RIVERTON
Riverview Home Corporation has earned distinction that comes during North American Occupational Safety and Health Week.
Riverview was awarded for significantly curbing the number of claims made to the Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) on May 8.
Speaking to assembled guests, staff and management, Shelley Rowan, the vice president of prevention and service delivery with WCB of Nova Scotia, congratulated all involved in the milestone Riverview reached for their teamwork – something she stated was crucial to the reduction of incidents at Riverview.
Rowan said she was inspired to hear about Riverview’s accomplishments, noting that proving care can be challenging, with complex needs and potentially aggressive situations.
“We know you’ve achieved these results by promoting a culture of safety… and through a team effort championing leadership, proving that with commitment, improvements are always possible,” she said.
Rowan congratulated the staff and management at Riverview for achieving 30 per cent fewer registered claims since 2014, and a 35 per cent reduction in claims that involve loss of time at work. This resulted in a 50 per cent reduction in cost of claims between 2014 and 2016.
CEO Patricia Bland explained why the progress achieved by Riverview was so significant. It happened after a series of extensive renovations to the Riverton-based facility that forced staff to move around residents and adapt to challenging conditions at the facility as the work done to update it took place.
In an interview with The News after Rowan presented the award, Bland said Riverview staff and management reviewed all the policies at the facility, and implemented a “safety policy overhaul” relating to incident reporting, and created literature to guide staff through new policies and procedures.
Riverview has recently worked with the WCB and AwareNS to create new processes and documentation for violence prevention – part of a document that will be released at the end of the month.
Other strategies to increase workplace safety included workshops, a safety policy, a hazard management program, a workplace safety policy, and a user guide to ensure proper safety parameters were met. There also were a number of security policy overhauls, including updates to the locks with keypads and keycards, and new protocol for keeping the facility secure during business and nighttime hours.
