NAOSH Week

C6 WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY MAY 8, 2019 we are safety C O N S T R U C T I O N S A F E T Y. C A L-R: Members of Red River College's Safety and Health Services team: Rick Lange, Nicki Albus, Keith Walker, Ellisha Hamilton, Leigh Henry, Jodi Pluchinski, Jennifer Brydon, Susan Thorvaldson, Marleen Belo, Dave Malo, Soha Baddour and Angel King. A s Manitoba's largest institu- tion of applied learning, RRC is comprised of eight campus locations, where more than 21,000 stu- dents and staff work together in a wide variety of workplace settings that in- clude offices, media studios, laborato- ries, kitchens, trades workshops and more. Because the college atmosphere is so varied, it takes a full-on team ap- proach to ensure the health and safety of students, staff and visitors, through programs that continue to evolve with campus life itself. "As a post-secondary institution, our students are considered workers, so whatever we are doing, it's not just about staff, it's also about our stu- dents," says Jodi Pluchinski, RRC's director of safety and health services. "At RRC, we want to be the leading post-secondary school in making sure students are learning the best safety practices, so when they go out into in- dustry, they already know the impor- tance of safety and how to help keep themselves safe in their workplaces." Pluchinski leads a team of health and safety professionals with expertise in such relevant areas as musculoskel- etal and ergonomics, industrial hygiene, hazardous waste management, safety and health training, contractor safety, and emergency preparedness. Also un- der her portfolio is the college's health centre, staffed by three nurses and a clerk. Since she joined RRC two years ago, she says one of her team's keys to success has been the staunch support of everyone at the college, from senior leadership all the way to faculty. "One of the reasons I took this job was RRC's renewed, strong commitment to health and safety," says Pluchinski. "I knew I would be able to do what I need- ed to do here because everyone was behind me 100 per cent. I have never worked for an organization that showed such support from the executive on down. It's been great." That teamwork behind RRC's safety and health effort emphasizes consultation with staff and students in the various areas, whose input is pivotal to devel- oping and fine-tuning good programs. RRC Safety and Health staff also work very closely with the college's security teams, including workplace safety and health committees of staff and students, and welcome everyone's ideas about how to improve health and safety at RRC, such as through their website at safety@rrc.ca. "It is very much a team approach and it's about building really strong relation- ships with students, instructors, chairs of programs, deans of schools and all of the support services," says Pluchinski. "We need our key stakeholders, which is everybody at RRC." The specific insight they bring, such as knowledge of industry needs and new safety equipment developments, helps the RRC safety and health team ensure the college remains compliant with pro- vincial and federal workplace safety reg- ulations, as well as giving staff a sense of pride and ownership over the programs that they have helped to create. "Safety concerns have definitely evolved and one of the great things about RRC is that it, too, is constantly evolving to keep pace with trends we're seeing across all industries," says Pluchinski. "We are very much leaders in many things for post-secondary education, so as safety people, we have to continue to evolve along with the school." Keeping pace with change means keeping informed about new safety initiatives in industry, introducing those to existing RRC training pro- grams and making the most of mod- ern technology to convey important safety-related information. Pluchinski says the college has a num- ber of tools available to keep staff and students informed on health and safety at the college. Most notably a few years ago the college was one of the first post- secondary institutions in Manitoba that introduced a mobile safety app that is now widely used to communicate im- portant safety and security updates and information to anyone at any campus across the college. "We always want to evolve and im- prove our health and safety programs, as we strive for excellence in partner- ship with everyone here at RRC," say Pluchinski. "We get to work with so many different people who have so much knowledge of their industries, and when it is combined with what we know about safety and health, the end result is a very comprehensive pro- gram that works for everybody." Creating and managing a quality occupational health and safety program in any organization can certainly be a challenge, but it is uniquely so when the workplace is as multi-faceted as it is at Red River College (RRC). MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID BREAKS DOWN WALLS BRYAN WALL IS MANAGER OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT FOR ST. JOHN AMBULANCE IN WINNIPEG. BY TODD LEWYS It's a sobering statistic: at some point in their life, one in three Canadians will experience a mental health problem. G iven that we live in a fast-paced, stress-filled world, that's not surprising. And with our lives becoming increasingly complex both at home and especially at work, mental issues — both minor and major — are only going to increase. The bigger question is, how can we properly address and treat those issues? Bryan Wall, Manager of Business Development for St. John Am- bulance in Winnipeg, says the answer is Mental Health First Aid (MHFA). "We started teaching the Mental Health Commission of Canada's Mental Health First Aid course to workplaces three years ago, but the course is actually 15 years old," he says, noting the MHFA course was originally conceived in Australia. "It's a two-day course that focuses on having adults interacting with each other not only in workplaces, but in all environments." The primary focus of the course is to make people more sensitive to the behaviour of their co-workers, adds Wall. "The MHFA Canada program aims to improve mental health lit- eracy and provide the skills and knowledge to help people better manage potential mental health problems in themselves, a family member, friend or a colleague," he says. "However, the program does not teach people how to be therapists." Rather, it teaches people how to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental problems, provide initial help and guide a person toward appropriate professional help. "If we all look back in our lives, I think we could all say there was at least one instance where we thought a person was a bit off but weren't sure how to address the issue," says Wall. "The MHFA Can- ada program gives people the tools to recognize signs and symp- toms and the confidence and ability to gently open up a conversa- tion with the other person." The key to the program is that it helps people clearly recognize when a friend, family member or co-worker is in a state of mental distress. "By opening conversation up, you can break down walls — people no longer have to suffer in silence. Armed with the knowledge you get from the MHFA Canada program, you can help people get the help they need and deserve." Wall says the two-day MHFA program is really starting to catch on at workplaces across the province. "There's now a strong demand for the course — the reception at workplaces has been tremendous. We're filling up classes all the time," he says. "We've gone from teaching the program quarterly to teaching it multiple times per month. You can come to our training centre, or we can come and teach the program right in a workplace." While the program helps people become more aware of the red flags associated with mental health issues, it's also been helpful in an- other key area. "It really helps in de-stigmatizing mental health issues. Once they go through the program, people realize that mental health issues can be brought on by so many different situations. Not only can they more readily recognize mental health issues in others, but they can also recognize when they're having issues." Recognizing mental health symptoms is critical, especially in workplaces. In a recent major Canadian study, 82 per cent of responding orga- nizations ranked mental health conditions in their top-three causes of short-term disability. Organizations in the study indicated that some 30 per cent of all short- and long-term disability claims were due to mental health problems and illnesses. That's why the MHFA Canada program is so important, says Wall. "MHFA-trained employees will better equip organizations to rec- ognize and understand the symptoms of mental health problems — including those related to substance abuse — and to keep those problems from developing in to more serious conditions. Recogniz- ing problems early will promote recovery, increase productivity and enhance the overall mental well-being of employees." For more information on the MHFA Canada program and how St. John Ambulance delivers it, visit mb.stjohntraining.ca "By opening conversation up, you can break down walls — people no longer have to suffer in silence." LEARN SAFE, WORK SAFE

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