BE CARE AWARE: 2015 Long Term Injury Rates Dear SafeCare BC members, To formally launch this year’s Be Care Aware campaign, I am pleased to provide an update on injury rates in our long term care sector. SafeCare BC was established in 2013 by the long-term care employers and WorkSafe BC as a strategic collaboration with unions and other key stakeholders to reduce injury rates in the sector by providing ongoing training opportunities for workers, promoting best practices and initiating education and awareness initiatives. WorkSafe BC has just released their annual profile of British Columbia’s long-term care sector – which they continue to identify as high-risk. Among other things, the report captures the size of the sector by payroll, 2015 injury rates and total claims costs.  According to the profile, employment in the long-term care sector has grown by approximately 15% over the past four years – to a total payroll of $1.5 billion in 2015 from $1.3 billion in 2012.  SafeCare BC members represent 63% of the sector’s payroll. Since then, I am pleased to report the sector’s overall injury rate has declined by 8% – from 9.7 time-loss claims per 100 workers in 2012 to 8.9 in 2015.  For SafeCare BC members, the overall injury rate has dropped 11% – from 9.52 in 2012 to 8.52 in 2015. WorkSafe BC sector premiums have also dropped for employers by 11% over three years – from $2.66 in 2015 to a 2017 projected rate of $2.36. Despite this growth: total work days lost to injuries for the whole sector has declined by 8% – from 120,145 in 2012 to 110,090 in 2015 claims cost have gone down by 10% since 2012 – from $24.45 million to $21.97 million in 2015 total number of time loss claims has remained the same – from 2,935 in 2012 to 2,927 in 2015 For SafeCare BC members: the total payroll has increased by 12% – from $844 million in 2012 to $948 million in 2015 total workdays lost to injuries has declined by 16% – from 81,522 in 2012 to 69,177 in 2015 claims costs have gone down by 12% – from $16.7 million in 2012 to $14.7 million in 2015 total number of time loss claims has gone down by 5% – from 1896 in 2012 to 1802 in 2015 For a summary of other facts about long term care injury rates, click here.                               (Click here for a summary of 2015 long term care injury rates) Last week, WorkSafeBC and SafeCare participated in a teleconference with SafeCare members to provide more information about the 2015 rates click here for a copy of the WorkSafe presentation. While these new statistics represents some positive developments, injury rates remain too high (four times the provincial average) and much more work needs to be done, particularly related to return-to-work rates and preventing acts of violence – which now account for 15.3% of all accident types. In collaboration with our key partners, SafeCare BC will continue to develop and deliver a full suite of training, education and awareness programs that respond to the real needs of care aides, managers, nurses and other staff.  This work will continue to reflect feedback received from employers and front line staff in our most recent Member Survey and be expanded in 2017 to include the growing home support sector. Thank you again for your leadership and active participation in SafeCare BC training events and workshops over the past year.  As always, please do not hesitate to contact me at david@safecarebc.ca if you have any questions about the 2015 report. Yours truly, David Hurford, Executive Director SafeCare BC

Menno Place team members are expected to be scent-free in the workplace and in our resident’s homes. This is a reminder to examine yourself to ensure that you are scent-free at work.

What is meant by scent-free?

When we talk about scents, we usually mean the smells or odours from cosmetics (perfume, make-up, shampoo, deodorant, etc.) or from other products such as air fresheners, cleaners, etc.

Unfortunately, there is no exact definition for scent-free, fragrance-free or unscented. Products labelled as unscented may actually contain ingredients that are used to mask or hide the smell of other ingredients. However, certain product composition statements are required, including:

Odour or fragrance

If a product formulation has been amended to add or change a fragrance, terms such as “fresh scent,” “floral scent” or “lemon scent” that describe the resulting odour may be added by notification. The terms “fragrance-free” or “unscented” may be added by notification if the product is odourless or nearly odourless, and contains no odour-masking ingredients such as a perfume. The term “de-scented” may be added if the product contains an odour-masking ingredient.

(Source: Regulatory Directive DIR2013-02, Notification/Non-notification. Health Canada)

While it is important to be aware of the lack of consistency when these terms are used by various manufacturers, the terms can still be a rough guideline when choosing products.

Can scents cause health problems?

When scented products have been blamed for adversely affecting a person’s health, some or all of the following symptoms are reported:

• headaches
• dizziness, lightheadedness
• nausea
• fatigue
• weakness
• insomnia
• malaise
• confusion
• loss of appetite
• depression
• anxiety
• numbness
• upper respiratory symptoms
• shortness of breath
• difficulty with concentration
• skin irritation

Allergic and asthmatic patients, as well as those with other conditions, report that certain odours, even in the smallest amounts, can trigger an attack.

The severity of these symptoms can vary. Some people report mild irritation while others are incapacitated and/or must give up many ‘normal’ activities in order to avoid exposure (such as going to public places).

These reactions can be known as a condition called environmental sensitivities. According to the Women’s College Hospital:

“Environmental sensitivities (ES) describes a chronic condition whereby a person has symptoms when exposed to certain chemicals or other environmental agents at low levels tolerated by most people. The symptoms may range in severity from mild to debilitating.

ES has also been called multiple chemical sensitivity, chemical intolerance, environmental hypersensitivity, environmental illness, toxicant-induced loss of tolerance, and idiopathic environmental intolerance.”

What types of products contain scents?

Scents are included in a very large range of products including:

• shampoo and conditioners
• hairsprays
• deodorants
• colognes and aftershaves
• fragrances and perfumes
• lotions and creams
• potpourri
• industrial and household chemicals
• soaps
• cosmetics
• air fresheners and deodorizers
• oils
• candles
• diapers
• some types of garbage bags
• laundry detergent, fabric softener and in-wash scent booster pearls

It is important to remember some products which claim to be ‘scent free’ may have only masked the scent by use of an additional chemical. Be sure to research the product carefully if using scented products around those who are sensitive.

What other types of scents can enter our resident’s homes?

Be aware of plants / flowers that are fragrant and don’t bring them into our residents homes.
Some examples of fragrant flowers that are highly scented are:

• Hyacinths
• Freesias
• Lavender
• Lilacs
• Some varieties of Lilies
• Sweat Peas
• Roses