St. John’s Ambulance Mental Health First Aid Course
Continuing the Conversation In case you missed it, Bell Let’s Talk day 2017 set new all-time records with unprecedented social media participation in Canada’s national conversation about mental health. An impressive 131,705,010 Bell Let’s Talk interactions through calls, texts, tweets, posts and views raised more than $6.5 million in funding for Canadian mental health programs, research and initiatives. Leading up to Bell Let’s Talk day, Bell announced support for a number of new projects including funding for St. John Ambulance to develop and incorporate a mental health module in their standard and emergency first aid courses. As a result, St. John Ambulance now offers a Mental Health First Aid course. The course was developed by the Mental Health Commission of Canada to teach participants how to assist people showing signs of mental health problems or people who are experiencing a mental health crisis. The course does not train individuals to […]
Bell Let’s Talk: Continuing the Conversation
The 7th annual Bell Let’s Talk day is January 25, 2017 and now, more than ever, education about and awareness of mental wellness is a vital part of any workplace. The Bell Let’s Talk initiative was launched in September 2010 with hopes of fostering a new approach not only to mental illness but mental health awareness. With the help of some high-profile Canadians lending their names and sharing their stories, Bell Let’s Talk day was developed to promote awareness and action with a strategy built on 4 key areas: Fighting the Stigma – perhaps the biggest hurdle to mainstreaming the disease Improving Access to Care – making help easier to attain for those who need it Supporting Research – to develop improved treatments and cures Workplace Health – included as part of standard Occupational Health & Safety Statistics suggest that 1 in 5 Canadians will struggle with a mental illness […]
After the Alberta Wildfires: Rebuilding Fort McMurray Safely
Image: mikeledray / Shutterstock.com Although the immediate crisis may have passed in Fort McMurray and the surrounding area, the state of emergency is far from over. There is a tremendous amount of work to be done in order to get the 80,000 evacuees safely back to their own homes or resettled into new ones, and there is a great deal of pressure to get this done as quickly as possible. The path to rebuilding these communities will be long and involved. While still monitoring hot spots and further potential wildfires, there is a vast amount of demolition, cleanup, environmental testing and repairs that will need to be done before the rebuilding can truly begin. Infrastructures such as roadways, water, sewage, gas and power systems need to be repaired or restarted. Waste management facilities need to be ready to deal with the garbage, from food left in refrigerators and freezers with […]
Mental Health: The Connection Between Healthy Minds and Healthy Workplaces
It is not really a coincidence that Mental Health Week and North American Occupational Safety and Health (NAOSH) Week overlap. Recent focus on the awareness and acceptance of mental illness and the effects that stress has on our overall wellbeing, highlights the connection between workplace safety and a psychologically healthy work environment. Although NAOSH week focuses on all aspects of health and safety on the job, healthy minds are the foundation of healthy workplaces. A balanced, stress-free mind is better able to focus on the task at hand, which helps reduce of the risk of accident or injury on the job for everyone. Especially in tough economic times, the effects of stress and the incidence of mental illness become more prevalent as our ability to cope is tested and our emotional reserves are strained. That healthy, balanced, stress-free mind becomes increasingly difficult to attain and maintain, so it is more […]
Four Effects Daylight Savings Time can have on Health and Safety
“Lack of sleep, even an amount as small as 40 minutes, can affect workplace incidents following the spring time change.” Once again, much of the country will ‘spring forward’ into Daylight Savings Time this March. In the process we shift our daily schedules ahead, ostensibly losing an hour of valuable sleep. There are distinct benefits and risks to moving the clock forward and back during the year, and discussion continues as to whether the practice should continue or not. This 100 year old concept still remains a controversial solution to a debatable problem. The argument for changing the clocks, in spring and fall, is based on energy conservation and stimulating the retail and entertainment sectors of the economy by increasing the number of daylight hours following the traditional workday. However, there is documented fallout that could be detrimental to your health and safety. Four interesting effects of the time change on […]