The Ontario Retirement Communities Association (ORCA) is thrilled to announce that we are the recipients of a grant through the Occupational Health and Safety Prevention and Innovation Program (OHSPIP). This grant will enable us to produce new and updated e-learning tutorials and resources for frontline staff in the retirement homes sector, with content specifically addressing workplace mental health, injury prevention and specific issues around young and new workers.

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The ORCA staff with the Hon. Kevin Flynn, Minister of Labour.

This morning, ORCA joined the Hon. Kevin Flynn, Minister of Labour, as he announced the recipients of the 2016-2017 grants from the Occupational Health and Safety Prevention and Innovation Program (OHSPIP). You can watch the full announcement here.

 

OHSPIP has provided ORCA with $66,708 to produce and update training modules related to workplace mental health, sector hazards and young workers. ORCA commits to:

 

  • Developing two new modules focusing on mental health in the workplace, for both workers and managers.

 

  • Updating our existing materials on injury prevention, focusing on recognizing and preventing musculoskeletal disorders.

 

  • Updating our existing new and young worker module, focusing on worker, supervisor and employer safety roles and how to promote good workplace health.

 

Education developed through this grant will be available to all ORCA members on The Learning Centre for Senior Living (TLC). The education team will work with subject matter experts to ensure that information is clear and concise, and provides an interactive learning experience for all users.

 

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Staff of Delmanor Glen Abbey with the Minister of Labour.

This is a very exciting announcement for our sector as we work collaboratively with government and stakeholders to ensure that employee health and safety is a priority. We would like to thank Delmanor Glen Abbey, their staff and residents for hosting the announcement this morning. The ORCA Team would also like to acknowledge the work of Trina MacKay, our Senior Manager of Learning Technology, who spearheaded this project.