VANCOUVER, BC, July 29,
2024 /CNW/ - With more than 80% of all mental and
physical health impairments occurring during someone's working
life, successful workplace accommodations designed to maintain
equitable participation through continued employment are key in
successfully addressing the myriad of challenges often associated
with long-term unemployment such as financial hardship, poverty,
psychological and social distress.
The Reducing Poverty through Early Intervention and
Occupational Rehabilitation Initiative (RPI) currently being
implemented in the Province of BC, with support from the
Governments of Canada and
British Columbia, is designed to
provide a valuable resource with practical policy and program
solutions optimized for immediate direct disability case management
for individuals, and having potentially longer term structural
recommendations for employers.
"We know it's difficult for people to maintain their jobs after
an injury or acquiring a disability. We listened and today we're
taking action to reduce employment barriers," said Sheila
Malcolmson, BC Minister of Social Development and Poverty
Reduction. "To support people in Nanaimo, Kelowna, Prince
George and Vancouver, we
funded a new $4 million program to
support the journey back to work after injury or disability."
Individuals and employers supported through this initiative can
expect compassionate and professional assistance in identifying
concrete options designed to successfully maintain employment for
the disabled individual whenever possible. This could include the
provision of direct health care support such as occupational
therapy or physiotherapy services, or other assistance such as
ergonomic interventions, needed to maintain employment.
The strategy of early intervention and occupational
rehabilitation supports provided by Certified Disability Management
Professionals (CDMPs) forms a key element in the Belgian
Government's federal Disability Management efforts now enshrined
through a legislative framework in Belgium since January
2022; a strategy which is also currently being considered in
other jurisdictions.
While this early intervention pilot initiative taking place in
BC will certainly be available to any individual or employer
seeking Return to Work and accommodation solutions, it is expected
that individuals with little or no other short or long-term
disability organizational support and no workers compensation or
ICBC, would find employment support resources through this new
initiative most valuable.
In order to ensure maximum benefit and optimized outcomes for
British Columbians while at the same time creating a valuable and
successful pilot model with significant implementation potential
for other jurisdictions, an Executive Leadership Committee, with
senior level national and multi-stakeholder representation, and
chaired by former BC Minister for Social Development and Poverty
Reduction, Shane Simpson, has been
established to guide, support and advise on the many aspects of
this unique effort.
Wolfgang Zimmermann, Executive
Director of NIDMAR, is most supportive of this Initiative. "As
someone who suffered a severe spinal cord injury in a logging
accident during my first week on the job, I was extremely fortunate
to have the support of the employer and the union in being able to
maintain workplace attachment through subsequent retraining. Sadly,
I have witnessed too many friends and colleagues who, following a
serious health impairment, were not accommodated and, as a
consequence, suffered long-term unemployment, poverty, family
breakdown, etc. The aim of this Initiative is to support
individuals, along with their employers, through the return to work
process."
For additional details as they become available, please monitor
the NIDMAR website as follows:
www.reducingpoverty.nidmar.ca
SOURCE Pacific Coast University for Workplace Health
Sciences