Supplied by Sault Area Hospital…   Sault Ste. Marie, ON – At a recent Gala Event in Toronto, Sault Area Hospital (SAH) was honoured with two prestigious Canada’s Safest Employers awards for outstanding safety and wellness practices. SAH received a Gold award (highest recognition) for Workplace Safety and a Silver award for Workplace Wellness.

 

The awards recognize companies from all across Canada with outstanding accomplishments in promoting the health and safety of their workers. The awards celebrate leaders in a broad range of categories, from health care to hospitality, mining and natural resources, transportation, retail, manufacturing and more. Companies were judged on a wide range of occupational health and safety elements, including employee training, Occupational Health and Safety management systems, incident investigation, emergency preparedness and innovative health and safety initiatives.

 

SAH is proud of its robust Occupational Health and Safety management system which includes numerous initiatives designed to address the hazards our workers face on a daily basis including a musculoskeltal disorder (pains and strains) program, a workplace violence program, psychological safety initiatives and a very engaged Joint Health and Safety Committee (JHSC). The JHSC consists of representation of all employees. Unique to the composition of the hospital’s JHSC is that the President & CEO is an active member of this committee, a testament to the organization’s commitment to employee health and safety. Equally successful is SAH’s Employee Wellness Program which features countless health-related initiatives developed to support the overall health and wellbeing of employees, physicians and volunteers. Some of these include healthy lifestyles seminars, onsite fitness opportunities, Weight Watchers at Work program, a ‘take your breaks’ campaign and a very successful annual health and wellness fair.

 

SAH continues to focus efforts on improving and investing in health and safety. In 2013, SAH received a NEER rebate of almost $400,000 in recognition of an exceptional safety record. “I am proud to report that all of these funds have been re-invested into our health and safety programs through the purchase of a learning management system, health and safety-related training, and safety equipment for front line staff,” says Ron Gagnon, President & CEO.

 

“I wish to extend my sincere congratulations and thanks to everyone at SAH for making our organization one of Canada’s Safest Employers,” says Gagnon. “We all have a vital role to play when it comes to workplace safety and this award could not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of each and every member of the SAH team.”

 

To view a video about SAH Workplace Safety, click here. To find out more about SAH, visit: www.sah.on.ca