The Pacific Coast University for Workplace Health Sciences (PCU-WHS) is pleased to announce that the 2018 International Forum on Disability Management (IFDM) conference will receive sponsorship through the Government of Canada’s Social Development Partnerships Program-Disability.

The Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science and Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities said, “Canada is at its best and all of society benefits when everyone is included. By bringing together academics, professionals and disability stakeholders from all over the world to share their knowledge and generate valuable ideas, this conference will help ensure that Canadians with disabilities are able to fully participate in their workplaces and communities.”

“We are very grateful for the significant support that the Government of Canada has provided, especially when considering recent reports that indicate 23 percent of all people living in poverty across Canada are persons with mental or physical health impairments, and in excess of 80 percent of impairments are acquired during a person’s working life, and therefore effective and collaborative workplace efforts in job retention and return to work can have a significant impact on changing this narrative” said Wolfgang Zimmermann, President of PCU-WHS.

To view the full media release, please see attached.

As an additional update, please note that the deadline for the Call for Abstracts has been extended to April 2, 2018.

For further details on the Call for Abstracts, please visit the following webpage: https://www.ifdm2018.com/call-for-abstracts/

IFDM 2018 Secretariat
Email: info@ifdm2018.com
Web: www.ifdm2018.com

A ceremony took place in Belgium at the end of November to recognize the first group of participants to complete the Disability Management Practitioner training program and also to present the IDMSC certificates to those who successfully passed the professional certification examinations. Attached please find the IDMSC Communique which provides the background on the agreement between the Belgium Health Insurance Agency (RIZIV/INAMI) and NIDMAR as well as comments from participants in the training program.
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With the support of the Scottish government, events recently held in both Glasgow and Edinburgh, recognized individuals who achieved the prestigious international Certified Disability Management Professional (CDMP) designation. Attached please find the IDMSC Communique which provides additional details on both events. Continue reading Committed Professionals Meeting Societal Challenges in Scotland

Following a Consensus Based Disability Management Audit (CBDMA) conducted in 2009 under a special initiative in the province of BC, a pilot DM program incorporating best practices was implemented at one health authority and a cross section of long-term care facilities. When the pilot showed that the program could make a significant difference both in cost savings and in much improved return to work outcomes for healthcare workers, collective agreements were negotiated including language around the “Enhanced Disability Management Program” (EDMP) with the various healthcare employers covering 150,000 healthcare workers in four bargaining associations in seven regional health authorities and more than 200 long-term care / community care facilities in the province. Please click the link below to review further details on the process undertaken in the development of the EDMP across the healthcare sector in BC. More Information

Graduates of NIC Human Services programs have new opportunities to complete a degree at Pacific Coast University for Workplace Health Sciences, thanks to a new agreement signed this fall between the two institutions.

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On September 28, an event was held in Toronto hosted by the WSIB and NIDMAR to recognize those individuals who were able to attend the event and who achieved the Certified Disability Management Professional (CDMP) and Certified Return to Work Coordinator (CRTWC) designations in 2017. Continue reading Recognizing Professional Excellence in the Re/integration of Persons with Disabilities

An event hosted by NIDMAR was held in Vancouver, BC on September 22, for those who were able to attend, in order to recognize individuals who achieved the CDMP and CRTWC professional designations in 2017.  Continue reading Recognition of 2017 CDMPs and CRTWCs in Vancouver

Congratulations to our Deputy Minister University Champion, Jody Thomas, on her appointment as Deputy Minister for the Department of National Defence. The announcement was made by the Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, on Friday, September 22. We wish her the best of luck in this new and challenging assignment. We very much appreciate her continued support of PCU-WHS.

The International Social Security Association (ISSA), a United Nations agency based in Geneva, has published a report entitled “The Return on Work Reintegration” that identifies the global return on investments for employers, social security systems, and society, for injured and ill workers with the goal of reintegration in the workplace. A copy of the report can be downloaded from the ISSA website at:

The Return on Work Reintegration

The March of Dimes Canada, NIDMAR and PCU-WHS signed a Memorandum of Understanding that will offer educational opportunities in the field of Disability Management / Return to Work for MODC’s management staff and client base to provide a collaborative learning opportunity to community leaders and managers, and provide them with relevant tools and knowledge to effectively manage health-related absenteeism, and implement disability prevention and management programs.
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Donal McAnaney, PhD, Interim Chief Academic Officer and International Research Advisory Council Chair for PCU-WHS recently released the attached report “International Good Practice in Vocational Rehabilitation”, co-authored with Richard Wynne, PhD, for the Irish National Disability Authority. This report focuses on system approaches to early intervention for employees who are absent from work on health grounds.

