing care.”

Continuing care workers work in long-term care and home care and community health support and have some of the highest injury rates compared to all occupations in BC. Aside from its training centre in Burnaby, SafeCare BC has partnered with organizations in Abbotsford, Parksville, and Nanaimo to open satellite training centres.

“We are excited to be the site of the first SafeCare BC Satellite Training Centre in the Interior. This will enable us to empower our staff, and others in the region with the most up-to-date knowledge and skills to create a safer environment for everyone,” says Zander Cook, general manager of Haven Hill Retirement Centre. “Not only are we creating a better workplace for our staff, but we’re also creating a better care environment for our residents.”

SafeCare BC is a non-profit association working to ensure injury-free, safe working conditions for the more than 28,000 continuing care workers in BC. Last year, SafeCare BC facilitated training for more than 2,800 individuals.

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Contact:
Ken Donohue
Director, Communications and Member Services
604-785-5890
kdonohue@safecarebc.ca