Vocational Rehab Report

The Pacific Coast University for Workplace Health Sciences recently had the pleasure of hosting all three levels of government around a common theme – more effective return to work efforts – so that individuals who acquire a mental or physical health impairment during their working lives (about 85% of impairments are acquired during that time) do not migrate into a life of poverty and despair. This was brought together by our Deputy Minister University Champion, Jody Thomas, Senior Associate Deputy Minister with the Department of National Defence, and her Chief of Staff spending a half day with us to learn first hand about our programming, learning management system, current educational partnerships, initiatives underway, etc. She was joined for more than half the time by Port Alberni’s Mayor Mike Ruttan, Member of Parliament Gord Johns, and Member of the Legislative Assembly Scott Fraser, who will now also be a member of the incoming BC Government.

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https://www.albernivalleynews.com/local-news/federal-minister-champions-alberni-valley-university/

http://www.albernivalleynews.com/e-editions/?iid=i20170713040736939

PCU-WHS was fortunate to have been approved for the University to hire a summer student for 2017 under the Federal Government’s Canada Summer Jobs Program. We are most pleased to introduce Hilary in this short release.

It was June 1987 when a group of disabled forest industry workers, led by Wolfgang Zimmermann and supported by key leaders in the forest industry, unions, government and other stakeholders pulled together a production team and the financing to produce a powerful national documentary film entitled Every Twelve Seconds, so named because at the time, a disabling workplace injury occurred every 12 seconds in Canada. More information

The Federal Government has released a report entitled “Creating new national accessibility legislation: What we learned from Canadians”, which sets out a range of priority areas identified during the national consultations as part of the development of a Canadian Accessibility Act.

The employment for persons with disabilities was ranked as a number one priority. With approximately 1.2 million Canadians with disabilities living below the poverty line in Canada, and the extremely low hiring rate, which has remained unchanged over the last decade, economic participation is critical.

A link to the report is provided below:
https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/planned-accessibility-legislation/reports/consultations-what-we-learned.html

PCU-WHS is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Donal Ferris McAnaney as its interim Chief Academic Officer (CAO). Dr. McAnaney brings a most distinguished background, which combines many years of academic and research history with in-depth knowledge of the broader disability environment and the often challenging Return to Work / Disability Management issues more specifically.

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PCU-WHS, founded and supported by the National Institute of Disability Management and Research (NIDMAR), wishes to pay tribute to Bob White former NIDMAR Honourary Labour Co-Chair from 1992 to 1999, who passed away on February 19, 2017 in Kincardine, Ontario.

The following link is to a video entitled “The Challenge to Lead: The Rewards of Disability Management”, developed by NIDMAR in 1996, as a promotional tool documenting the growth of workplace based disability management programs and showing the support coming from leaders in Canada’s political, business, union and insurance sectors, including the following short clip from Bob White:
Bob White

He was a legendary labour leader with a commitment towards better return to work outcomes for injured / disabled workers. To view the NIDMAR bulletin, please click on the following link.
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The Pacific Coast University for Workplace Health Sciences (PCU-WHS) signed an agreement with agricultural health and safety association, AgSafe, in a campaign to reduce the number of work days lost due to disabling injury/illness on BC’s farms and ranches.

Additionally, AgSafe signed a MOU with the National Institute of Disability Management and Research (NIDMAR) which provides AgSafe members access to the Disability Management Self Assessment (DMSA) tool in order to assess their own disability management programs and activities. The DMSA was developed under the auspices of the International Disability Management Standards Council with input from international leaders in all relevant stakeholders.  Full story

The Pacific Coast University for Workplace Health Sciences (PCU-WHS) is pleased to announce that Dr. Joachim Breuer, member of the Board of Governors, was elected President of the International Social Security Association (ISSA) at its meeting in Panama on November 18, 2016.  Full story